It’s not enough to just have a great website, you also need to optimize it for search engines. Google is easily one of the best ways for people to find sites online, so if your site isn’t visible in their results, you’re missing out on traffic and revenue. But the rules of SEO are always changing, making it difficult to stay up-to-date on what you should be doing differently every day. In this guide, you’ll discover 9 SEO mistakes that could kill your ranking – and how to fix them.
Covered Topics
1: Not Enough Content
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not having enough content on your website. Google may actually look at the number of pages on a site when ranking it, so if you don’t have many, you’re going to be at a disadvantage. Make sure you have plenty of high-quality content on your website, including blog posts, articles, and product descriptions. You can also add images and videos for extra value.
2: Duplicate Content
Duplicate content is another big no-no when it comes to SEO. This is content that appears on more than one website, which can cause Google to penalize you in some cases. Make sure all of your content is original and has never been published elsewhere. If you’re reusing content, make sure to change it up so it’s unique.
3: Low-Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are a key part of SEO, but not all backlinks are created equal. Low-quality links can actually hurt your ranking, so it’s important to make sure you’re getting them from reputable sources. Avoid spammy links from websites that are unrelated to yours. Instead, try to get links from authoritative sources within your industry. You can also check the authority of your links with a tool like the Moz da checker.
4: Slow Website
A slow website is another big no-no when it comes to SEO. Google takes page load time into account when ranking websites, so if your site is slow, you’re going to be penalized. Make sure your website is loading quickly by optimizing your images and getting rid of any unnecessary scripts or plugins. You can also use a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify potential problems.
5: Poor Website Structure
A poorly structured website can also hurt your SEO ranking. This is when your website is difficult to navigate or the pages are not properly linked together. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and that all of your pages are linked together properly. You can also use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to make sure your site is optimized for mobile devices.
6: Broken Links
Broken links – or links that lead to 404 pages – are another problem that can hurt your SEO ranking. People who click on these links will see a dead page, so Google is most likely going to place you lower in the results. You’ll want to periodically check all of your internal and external links for broken content. You can use a tool like Screaming Frog to scan your website for broken links.
7: Image Optimization
Optimizing your images can help improve your ranking, as Google takes image optimization into account when ranking websites. Make sure all of your images are properly optimized by using the correct file format and reducing the file size. You can also add keywords to the file name and alt text to help improve your ranking.
8: Title Tags and Descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are also important for SEO. These are the pieces of text that appear in the search engine results, so you want to make sure they’re catchy and keyword-rich. Make sure your title tags and meta descriptions are properly optimized and keyword-rich. You can use a tool like Yoast SEO to help you with this task.
9: No Internal Linking
Internal linking is also important for SEO, but only if done in a smart and natural way. You want to add internal links within your content in order to help people find other pages on your site and improve the overall user experience. Make sure you have plenty of internal links, but only add them in a natural way so it doesn’t look like you’re just trying to get a link from an external source.
