5 of the Most Common SEO Mistakes and How to Fix Them

5 of the Most Common SEO Mistakes and How to Fix Them

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SEO mistakes often occur because there is not a good understanding of what SEO is or how it is determined.  SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a marketing strategy that focuses on growing visibility in search engine results, organically. There are endless aspects to SEO marketing strategies, and implementing these strategies effectively can be confusing. Increase your ranking on search engine results, and make sense of SEO by avoiding these five common SEO mistakes.

SEO Mistakes

You’ve decided you are going to work on SEO as your main marketing strategy to drive traffic to your site and ultimately convert to customers. You conduct keyword research, plan out your content and works for weeks to move the needle.  You have some success but not what you were hoping for.

The first step is to recognize the issues and correct a few simple SEO mistakes to start getting results.

Mistake #1: Not Optimizing Title Tags

Problem: A title tag is a line of text commonly displayed at the top of a browser window, and is one of the most important elements of SEO. If a title tag is indirect or is too lengthy, search engines will not display the page anywhere near the top of a results page.

Solution: Title tags can be optimized by utilizing keywords and commonly searched for phrases. Depending on a topic, clear and related keywords can be combined to create effective and highly optimized title tags. For example, a business selling Boston SEO services in Boston, MA, could use “Where to Buy Boston SEO Services ” as a title tag. The keywords are included, yet the tag is a commonly searched for phrase.

Bonus tip: Create a title tag no longer than 55-60 characters, as search engine result pages cut off tags at that length.

Mistake #2: Missing Pages for Each Service or Product

Problem: When all of a business’ products or services are contained on one page, visibility on search engine results pages are greatly reduced due to a lack of specific information for effective SEO.

Solution: Creating specific pages for each service or product a business offers increases a business’s ability to fully utilize SEO marketing. Each page displays varying information. By utilizing keywords and phrases for each page, a website will reach individuals searching for that specific product or service. Accessible information sells.

Mistake #3: Being Inconsistent with Business Information: (NAP) Name, Address, and Phone Number

Problem: NAP information, a business’s name, address, and phone number, is not displayed on every page of a website, indicating that the business is not valid, per search engines.

Solution: Ensure that a business’s NAP is displayed, and is correct, on every page of a website. For added assurance, you can check the NAP across other sites that a business may be listed on, such as directories.

Mistake #4: Not Having a Mobile Ready Website

Problem: As more internet time is spent using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, search engines will only deliver content that is most relevant to users, therefore, non-mobile friendly web pages will be discarded.

Solution: Websites should be updated to be mobile ready as soon as possible, to increase the quality of SEO. You can check the readiness of your site by performing Google Mobile-friendly test

Mistake #5: Missing Meta Descriptions

Problem: Meta descriptions offer concise descriptions of a web page’s contents.  Meta descriptions are HTML attributes that provide concise explanations of the contents of specific web pages. Meta descriptions are commonly used on search engine result pages (SERPs) to display preview snippets for an associated page.  As a result, when these are absent, a search engine is less likely to display the web page on a results page.

Solution: Include a simple, clear, and relevant description of the content on a web page. In return, search engine results pages will include these descriptions as a preview of the web page. The optimal length for search engines is 155 characters, 

Optimizing organic reach across search engines involves plenty of research and SEO tactics. Once a business ensures the effectiveness of their SEO marketing, the results will speak for themselves. For more help from the Boston SEO experts, check out additional resources at FireRock Marketing

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