Everyone wants traffic. Especially free traffic. Ranking well in the search engines can get you great exposure for a long time to come without the need to constantly fight for business.
But few out of the Millions of sites that are out there manage to capture the huge amount of targeted web searches properly.
But …
Did you know that a huge percentage of sites do not rank well due to shortsighted SEO strategies?
Here are 7 common SEO mistakes that can hurt you substantially:
1) Being too pushy
Google never rewards aggressive behavior. Steady growth however is being appreciated. If you have to show aggressing, try passive aggression.
Remember: You are not trying to fight Google. You are trying to fight your competition.
So don´t make Google your enemy. Google is the referee. Usually right, but sometimes wrong.
But as long as you show respect to the referee, you shouldn´t have any problems. Follow their advice and do a good job.
2) Keyword stuffing
Include important keyterms, but don´t repeatedly use them without making sense. Write naturally. Know the terms that you are after. Then write about it in your own style. Google knows what you content is about without you having to remind them so much, they refuse to hear anything about it.
3) Aggressive link building
Have you ever heard some people without a good reputation praise someone making you believe this person shouldn’t be trusted based on association?
Google feels the same.
4) Not writing natural
One of the biggest mistakes is to target a few top keywords and then find clumsy ways to write sentences around them. The truth is that you are much better off writing a lot and writing natural.
When you write natural, you are naturally bound to include a high number of off-beat phrases surrounding your targeted top keyterms. Those phrases individually speaking are not likely to get a lot of searches and maye 30-40 total a month will show up for the top ones in your stats. But the more you write naturally, the higher this amount will become.
You are not going to make a huge impact quickly by going for the high-traffic terms. But a lot of valid content is likely to create search engine terms that will on a combined level add up to a good amount of not only traffic, but oftentimes HIGHLY TARGETED traffic from people who know exactly what you want finding exactly what you have.
5) Ignoring individual products
Did you know that some of the very best traffic comes from people searching for specific products that you carry?
So why don´t you get more buyers?
The reason is simply:
Just as demonstrated in mistake number 4, many website owners are overlooking the power of quantity. Each product page should have at least 300 words describing the product, if possible in your own words.
Hire an employee to do that for you. Someone who knows the products. You can add some generic descriptions from the manufacturer and a review from a customer if you like.
If someone searches for a specific product on the search engine and happens to find that product on your page, you have almost a guaranteed buyer if the price is right. So don´t be too generic in your focus. See what you already offer and then spend your time targeting specific products while working towards the toughter keywords which will carry a higher amount of traffic in the future.
6) Bad structure, broken links, duplicate content
The tech aspect behind solid SEO is to think as a visitor would. There has to be a solid flow of content.
The moment links wind up dead, slow loading speed hinders potential clients from viewing products and the overall website visiting experience is less than satisfactory, search engine giant Google will take notice that your site might not be what their users expect when typing in keywords that would fit your inventory.
Be a perfectionist this once.
After your site is built and fully functional, you can take a break and focus on the marketing aspects …
knowing that your efforts will not be wasted by an uphill battle against shortsighted approaches trying to save a little money and building a skyscraper on a shaky foundation.
This is a one time undertaking where all mistakes have to be avoided at any cost.
7) Missing out on opportunities out of laziness or not making the time
Having redesigned a lot of sites myself, I have learned that this is the most important factor when it comes to making sure that you are ready to go.
If you don´t invest time, some money and/or effort, you might as well include a redesign budget for the upcoming quarter of your business already.
Having said this:
I have personally parttaken in the redesign of many sites and realized how crucial it is to:
a) Hire a designer who designs your site with the search engines in mind
Without it, you will struggle and miss out on business. I have also seen designers intentionally hinder search engines from properly crawling your sites. Some do that in order to see you their SEO services or PPC campaigns at a later time when you realize you have a beautiful online store that nobody goes to.
If you have a great designer with a proven track record to build sites that perform well, then you have the power.
If you do not know of one, make sure you find him or her.
Don´t pick the next best designer based on price and look of their sites alone. Inquire how well their sites are doing in Google and if you can feel comfortable leaving the future of your business in their hands, then give it a go.
b) Hire a professional SEO consultant to ensure that you are going to rank on search engines
This person needs to have a proven track record as well. If you are looking for one who can guarantee you success, continue here.
c) Do your homework and learn on your own
You can do so from this blog or whatever other good sources you choose to get your information from.
Never leave your SEO future up to chance.
