7 Common SEO Mistakes Any Small Business Should Avoid

When it comes to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), all website owners want to appear on the first page of the search results. Little do some of them know that getting to the first page comes with hard work and consistency.

One thing is for sure: perfect websites for SEO exist nowhere. Even the so-called experts cannot lay claim to a perfectly optimised website. That is because the SEO process is continuous, and it requires continuous improvement.

Following the right technique and consistently applying it will push your website to the top gradually. Depending on how you view SEO strategies, mistakes can occur at any level. But these mistakes can be avoided when working on any website.

So, in this article, I will describe some of the common SEO mistakes small business owners or start-ups should avoid. Starting with the SEO Checklist will minimise the likelihood of unwarranted mistakes occurring on your website.

1. The expectation of instant results

Unlike paid advertisement or other forms of advertising that are based on short-term processes, SEO techniques are not the same. The mistake here is that some of the small businesses tend to push for an immediate result on something that requires time.

Immediate results are almost impossible to achieve with SEO techniques. The key to a successful SEO technique is to be patient and have a long-term plan. Some of the techniques you apply today may take up to 3–6 months to materialise. In some cases, it takes a longer time.

As mentioned earlier, you have to be consistent if you want to achieve a great result with your strategies. Since SEO techniques take time to show any effect, analysis of the techniques should be done after 6 months.

2. Failure to produce valued contents

Some people may think that SEO is all about pushing the web pages to the top of the search results but never care about the contents on the pages. Having valued contents is actually one of the methods of being found in the search results.

Where you have deliberately produced content for the search bots and not your readers, you may lose relevancy of your pages. To the readers, you will become irrelevant because your contents produce no value. And to the bots, the ranking of your web pages may gradually drop if visitors continue to bounce out of it.

Producing good contents does not only make your web pages relevant to the search bots but also makes your website authentic to your visitors. If you are too busy to write the contents yourself, hire an experienced writer who understands your niche.

3. Failure to update your website contents

Time changes, processes change, products get obsolete, trending topics fade and consumer behaviour changes! These are the things to consider with your SEO strategies. What drives visitors to a web page is mostly things that are in vogue.

In the world of ever-changing events, knowing what revolves around your audience or business is crucial. It gives you an added advantage to know your customers’ needs and let the solutions to the needs reflect on the updated contents.

For instance, an old blog post can be updated to fit the current discussion on the web or trending topics. If you cannot update, for some reasons, leave a link at the top of your page directing your visitors to a new and updated version of a similar topic.

4. Failure to focus on your audience

Search engine bots index and display web contents to different audiences based on search queries. The bots do not share contents, but humans do. For this reason, your SEO techniques should focus more on your audience and not the bots.

If the content is not tailored to those who are reading it, they will not return to read for more let alone sharing it. So, focusing on your readers and the target audiences are paramount in keeping the visitors satisfied. These are some of the reasons your content may not get shared by your readers.

One thing is certain: if you keep your visitors engaged and satisfied, they will do significant marketing for your business by sharing your contents. Also, if the bots realise the increase in the sharing of your contents, they will rank your website higher on their search results.

5. Avoid duplicate contents

Those who practise black hat SEO intentional try to manipulate search engine bots for higher ranking with duplicate contents. However, some people unintentional have duplicate contents on their website.

Duplication of web contents can lead to a negative outcome for website owners. For a company such as Google, it will drastically drop the ranking or completely remove your website from search indexes in case it notices any form of manipulation.

Of course, there is a way of duplicating without being penalised. It is called the canonical URL. When this tag is used in one of the duplicate contents, search bots will priotitise the web page with the tag. Alternatively, you can specify a noindex meta tag on the duplicates.

6. Failure to change strategies that do not work

One thing about SEO is that the same technique may not work for everyone. The type of technique you use should be based on your industry and niche. For instance, if your business targets older people, then creating SnapChat account for backlinks will be a waste of time.

If one strategy stops working, change it and apply a different method. But be sure you have waited for a reasonable period before deciding to use another technique. Some strategies work, but it takes time. Check out this article about Revisiting your SEO strategies to learn more on how frequent you can change your strategy.

7. Avoid the temptation of black hat strategies

The fastest way to rank your website is to cheat. While cheating may work for you for short-term, it is an awful practice for a long-term. SEO technique is all about process, and the process takes time to materialise to your benefit.

Do everything you can to avoid the temptation of falling for black hat strategies. You may not recover from the fallout of cheating. Even if you do, it may take you a much longer period to rebuild your website again.

Conclusion

Now that you are aware of the common mistakes a lot of people make on their website about SEO techniques, it is essential that you heed this and follow the best practices. To be on a safer side, you can use this SEO Checklist to compare what you plan to do.

At all times, remember to always produce valuable contents for your readers. If the readers get good contents, they will be interested in sharing them for others to enjoy and get the satisfaction they have derived from reading your piece.

It is highly recommended that you begin the SEO techniques immediately when you start to develop your web pages. In case you want to know more about SEO best practices, do drop me a message. I will get back to you as soon as possible.