Common SEO Mistakes
Posted by Jim Monk on Tue, Sep 27, 2011 @ 09:09 AM
Common SEO Mistakes
As an SEO provider many website owners approach us because
they don’tunderstand why their websites are not performing as well as they could be.
Will and I have seen a number of problems and it’s not only new website owners that can’t understand the fundamentals of SEO. A number of well-established companies with older websites have a worse problem – their sites were never properly optimized from the outset.
Targetting the Right Keywords
Search engine optimization consulting can weed out a number of problems quickly, and one particular SEO solution relates to content and keywords. A major part of the SEO process is targeting the correct keywords.
This may seem simple, but many people don’t approach keyword selection from the perspective of the searcher. Unfortunately once articles have been written around these ineffective keywords, they may have to be completely rewritten, and SEO pricing will have to include the cost of writing new articles.
Keyword Stuffing
Overuse of keywords is something we see often. Articles written with the intent of stuffing as many keywords into them as possible are not reader-friendly, and all the major search engines have become sophisticated enough to detect keyword stuffing and they don’t look kindly on it.
Too Much Flash
Another problem with many older websites is the overuse of Flash and JavaScript. Any content within Flash cannot be read by Google bots, so the use of Flash should be limited and any JavaScript used for navigation purposes replaced so the bots can follow links and give appropriate authority to web pages.
Regular Content is Essential
The search engines want to see regularly added fresh content, and we’re often surprised when approached by a company that has not added any new content in months - consequently the site is plummeting downwards in the rankings or going nowhere. “Fresh” content must be original; another big no-no is adding duplicate content or poor quality articles that are not easy to read. With effective SEO you have to understand the balance between satisfying the reader and keeping the search engines happy.
Make a Site User-Friendly
Some sites that Will and I are asked to look at are badly designed. They may look attractive, but when it comes to navigation they are impossible to get around. If visitors are unable to find what they’re looking for within a few nanoseconds, they’ll leave and go somewhere else.
The Value of Relevant Backlinks
It’s also surprising that many website owners do not understand the value of backlinks. They know they need them, but they don’t understand how important it is to get relevant back links, preferably from sites with high PR rankings. One back link from a relevant PR7 or PR8 site is far more valuable than dozens of backlinks from PR1 or PR0 sites. Many site owners have not even attempted to obtain relevant links, or they have made the mistake of purchasing irrelevant back links from “link farms” – which are frowned upon by all the search engines.
Optimization is Ongoing
SEO marketing trends change, but search engine optimization will always be an ongoing process – it’s not a do it once and forget about it task.
Consulting an SEO provider will be the first step to understanding what‘s going wrong with a website, and any search engine optimization costs will soon be recouped with increased sales due to better ranking.
