Implementing a good SEO campaign is an important part of Internet marketing. Many new marketers start out confused by the conflicting information online. Attempting to navigate SEO without any foundation can lead to missteps. Even people who know what they are doing can make mistakes. Here are 10 of the most common mistakes people make in an SEO campaign and some advice on how to self-correct them.
1. Not doing keyword research
Keyword research can be very simple- but you need to use the right tool and not choose words randomly. The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is free and easy to use.
2. Listening to EVERYBODY
There will always be new tricks and techniques aimed at pushing your SEO strategy forward, but you can’t let yourself become distracted. Stay the course with your strategy and give it time. That being said, another problem is…
3. Being too rigid
When you first come up with your SEO campaign, don’t just go with the advice you hear most. Sometimes it is the most creative strategy that works best. For example, a massage therapist can use keywords for back problems, which will attract clients looking for relief who may not have considered massage therapy.
4. Skimping on title tags
Don’t take the easy way out by using the title tags assigned to your pages, like ‘Welcome’ and ‘About Us.’ Instead use strong keywords on the title tags to identify yourself to search engines. There are SEO software programs that can help you with Meta tags also.
5. Ignoring social media
Social media is too important to dismiss. Get a Facebook business page, open a Twitter account, and create a Google+ profile. Then maintain them- you want people to ‘Like’ your page, ‘Follow’ your business and Share your posts.
6. Skimping on content
Invest in good quality content that helps your customer or client because you want to build yourself as the expert in your niche. Then update your site with unique content on a regular basis to keep the attention of the search engines.
7. Not linking to the best page
It takes time to create backlinks so you need to make the most of them. You want traffic to be directed to the page where you most need them to land, which isn’t always your home page.
8. Dismissing ALT attribute
Don’t leave the ALT tag empty! There’s no excuse not to describe images and videos or to leave taglines blank. It just takes a minute to make the most of them with the appropriate keywords.
9. Relying on free website options
Obviously choosing a site with a free domain for your website can save you money, especially when just starting out. However, you are building a history with the search engines from the very beginning. If you move to a paid site- which you most likely will- you risk having to start over become most free sites don’t allow you to redirect traffic. Bluehost is reasonable and WordPress is free.
10. Not claiming Google+ Local page
Claiming your business page is free. Optimize it to increase your search engine ranking and bring more traffic to your site. Google+ can help build your brand in many ways also.
These common mistakes are easy to correct. Take the time to do it now and you will be ahead of the game on your next campaign. Did you make a mistake when first starting out with SEO- and what was it?
Edwin is an avid marketer and writer currently working at web design Toronto firm 9th sphere – An award winning company specializing in online marketing and web design in Toronto. Edwin has a passion for great design and helping businesses succeed.
Aw..you got me Edwin.
I have totally been neglecting social media and I am paying dearly for it now.
I was using it when Twitter was just getting started, but never felt that there was a payoff.
Regardless, Panda, Penguin, and EMD updates have shown me the importance of doing otherwise…
Great article.
Mark
Totally agree with all your points. Social media has grown so much that we may safely categorize it as a developed form of marketing genre. And CTA is not always on the homepage of a website. So instead of directing traffic to our homepage and converting a few visitors, we might as well direct them to our CTA page where there’s a much higher chance of conversion.
Nice Post, Edwin. The biggest one that many small business owners fall prey to is the “FREE” option. Even a template that’s free can end up crushing your business when you find out there’s an exploit coded into the back end, I’ve seen it happen to good people. The social media thing, yeah I’m guilty.
I had started with a free website, thinking I’d got the better of my competitors in terms of investment. And then I applied the little knowledge I had of SEO to the website, with no visible progress at all! The only positive point was the drawback of the free website of redirecting traffic to my new paid website wasn’t applicable to me, since I had no traffic at all.
Great post.The ten points discussed are quite helpful and I was not aware of them.I also agree with you jack that instead of directing traffic to our homepage and converting a few visitors it is better if we direct them to our CTA page where there is a much higher chance of conversion.After reading them it has given me some valuable knowledge which will definitely help me in the long run.
Awesome tips! But I don’t think that listening to everybody is a mistake but doing everything you listen is a mistake.
Great post Edwin! I just wanted to add my two cents…You must not neglect good content that uses key words and key phrases that is written for the user first and then for SEO. I often see it done the other way around and that website loses me real quick.
One other thing…on your comment about Title Tags,I just recently seen a great site that is a competitor of one of my clients, I right clicked view source and they had as a Home Page Home Page
Bad SEO
This is a great post which is great to keep in mind in order to bolster online presence. Thanks for the post.
I like your point on social media. Today, a good SEO strategy is incomplete without a social component, and a good social media strategy contributes to your SEO initiative. Be it Facebook or Twitter, to market your business in this competitive market place, you need to have a strong hold on social media sites especially you tube. Great points covered by you Edwin!
Thanks for your insight David. You are right, it’s hard for businesses to maintain a website, let alone a social media profile. Let’s hope more and more businesses will jump on the bandwagon. It will help a ton for branding as well as crm