Top 10 SEO Mistakes / Pitfalls

TIPS

Search Engine Optimization is a very hot topic at the moment. After all, everybody wants to rank higher and come up on the first page of Google search and get more traffic. We have researched and identified some of the common mistakes and made a list of top 10 SEO practices that people tend to forget quite often. These simple SEO techniques, if practiced properly, can make a significant difference to how your pages are ranked in the search engines.

10. Optimizing for highly competitive keywords.

If you optimise your site for highly competitive keywords, such as “restaurant”, “laptop” and “medicine”, then you are fighting for traffic that all of your competitors are fighting for too. This will be an uphill struggle and will be difficult to gain ground on. It’s much easier to score a top ranking by focusing on less competitive keywords. Just because a keyword or phrase isn’t competitive, doesn’t mean it won’t send traffic. And if it doesn’t send much traffic, that’s not a bad thing, as the traffic it does send will be highly targeted

9. Title Tags

Use your keyphrases in your title tags and in the title of posts. Repeat the phrase in your articles / content. Don’t just have your website address in the title. The title tags should have unique keywords and an extremely brief summary of the page’s content within the first 3 to 6 words. Creating short and descriptive title tags also helps click-through rates from search engines.

8. Images used as headings

Many people think that an image looks better than text for headings and menus. While it can make your site look more distinctive, but in terms of SEO, images for headings and menus are a big mistake because headings, tags and menu links are important for SEO.

7. Concentrating too much on meta tags.

A lot of people seem to think SEO is about getting your meta keywords and description correct. In fact, meta tags are fast becoming obsolete. Google officially acknowledged that it no longer uses keywords meta tags in web rankings, so while you can create your meta keywords and descriptions, but don’t expect to rank well only because of these.

6. No keyword research

Keyword research is a vital part of ranking well in search engines, and using keyword research in tandem with design, is the best way to start off on the right foot. Even doing basic keyword research with Googles keyword tool, can help you target your content and keywords enough, to make a difference in the search engine results pages.

5. Not using ALT tags

If you use any images on your site, then image ALT tags are required. It’s best to use descriptive alt tags that explain what the image is, and what it’s function is. This helps both the user if they cannot see the images, and also provides additional keyword data to search engines.

4. Using too much flash

While flash might give your site a visually appealing advantage, it is not search engine friendly. While google recently added support for searching flash based websites, it is nowhere near being as advanced as searching regular html sites.

3. Lack of keywords

Once you focus on your keywords, include them in your content and anywhere else that makes sense. Having several keywords related to your business, services or products is vital to ranking well in search results pages.

2. Implementing SEO too late.

SEO is most effectively implemented when it is worked on when building your site, before it goes live. Adding it afterwards takes significant time and can result in overlooking elements / areas. It is best to implement proper SEO from the beginning of the project. Additionally, if you’ve been using a CMS for some time, and did not set up perma-links, titles, categories or tags and other elements, it will take a major investment in time to get everything in order.

1. Lack of regulary posted content

If there’s anything that you can do to ensure regular visits from search engine bots, it’s adding regular content to your website. Whether its in the form of writing a blog or something else, adding regular, keyword rich content will help you rank for a variety of keyword terms and will keep the search engine bots coming back for more. Other positive side effects of this are: you will naturally build links, you will have content to share on social media and you will make a positive impression on potential clients that find your content.