Do you ever wonder why your SEO is failing even after hours spent in making every optimization technique work? Sometimes it is not just what you are not doing, but also what you are doing. Websites fail in SEO because of some fatal mistakes that can totally be taken care by hiring the best SEO consulting services. Here are the 5 most common SEO errors that webmasters make all the time, without knowing that they hurt their website’s Google rankings:
1. Choosing the wrong keywords
Even with the right intentions for your target audience, you can still choose the wrong keywords. The problem with this mistake is that you end up targeting the wrong audience, not to mention, landing search terms that users are less likely to be looking for online. Ideally, your business should provide a solution to people’s needs. This means that your keyword ranking checker should guide you to the search terms that will respond to your target audience according to their needs.
In the choice of keywords, it should not matter so much how you define your products and services to your audience, but rather how people would define and describe them when looking for them online. This will point you towards the value of using long-tail keywords which are more descriptive and better in capturing audience intent than short-tail keywords.
2. Mismatching content and keywords
Even while you can get the best keywords, it matters that they work well with your content. No amount of perfect keywords can sell your product if your content does not blend well with them. The idea is to generate material that that is for your audience more than it is for your rank position.
It is ubiquitous to find website owners that have optimized for multiple keywords in one article without much regard for the quality of their content and its value to the target audience. The keywords you choose can help you rank on top of SERP, but the nature of your material is what will draw more traffic to your website.
3. Low word count
There is obviously a great emphasis on producing high-quality content in matters of SEO. While most people might think they are, the length of their material speaks otherwise. Short-form content is quickly losing popularity in the field of SEO. It matters to Google that your website contains as much information as possible that will provide value to the target audience.
This means that material that does not reach the length of at least 500 words is already losing grip of Google’s SERP. Instead, strive that your content has a word count of around 1000 – 2000 words. However, ensure that the information thereof is worth reading, without too much redundancy and boredom.
Consider this the perfect opportunity for you to use up all your keywords within a copy, without resulting to keywords stuffing which again, is a fatal mistake that not only lowers the user experience of your website but can also attract a heavy penalty from Google and demote your SERP.
4. Flash elements on page
The visual aspect of a website matters a lot. When people visit your site, the first thing they notice is the visual appeal. This means that the design of your website matters to the target audience. Other than that, the font style, font size, colors (of the background and the text), also matter. It also includes the links, ads, and images on your web pages.
The use of any flashy elements can be too disturbing to the viewer, causing them to exit as quickly as they visit your site. They go a long way in lowering your user experience and agitating the audience. In fact, they also play a huge role in slowing down your website. Since you can do without a lot of the junk on your site, why not de-clutter it and make it a safe and attractive space for your visitors to interact?
5. Loading Speed
Talking of speed, the slower your site is, the less traffic you are likely to attract, and the poorer your Google rankings. Any page on your website that takes more than 5 seconds to open is taking way too long. People online want to access information instantaneously, and if the internet connection cannot slow them down, neither should your site.
Use browser caching and enable compression of files and images as a technique to speed up website load time. Ensure also that you get rid of any junk that is not necessary on your site, including sidebars and widgets that require extra load time to open.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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