5 SEO Mistakes to Avoid for Better Search Engine Rankings

It is no more a hidden fact that to strive in the competitive scenario of digital marketing one must be more aware of the virtues of the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and its impact on an organization’s bottom line. However, practicing SEO is just the tip of the iceberg. A well-designed strategy along with thorough knowledge of Google Algorithms is also crucial.

Usually, while designing an SEO strategy, the organization can end up making mistakes which can adversely affect its online presence and even result in a Penalty. Here is a detailed account of errors that can hamper the business on the digital platform.

1.Keywords:

There is a misconception that SEO solely revolves around keywords. Well, keywords play only a part in a complex algorithm. One must be careful about how one uses these keywords. The organization must be aware of the following mistakes:

• Keyword Stuffing- Keyword stuffing implies to stuffing a web page’s text with the same keywords repeatedly. The content gets penalized quickly.
• Using Wrong Keywords- It is necessary to ensure that the keywords used are like those used by the target audience and contribute to the bottom line.
• Optimizing Only One Keyword- It is one of the biggest mistakes one can make. The user can search for a product or service through different keywords. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize all the relevant keywords. However, it does not mean that one should create a new landing page for each keyword one wants to rank. It is referred to as keyword permutation pages, and Google has a penalty for it.

2.Content Quality:

It is an acknowledged fact that content is the king. No matter how effective the SEO strategy is if the content lacks quality the website’s ranking will drop. There are mistakes that are usually visible in the content:

• Scraped Content- Such content is usually copied and pasted from other sources. The situation is common with the service companies that copy the content from other sites and cheap SEO agencies.
• Thin Content- The content offers negligible value to the readers. It could be duplicate pages, automatically generated content, or pages with less content. Such content is subject to bad reviews and hampers the organization’s online presence, and ultimately the company loses money.

3.Website’s Working Condition:

To ensure good rankings on the search engine the website needs to be fast, secure, mobile-friendly and optimized to secure top position in the search algorithms. It is necessary to understand that every second count. A low-speed website can result in lower revenue. Another crucial thing to note is that Google began sites without SSL certificate unsecured in the URL bar. It is a search ranking factor where the unsecured website ranks lower than the secured ones. Majority of the mobile users today want easy access to the websites. Therefore, the website must be easy to navigate from the smartphone.

4.Website Authority:

Authority in a specific industry adds to the credibility of the website. When a site, according to the Google Algorithms, seems to be appropriate for the users, it is likely to get ranked a higher. To dominate the in authority, one needs to avoid the following mistakes:

• Lack of External links- External links usually work as recommendations for the main website. To get external links, one should produce and distribute quality content that is valuable to link.
• Lack of Awards and Affiliations- To generate the trust in the website it is necessary to affiliate it. Positioning them prominently on the homepage increases the business’ credibility.
• Lack of Reviews- Majority of the users rely upon online reviews before converting the search into a purchase. Reviews are crucial not only for Google Reviews but also for SEO.

5.No Website Analytics:

The success of an SEO campaign depends on how effectively it is getting tracked. Right tracking and analytics offer insight into the following:

• The amount of unique and repetitive visitors on the site.
• The geographical location of the users.
• Web pages’ bounce rate
• Web pages’ exit rate
• The amount of time spent on the website.
• The type of searches conducted- branded and non-branded.
• Goal path of the visitors

To avoid the above-discussed mistakes, an SEO audit needs to be done. It provides a clear picture of the website’s SEO campaign and what steps need to be taken in the future. It will help in improving the business’s bottom line.