Search engines are intelligent tools that can sift relevant content according to a search query. Search engine algorithms are designed to apply specific guidelines, and failure to follow them can mean you will suffer poor ranking on search results. In that light, you’ll boost your online marketing efforts by learning Google search engine guidelines. Besides, Google guidelines are revised occasionally, so do your best to always be up to date with all revisions.
For many business owners, establishing an effective SEO content strategy is a path they’ve never walked through before. However, this should not be a hindrance to your online marketing efforts. You can partner with SEO service providers or deploy an SEO content planning tool to make your work easy.
Before starting your SEO marketing efforts, there are mistakes that you need to avoid. Here is a list of them:
1. Wrong Choice Of Keywords
Quality and relevant content are essential. However, that isn’t enough. You should beef your content with relevant keywords that your potential customers are likely to use when searching for your products. Ignoring the importance of having keywords in your content can hurt the ranking of your content on the search engine results pages (SERPs). One of the criteria that search engines use to rank websites, online shops, blogs, or ads is the keywords used.
If there are no keywords in your content, your website will be invisible. Therefore, take a few minutes to think about the keywords. On the other hand, keyword research tools would greatly help you. Professional keyword tools include Google Console, SEMrush, Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, among others.
The best tools can help you get targeted keywords, such as geographical keywords for products or services in a particular region. Use words with the highest search volume and low competition. Once you’ve developed a good keyword list for your content, please include them in your title, subtitles, and on the content.
2. Duplicate Content
Content writing is a skill like good academic writing. Just as academic writing detests plagiarism, search engines penalize content duplication. Thus, take your time to write original content for your website or blogs. When you lift content from another website without writing it in your own words, it hurts your SEO effectiveness. In addition, avoid having two pages on your website with similar content, as they’ll compete for the attention of Google’s algorithms and create unhealthy competition on your website.
3. Lack Of Meta Descriptions And Title Tags
Well-structured content will have a title, subtitles, and body. In addition, Google demands that you write a meta description that summarizes what is in your blog. To bring your content upwards on the search results, Google will scan it to see if you have all these segments in your content. Finally, there are specific styles in which you should write your titles and subtitles. Thus, ensure that you’re familiar with all that.
4. Delays In Page Loading
On average, a page should take about three seconds to load. Beyond that, it’s regarded as a slow page. Some of the factors that may cause slowness on your pages are bulky files, excessive redirections, inefficient code, and too many plug-ins. Slow pages lead to impatience with your visitors.
On the same note, a slow page may increase the bounce-back rate. According to Google, a link that experiences an increased bounce rate is flagged as a low priority site, thus hurting its performance. Google monitors the time visitors take on your website to rank it.
5. Outdated Content And Website
It’s always essential to audit your content to boost its performance online. For instance, occasionally review your content to ensure it’s still relevant. In addition, you may consider rewriting your pages to ensure that they correspond with what people are searching for. Still, on that point, write content about trending issues on your blogs to boost organic leads. Moreover, the keywords that consumers are now using might have evolved. As a result, update your content with current keywords using keyword tools.
In addition, work on your website’s general appearance to increase its appeal and user experience. Make your website easy to navigate from one page to another. For instance, you can link all your pages to the homepage. Finally, ensure that your website is well optimized to support mobile device use.
Final Thoughts
If you want to improve your visibility online significantly, you can’t afford to ignore the importance of good marketing strategies. Your content is vital as it carries the weight of your SEO strategies. However, you have to plan your content according to the guidelines and regulations of search engines. If your website has suffered poor ranking on search results, you may have been making the mistakes listed in this article, so be quick to avoid them.
