SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a complex and ever-changing field.
There are so many different aspects to SEO that it can be difficult to keep up with all of the changes.
This post will provide you with 5 SEO mistakes that you must avoid in order to have a better chance at ranking high on Google’s search engine results page (SERP).
There are many SEO mistakes that you can make when marketing your startup.
However, there are a few that stand out as being more common than others.
Here is my list of the 5 SEO mistakes you must avoid:
Not having an XML sitemap
If your website does not have a sitemap, it will be more difficult for search engines to crawl your web pages.
Create an XML Sitemap for your website, and then submit it to Google Search Console.
If you are using WordPress, or any other CMS there are plugins that will generate a sitemap for you, for example Yoast SEO, or RankMath SEO.
Not using keywords in page titles and content
If you are not optimizing your content by adding your keywords to it, it is unlikely that you will increase your search engine ranking.
Make sure that you add relevant keywords to your content, page titles, headings, image alt tags, and so on.
I suggest using an SEO tool that will give you assistance and guidance while optimizing your content.
Using too many keywords on one page
Using too many keywords is known as “keyword spamming”, or “keyword stuffing”.
This is one of the worst things you can do to “cheat” SEO, and you can end up getting a penalty from Google, loosing rankings, increasing bounce rates, and stop users from coming back to your website.
Rather than over loading your content with keywords, simply optimize your content for particular keyword or phrase, and only use keywords where it will look natural.
Linking to irrelevant pages or sites from your site
When creating content for your site, it is crucial that any links you add are relevant to your content, and will help the reader.
If you link to irrelevant pages, users will loose trust in your website, and will not return in the future.
When you link to irrelevant websites, you are creating a “bad link”, and in certain cases that can result in a penalty from Google.
Publishing duplicate content on your site
Keeping a standard to the level of content that you post on your website is also very important.
Stealing content from other websites is a very spammy tactic, and is frowned upon.
Always always always create original content, and never plagiarize.
It will do you more harm than good, and what’s the point of trying to steal someone else’s hard work?
Make sure to avoid these disaster SEO mistakes that will negatively impact your website’s SEO.
Read More: 7-point SEO Checklist For Digital Marketers
