To get more visitors to your website, you’ll need to get to the top of Google rankings (a.k.a., search engine results page, SERP). You can’t expect to get there without doing some search engine optimization (SEO). While doing this, there are some common mistakes you need to avoid.
Keyword Stuffing
Initially, search engine rankings were based on keyword density. This led many people to cram as many keywords into their copy as possible. While this worked for a while, Google ranking got smart and has cracked down against keyword stuffing since then.
Today’s SEO is quite complex. Algorithms know when you’ve created robust, high-quality content for your website and when you’re just stuffing keywords into it. When they find websites that are keyword stuffing they’ll knock them down in the SERPs. This is why you must write quality content today. While keywords remain important, their importance has decreased. Now there’s more focus on writing that’s natural and answers users’ questions. This writing is rewarded by higher Google rankings.
Using H Tags Improperly
Doing good SEO makes it easier for bots to scan your page and quickly discover what it’s about. This means you should make proper use of H tags (your content’s various headings). Each tag is coded differently to help Google understand what the different parts of your page are about. This is why you want to organize your text’s body using (H1, H2, H3, and so on). These tags won’t only give your SEO a boost in Google rankings but they’ll also make the content easier for your viewers to read.
Mobile Friendliness
Search engines exist mainly to provide you with the best information in a user-friendly format. This is why it’s so important to have great content. However, you also need to ensure that your website is user-friendly.
Today, if you look around, you’ll see that almost everyone is on their smartphone. Many of these people are using their smartphones to surf the web. Google recognizes these facts too. Therefore they aim to provide them with a better experience by rewarding websites that have a mobile-friendly design. If you’ve built your website so it looks good on a desktop, now is the time to revisit this design to ensure that it also works seamlessly on mobile. Doing so will help your website move up higher in Google rankings.
Broken Links
When you think about links, you probably recognize that they’re a great way to cite the sources you’ve used in your content and lead your visitors to the next stage in the buyer’s journey. While they’re good for these things, they’re also vital for your SEO. Google follows your website’s links for a few different reasons. These include:
- To determine credibility Google looks at your SEO equity. Obtaining links from other high-equity websites helps give you a boost in the SERPs. Therefore you should opt for links from places like Harvard’s archives instead of sites like Wikipedia.
- To find related content Google follows your links to find new related content. Therefore you should link to your other content.
Unfortunately, links do change. Sometimes this is because pages are deleted or moved. When this happens, your links become broken. Once the server recognizes that you’re trying to go to an inoperable or broken link you’ll receive a “404 error.” Eventually, Google will see this, and it’ll hurt your Google rankings. Therefore it’s important to set a 301 redirect whenever you come across any broken links on your site.
Remember to always check your links and make sure that none of them are broken. This isn’t difficult to do and it does make a big difference in your SEO. It can even help you move to the top of the SERPs.
Saying ‘Good Enough’
You can’t optimize it and forget it. This is an ongoing process since algorithms change continuously. To rank highly you must consistently improve your website based on current information. “Good enough” isn’t ever something you should say here. Since this takes a lot of time and effort, you should reach out to us here at the Local SEO Tampa Company in Tampa Bay, FL. We’ll help you address any issues that are preventing you from having a high Google ranking so contact us today.