5 common SEO mistakes
Do you want to be more visible in Google searches? Here are some changes that can help you on your way.
For those of you who don't know about SEO: It stands for Search Engine Optimization. It's about customizing your website so that you gain Google's trust. If you are trusted by Google, people searching for your area of expertise will find your website as a search result.
The world of Google is difficult to understand, and making your website more visible is not easy. There are many factors that affect how high you end up on Google's list of results, and there is rarely a single formula for reaching the front page. Every year, Google makes 500-600 changes to its algorithms for ranking websites. They change what they reward and what they penalize on your website. These changes will, to a greater or lesser extent, affect the organic visibility of your website.
You don't need to update yourself on everything, but a few things are worth keeping in mind (if you're curious about all the changes, you can take a look here). We've listed "typical" SEO mistakes we see recurring among our customers:
1. Your content is old
Google actually measures how fresh the content is. If it's old, it will be read as less relevant. You need to think smart here! If you have an article/blog you want to reuse, make a few small changes, change the image and publish as a new blog post.
2. You overdo the use of keywords
In the past, you could focus on getting as many keywords as possible onto a website, preferably in keyword form. But that won't work today. Google will penalize you if you overuse keywords; it will be read as spam. Feel free to repeat keywords, but build relevant content around the keywords. The same applies to links to the website. Google doesn't want it to be possible to manipulate your way to a higher ranking in the search results. Don't overdo it and make sure the links come from quality websites.
3. You have too few links to your website
If you don't have any links to your website, you will have low website activity. A "dead" site scores poorly. Repurpose your content in multiple channels and lead people to your website. Then you will increase activity and score with Google. The number of links to your website is still important, but it's the quality of the links that matters. Links from websites with a lot of spam or borrowed content will drag you down. Evidence suggests that links from social media can help Google assess how fresh your content is. Therefore, use the various channels and link between them and your website.
4. You are focused on quantity over quality
Google wants relevance, optimal user experiences, and valuable and relevant search results with quality links. In other words, it's quality, not quantity, that counts. So focus on building quality content that people voluntarily want to link to.
5. You focus on desktop, not mobile
"Mobile first" is the focus in 2017. Websites are being indexed as mobile-only sites - and being paid for this by Google. Fortunately for our customers, Squarespace is responsive, which means you don't have to think too much about this. The website adapts to mobile and tablet devices automatically. But what you should think about is how you set up a page. Is this text suitable for reading on a mobile or is it too long? Should the image be higher up? Remember to check mobile before you decide to publish something.
In brief:
You can be penalized for all of the above "mistakes" and end up unnecessarily low on Google searches. Fortunately, Google operates in real time, so any errors can be corrected immediately. Then your ranking will change quickly.
A common feature is to see Google as more and more human, and users as more and more discerning. It's still important to focus on details, such as good URLs, correct formatting of titles and the use of certain keywords. But it pays to turn your focus to your readers and understand your target group. Where are they when they search? What mode are they in? Are you answering their questions? Do you show clearly what you can help them with?
We say it again: Experiment, analyze, optimize - and try again! And feel free to contact us if you need help.
