The Most Common SEO Mistakes

As a marketing professional I review a lot of websites.  Most websites that are not performing well have the same mistakes in common.  Websites that worked well a couple of years ago need to be reviewed and updated to ensure they are following current SEO best practices.  Some of the most common SEO mistakes I see are:

• Using Keywords for Traffic not Context: Many businesses think using several keywords or being repetitive with keywords will keep them high in rankings. Nothing could be further from the truth. This strategy leads to low page conversion and confuses search engines. Google regularly updates their algorithms and penalizes pages and sites that use keywords that are irrelevant or out of context. Writing content that is relevant and useful while using keywords is the best way to stay high in page and website rankings.

• Not focusing on Local Search:  Most businesses are based in a specific area and want to attract clients within that community or region.  Yes so many of their websites do not use city specific or regionally specific keywords in their page titles or meta descriptions.  Using local search techniques is a valuable tool for optimizing your website.

• Using Generic Internal Links: If you’re using links like “Click Here” you’re wasting an opportunity for SEO optimization.  Instead of generic links use a keyword in your link, “Click Here to Learn More About Work Related Injuries”. Also, create unique anchors for your links rather than repeating the same links. By doing this you are creating a Call to Action and also anchoring your links with relevant keywords. 

• Focusing on Keyword and Link Quantity over Quality: Overuse of keywords and links is penalized by search engines.  Today’s search engines are increasingly focused on context and intent of keywords and links.  The best way to ensure your website is not penalized by search engines is to create quality, useful and meaningful content.  Put yourself in the mind of the person searching; what questions do they ask, what information are they seeking, what problem are they trying to solve, how can your business help them, etcetera…. If you focus your content on answering those questions you can keep it authentic, relevant and significant to search engines.