As the number of online businesses increase, getting on top of search rankings becomes tougher than ever. While businesses struggle to beat the competition in the race, the challenge increases because of the changing search algorithms of Google. Marketers need to stay on their toes to beat the competition as well as align with the algorithmic changes.
In such circumstances, even the smallest of mistakes can have far-reaching implications on the rankings. Consequently, businesses fall at the risk of losing their traffic and conversions.
Therefore, it is better to know about these mistakes so that you can avoid them and minimize the risks of declining rankings.
Here are some common mistakes that you should absolutely avoid in 2019.
#1. Not focusing on the right search keywords
Optimizing your website for ranking on search engines is all about using the right keywords that can fetch you a position on the top. One of the biggest mistakes that marketers make is not choosing the right ones to target. A lot of research goes into finding the ones that the users are most likely to search while looking for the products and services on the web. The idea is to understand the buyer’s mindset and have the site content enriched with long-tailed keywords which perfectly match their search queries. You can use some handy keywords analysis tools to find the ones that would work.
#2. Stuffing keywords beyond optimal density
While optimizing your website’s content with the right keywords is important, stuffing them beyond the optimal density can be disastrous. If you think that having keywords in every single sentence will fetch you results, you are mistaken. Going overboard with keyword density makes the content spammy for search engines and has a detrimental impact on your SEO strategy. Ensure that your content has optimal keyword density and they are placed naturally because you cannot outsmart Google, however smart you may be.
#3. Not serving informative and genuine content
No matter whichever SEO strategy you try, nothing matches the value of rich and informative content when it comes to bringing results. Whether it is about the content on your website, blog or off-page links, you will not gain unless it is all relevant and informative. Another content-related parameter that you should ensure is its authenticity. Google is quick at recognizing plagiarized content and will penalize your site if it finds you guilty of posting copied content anywhere. So you should be very careful about serving quality content that is genuine and caters true value to your audience.
#4. Ignoring the standards of link building
When you want to popularize your business on the internet, link building is the strategy that you should start with. Not following the standards and best practices for building links is an error that can be bad for your online visibility. What really matters is choosing the right mix of anchor texts to bring diversity in link building. Adam White from SEOJet explains that local businesses doing SEO often make the mistake of including a city name in their anchor text when they do link building. This is one of the practices that you should avoid.
#5. Not paying attention to your site’s speed
You may be having the best content and all the keywords done right but Google will push you far behind if your site lacks on the performance front. Not paying attention to your site’s loading speed damages it in more than one way. Firstly, it hampers the user experience and forces the buyer to leave the site because of the poor user experience. Secondly, it has a bad impact on your SEO rankings as well because Google does not consider the sites with poor UX for the top positions on its search rankings. The solution lies in optimizing your site’s speed so that it loads faster and delivers an excellent UX.
#6. Not ensuring mobile responsiveness
As mobile becomes the mainstay of internet shopping in 2019, responsiveness is something that you cannot ignore at any cost. A website that does not render seamless experiences on mobile devices will lose its customers for good. At the same time, Google’s new algorithm prioritizes the websites that are mobile-friendly. Not considering smooth mobile experiences for your audience can jeopardize your rankings, which means that you may not even be visible on the first page of Google search.
#7. Not leveraging the power of guest blogging
Getting results with SEO is far more complicated than combining on-page optimization with off-page link building. Unless you have a diverse link profile and an authoritative presence, success will be elusive. This means that you must include guest blogging within your link building strategy in 2019. Posting content on niche-relevant, high DA sites will fetch you authority links which Google takes into consideration while allocating search rankings. This automatically makes your chances of reaching the top much brighter.
#8. Treating SEO as a one-time task
SEO is a continuous task as you have to keep pace with the ongoing trends and changing algorithms to be successful. In 2019, you cannot afford to ignore voice searches and mobility as they are perhaps the biggest trends on the digital scenario. Periodic site audits and a continuous vigil on the site’s performance are also important. Also, those who fail to refresh the content and provide relevant and latest information will lose on the ranking front. Therefore, you should consider working on your SEO strategy consistently rather than making it just a one-time effort.
Overall, you should consider building a robust and performance oriented digital strategy that combines SEO with social marketing to fetch tangible results. Social has a dominant role to play and you need to ensure a strong presence on these channels to support the SEO plan as well. Having an expert SEO partner to handle the entire aspects reliably is the best approach for any business. Unless you have a team that is keeping a watch on your website, you are not likely to sustain and succeed with a only basic SEO plan in 2019.
