So you decided you’re going to go for it: you want to delve in and concentrate on improving your company’s online traffic strategy. You begin your journey by doing some keyword research, optimizing your website with links and producing copious amounts of content for your blog. A couple of months go by and you’re still at the same stage as when you started.
Now what?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a tricky process – and that’s an understatement. There are many tricks of the trade that can organically boost – and decrease – your SEO rankings, so it’s important to understand the basics and commit to the long haul of SEO mastery as it will continue to change…and change…and change.
Here are 6 mistakes to avoid getting you on Google’s SEO naughty list:
- Producing Irrelevant Content
In terms of website content, it’s important to have concise information that addresses a keyword or topic. Search engines aim to serve the most relevant information to users, so having a post that goes off on erroneous tangents is going to diminish your ranking.
- Failing to Proofread
Along with the previous topic, your content needs to be stripped and proofed of errors. Credibility is key here – amongst users and search engines combined. Having content that says “Let’s eat Grandpa,” when you meant to say “Let’s eat, Grandpa,” may raise a few eyebrows and halt website traffic.
- Not Allowing for Content Breaks
The average attention span of a reader is about 8 seconds long, so pat yourself on the back for making it this far in the article. If your content is text-heavy, break it up with info-graphics, photographs and subject heads to keep readers engaged. The longer users stay on a page, the stronger the SEO results.
- Not Using Links
Inbound, internal and outbound links are all good for SEO and reader engagement. Using outbound links is also important for SEO because it adds credibility to your content. Numerous studies, including this one conducted by Reboot Marketing, have shown that outbound links create SEO appeal with various search engines (see what we did there?).
- Forgetting Calls-to-Action
This isn’t as much of an SEO issue, but it does make a difference in the effectiveness of your content, especially in terms of customer conversion. Make sure the call-to-action is clear and enticing. You can even work them into the meta information, which may have a positive impact on SEO.
- Unsocial on Social Media
Even the best content can go unnoticed by search engines and consumers if it is not shared. Use your social media channels to share content, blog posts and news stories. This keeps followers engaged and will organically increase site visits.
SEO strategies can be difficult to implement since they require time and commitment. For more information about how to optimize your website and blog content, contact Red Mallard today for a free marketing consultation.
