SEO Mistakes to Avoid For Your Website

Making mistakes is a part of life. However, not learning from them and repeating them again and again can lead to disastrous consequences. This is reflected in a lot of business websites that have suffered from free-falls in search engine rankings, and mostly due to mistakes in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process.

While there is no such thing as a perfect SEO strategy, evolving with updated search algorithms and staying in touch with current trends can definitely help in maintaining a high search engine ranking. However, the following mistakes are commonplace in the field of SEO, and it is in your website’s best interests to ensure that your team of SEO professionals does not repeat the same.

Content Stuffed with Keywords

Keywords have played a crucial part in the SEO process over many years. But certain websites have overdone the trend of using keywords to rank higher on Google and other search engines. Unnecessary keyword stuffing may be beneficial in the short term, but when people actually visit these sites, they are left disappointed with the quality of content on offer. Instead of offering informative content, these sites are full of generic articles that fail to interest visitors, who are quick to search for an alternative website.

Ripping off Content from Other Websites

It’s not uncommon to see websites with content that has been directly copy pasted from another website. Agreed, with so many websites out there, it’s hard to come up with unique content, especially when the topic is generic and clichéd. However, creative content developers should still have the ability to use their creativity to come up with innovative ways of presenting the content. Topics on different websites may be the same, but presentation and writing style can be made to differ as well. Copying from other websites is a practice that is harshly punished by Google, which often sees the websites being demoted.

Overlooking Local SEO

Local businesses who sell their products and services from a physical location cannot afford to overlook local SEO, but it is surprising to know the number of businesses that have been guilty of the same in the past. People searching for these businesses mostly want to know their addresses, phone numbers and working hours in order to plan a visit. But this is difficult if the websites are not listed in any directory website. For example, if you have just opened a restaurant, you need to register your business on a platform such as Yelp. There’s no use serving quality food if people cannot establish contact with the restaurant.

Long Load Times

The evolution of technology has led to a lot of benefits around the world. But if there’s one detrimental aspect with things getting faster than ever, it’s the rising levels of impatience. Most internet users are impatient, and would not waste time on a website that takes ages to load up. On an average, users wait for just two seconds before they start looking for other options. In such a scenario, it is imperative to ensure that your website loads up in time. Site speed is also a minor factor in influencing your Google rankings. Tools such as GTMetrix and Pingdom can be used to analyze load times.

Not Focusing on Analytics

The role of analytics is often overlooked in SEO, but if you do the same when it comes to your website, expect it to falter sooner or later. Your website needs to be routinely monitored for deficiencies. Once they do appear, you could take the appropriate measures to change the website for the better. Businesses that do not invest in analytics for their website are left behind, as they fail to adhere to the dynamic shifts of search engine algorithms.

Aspirants looking out for a successful career as SEO professionals are encouraged to enroll for SEO training courses. Not only can learn the ropes of the SEO process better, they can also avoid costly mistakes.