one single mistake of the following list of 5 SEO mistakes to avoid, could lead to a huge loss in your website traffic. and affects your website in a negative way.
1. Not Knowing Your Audience and Their Search Intent
Search engine optimization is the key to the success of many businesses today. However, you will struggle to enjoy the benefits of this great tool if you do not understand your target audience as well as their search intent. The fundamental goal of search engine optimization is to help algorithms of search engines connect users to the most accurate, updated, and relevant information, irrespective of what they search for.
The rankings of search engines such as Google favor sites that meet the search intent of users. One common mistake that many businesses make is failing to understand their audience. You need to understand your target audience so that you can gear your SEO efforts towards bringing them to the specific channel you want them to go to. Knowing your audience will help you to customize your content to suit their search intent, regardless of what they are in the market for, whether it is to sell, invest, buy, or learn.
2. Ignoring Mobile Traffic
One major mistake that many businesses make that you should avoid is ignoring mobile traffic. Many website owners think SEO is just about keywords and content. Search engine optimization is much more than that. It goes beyond keywords, headings, meta descriptions, and more. It involves the entire experience of the site and how friendly it is.
When optimizing your website, you should not overlook mobile phone users. According to data from Statista, 54.8% of global web traffic is from mobile devices. If the mobile search is not a part of your search engine optimization strategy or your site is not mobile-friendly, you are losing a lot of money.
Today, most people access the web through their smartphones, and not optimizing your website or content for mobile users will make you lose a lot of traffic. For your website to be mobile-friendly gain organic traffic from mobile devices, it needs to be responsive. It also needs to have a quick load time, less than three seconds. You should not overlook mobile traffic, as it would be one of your greatest traffic sources.
3. Buying Backlinks
Backlinks are one of the key factors Google and other search engines uses to rank websites. However, Google can penalize your website if you buy backlinks to increase your site’s rankings. Getting a penalty will not only mean a waste of money but you will also ruin your chance of ranking higher on search engines. Google also stated that many websites that sell links do not increase your rankings. Most link sellers and builders have the same list of websites that they sell, and Google also has this list, which makes it easy to track and block.
Even if your website has not been penalized yet, that does not mean you can escape it, except you reverse your shady doings. To avoid losing your chances of ranking higher on search engines, you should not make the mistake of buying backlinks.
4. Failing to Have an SEO Gameplan
No one sets out on a journey without knowing or having the map and knowing what the aim of the journey is. There is no need to understand your audience if after getting the right information you are going to take a random or little action.
If you want to rank higher on search engines, increased conversion rates, and boost your sales, you need to have a concrete game plan and a strategy to actualize it. Without having an SEO strategy, you will not be able to achieve your goals.
To build an effective plan, you need to study your rivals and their metrics including their keywords, content, performance, and ranking. You need to study their strategy so that you can create one that can outperform theirs. Fortunately, Rank Era is here to help you with that. We can help you to study and gauge your competitors to create a highly effective SEO strategy that will put you ahead of your competitors.
5. Not Paying Attention to Analytics
Search engine optimization is not only about driving organic traffic to your website. It also involves getting high conversion rates and boosting sales. Most times, many businesses put all their attention on keywords with high traffic when there are keywords with low traffic that can yield better results and higher conversion rates.
However, you cannot tell the effectiveness of your SEO efforts unless you analyze and track the figures. Before you make any decision, you need to consult the figures. Paying attention to analytics will help you know what is working and what is not.
Green SEM is here to guide you through your SEO journey and make sure you do not make any mistakes that will jeopardize your chances of making first-page appearances on search engines. We play by the rules and know the right principles to apply to help you rank higher.
