9 Common SEO Mistakes Small Businesses Should Avoid

Common SEO Mistakes Small Businesses Make and How to Avoid Them

SEO is the backbone of business marketing. Almost every businessman has SEO strategies for website promotion but not all reap the desired results. SEO might seem like a simple topic but it gets complex as we dive in since it keeps evolving.

We at LBN have had the privilege of working with hundreds of local businesses in promoting them online, and SEO is one of the primary services they come to us for. In our experience we’ve come across a handful of beginner mistakes many businesses make when it comes to SEO, avoiding which would have given them a head start. So we consolidated the 9 most common ones, for the DIY entrepreneurs out there.

Not tracking the Index status

The internet has trillions of web pages out in the public, and the only way Google could keep track of them and rank the right ones in the SERPs is through indexing. Though it’s rudimentary to be included in Google’s index to show up in any Google search, many website owners still don’t think to track the index status of their website regularly.

We’ve seen many small business websites go on for months/years not being indexed by Google, wondering all the while why they were not showing up in the SERPs until we came along.

Obsession with Keywords

Google is moving away from keywords and towards “answers” with every passing day, and most website owners, even the experienced and the knowledgeable, are sadly still obsessed with keywords.

Though many webmasters refuse to see the change for what it is, the signs have always been out in the open. Google’s 2019 rollout of the BERT algorithm is an obvious sign that keywords are much less relevant than the intent behind the search queries.

The beginner mistake in this category is the particular obsession towards what is called “generic keywords” (think of a local car insurance company wanting to rank for the keyword “insurance”). Google is moving more and more towards conversational search, and the search queries are becoming more and more “long tail”.

Most webmasters won’t want to invest their time in these long tail keywords because they don’t have the desirable “search demand”. The interesting thing is, though, that the real content ideas are in the long-tail search queries.

The solution to this problem is to look for the intent behind the search queries, instead of obsessing over keywords and their rankings.

Obsession with the Top Spot

This is again an age-old obsession carried by beginners and veterans alike, but this is a critical beginner mistake because, due to all the hype around the top spot, they’re compelled to start on the wrong foot.

The “10 blue links” in the SERPs are long gone, and the top spots are often occupied by one or more of Google’s own “rich snippet” results. In some cases, ranking in the #1 position doesn’t even guarantee clicks.

The solution is to optimize your pages for these rich snippet results, by answering your customers’ needs and problems through content and by adding structured data markup to your pages.

Also Read: Step-by-step Guide for Creating Schema Markup

Not Enough Research

The content on your website is the selling point and it needs to be clear. But you just cannot keep rambling about your product or service and get into the technicalities of it.

Define a goal and keep the content relevant to it. Search engines fail to recognize disorganized content which makes the site hard to index.

Market research and target audience research are vital for creating the right type of content. Knowing the target audience will give you an idea of what they want to see on your website. You can later collect relevant data and create captivating content. Regular monitoring of the content along with updates will give your website the status of an evergreen site.

Ignoring the Importance of Site Speed

To keep your site or page in the search results, it has to load fast. People tend to lose interest with a long waiting time. The faster the page loads, the more the search engine favours it. Anything more than 2 seconds is considered too long by Google with the company aiming for half a second for its pages.

Using Google Page Speed Insights can help you find the areas on which you should focus for increased site speed. For example, you might have to optimize the images on your site or reduce the number of plugins.

Less is more when it comes to site speed but you should make sure you deliver good content which loads fast.

Not Aiming for a Mobile-First Experience

SEO might be primarily about keywords but it is also about user experience. Almost 50% of all website traffic comes from mobile phones and it would be a grave mistake to ignore mobile traffic.

Mobile-friendly websites are already a thing of the past, and the search world is revolving around “mobile-first” websites. Yet, we keep coming across many websites that only work on desktops. Sure, it costs money and time to go “mobile-first”, but if you consider the opportunity cost, there’s so much potential revenue a business website has to lose out on simply by ignoring mobile devices.

Google prefers mobile-first indexing and hence websites that offer a smooth mobile experience have a higher chance of ranking better in the search engine. If you want better organic traffic for your website, make sure that you focus enough on mobile-friendly design and Page Speed.

Buying Backlinks

Backlinks deserve a place in every marketing strategy but buying backlinks will only get you penalties. The quality of the backlinks is more important than the quantity.

Google devalues the sites that sell links and hence buying links does not boost your rankings. You should instead try to link back to quality sites with solid reputations. Hiring an SEO company can help you acquire these rank-boosting backlinks from relevant websites without breaking any rules.

Being Content with Just Text on Your Website

Quality content along with good SEO strategies assure the success of the website – but, what is quality content?

Usually, we go with creating content that is relevant to our products or services and most of it is educational for the reader. In this process, the mistake most people make is that they choose a text format for all of the content.

Text format is the best type for content but it isn’t the only one. There are other content formats like videos, infographics, podcasts, and more that you should consider. The perfect mix of text with all these content formats will help you rank better in the SERPs.

Videos are currently the most preferred content format. Creating interesting videos with relevant content can increase organic traffic to your website.

The Solo-SEO Strategy

SEO is the holy grail of website traffic, no doubt, but most beginners mistake it for the only marketing strategy. The truth is, that SEO should never be the only ingredient in your digital marketing strategy. SEO works best when it is complemented with other marketing efforts, particularly social media and email marketing.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can I check if my website is indexed by Google?

Use Google Search Console to monitor and track your website’s index status.

2. What’s more important: keywords or user intent?

User intent is more important. Focus on answering user questions and providing solutions.

3. How does site speed affect SEO?

A faster site improves user experience and can help boost your rankings in search results.

4. Why is mobile-first indexing important?

Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites for ranking, so a mobile-optimized site improves visibility.

5. Is buying backlinks a good SEO strategy?

No, buying backlinks can result in penalties. Focus on earning quality backlinks naturally.

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vorbelutr ioperbir

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9 Beginner Mistakes Most Small Businesses Make in SEO