What Are Your Biggest SEO Mistakes?

Are you guilty of any of these SEO mistakes? Click To Tweet

As a blogger, you know you need to get traffic to your website, and you even know search engine optimization (SEO) is important. But you are still making SEO mistakes that cost you traffic, money, and stress. Web page optimization is vital if you want to land on the first few pages of Google, so read on for your biggest SEO mistakes and how to fix them.

Not Adding Quality Articles to Your Website

The number one most important thing search engines look for is quality articles that provide the information readers are looking for. Search engines are solving problems for their readers, so they aren’t going to recommend low quality posts. Those posts can be filled with keywords, but if they are poorly written, Google is going to know.

How to fix this SEO mistake

Add only good quality content to your website. Ensure that it’s somewhat unique (so, no copying from other sites), with decent grammar. Avoid content mills if you are outsourcing your writing; this will cost you more but will likely result in more conversions.

Not Doing Keyword Research

You think you know what keywords are going to give you the best web page optimization, but not checking is one of the biggest SEO mistakes. You need to understand what your readers might be searching for, then do the keyword research, and then write your article.

How to fix this SEO mistake

Use a keyword tool to find highly sought after longtail keywords. We like to use Google Trends, LSI Keyword Generator (Latent Semantic Indexing),  and Moz Keyword Explorer.

Optimizing the Wrong Keywords

It’s important to find the right keywords for your articles. Using generic keywords that aren’t showing what problem your article is solving for readers isn’t going to increase your page ranking. Additionally, using highly used global keywords isn’t going to help your page views.

How to fix this SEO mistake

research your audience and the relevant keywords. If you are a local company, add your location to the keywords, which will automatically give you much less competition for your search. For example, if you are a New York food blogger, you will get more hits for Happy Hour but Queens Happy Hour will get better hits with less competition. It’s also much more likely that’s what your readers would be searching for.

Not Using Longtail Keywords

It’s easy to use a short keyword and consider your SEO done, but longtail keywords will get you higher quality page views.

How to fix this SEO mistake

Using the keyword tools above, find a couple of longtail keywords in your niche and write your article with a focus on getting those keywords to 1-2%. Think about what pain points your article is solving and then research keywords. Your reader is unlikely to search only “diners” when they are looking for somewhere to eat. A better choice would be “New York 24 hour diners in Manhattan”. Using very specific longtail keywords will make you land on the first page of Google much faster than using generic, short keywords.

Stuffing Your Posts With Keywords

Before algorithms were created to fix this problem, keyword stuffing was an acceptable way to land on page 1 of Google. Unsavory bloggers even created lists of keywords and then posted them in the same text color as the page color (so readers couldn’t see them), making it seem as though there was much more content on the page than there actually was. Fortunately for anyone who searches for anything on a search engine, the algorithms fixed this problem. Search engines now look for the posts that solve readers problems in the best way, so keyword stuffing is much less effective.

How to fix this SEO mistake

This is one of the SEO mistakes that’s fairly simple to resolve. Do your research, find relevant keywords, and use them in 1-2% of your words. Anything more than 2% is a flag for search engines.

Not Tracking Conversions

If you don’t track conversions, you won’t know what is working and what isn’t.

How to fix this SEO mistake

Track conversions through Google Analytics. Check to see what phrases are bringing readers in so you can focus on that type of content. Google Analytics is available for your WordPress website through a plugin.

Not Adding Quality Links

Internal and external links can help your SEO ranking, but it’s important to link quality articles to yours. Poor quality links can hurt your status, so ensure you check all the links before publishing your articles.

How to fix this SEO mistake

Check all links before you post them on your website. Don’t link any posts that may contain banned content, such as gambling, adult, or pharmacy websites.

Not Creating Linkable Articles

Backlinking (a link back to your website) shows search engines you are an expert in your chosen subject matter. Every link you get back to your website helps your ranking, so creating articles that are easy to link is valuable for your status. This is one of the SEO mistakes that may be created by bloggers who don’t share their content on social media.  

How to fix this SEO mistake

Create link worthy articles so people can share them on their own websites or on social media. Articles that are listicles do particularly well for this, as do tutorials and infographics. You can also guest post on other websites that allow you to link back to your own website to avoid these SEO mistakes.

Not Installing Yoast

The Yoast plugin for WordPress is an essential installation for most bloggers. It gives you feedback on your chosen keyword and specific options to resolve them.

How to fix this SEO mistake

Installing Yoast on your WordPress website is as simple as installing a plugin. There is a free version and paid version available.

Worrying too Much About Getting all Green Dots in Yoast

As vital as Yoast is, it’s more important to remember that it’s only a tool. If you are so concerned with getting all of the dots green, you may substitute quality for the green dots.

How to fix this SEO mistake

Consider using Yoast as a tool rather than an exam you want to pass. Check out the feedback and utilize it to the best of your ability - without sacrificing the quality of your article.

Are You Guilty of Any of These SEO Mistakes?

As more websites are created, there is more and more competition for readers. Resolving and optimizing your articles will help you avoid SEO mistakes that can cost you readers and income. What are the SEO mistakes you are guilty of and what are you going to do to resolve it?

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