7 Common SEO Errors and how to avoid them

Many SEO campaigns are doomed from the word go for a variety of reasons. Avoiding the seven common errors described below should help to prevent such failures.

Unrealistic Budgets and Timeframes

Expecting instant success at minimal expense typically leads to sensational failure, especially when operating in highly competitive industries. Setting realistic budgets and giving in-house or hired SEO professionals the time to test and adjust efforts is vital to ensure long-term success.

Unrealistic Goals

Expecting to achieve instant top rankings for every service/ product you provide almost invariably leads to failure. Set realistic campaign objectives and aim for incremental success. Incremental SEO strategies focus on optimising one service/ product at the time, moving on to the next one once success is achieved.

Unprofessional Websites

Outdated, poorly designed Websites reduce engagement (and conversions) and could permanently damage a brand’s reputation. Successful SEO campaigns begin with professional, user-friendly site designs with intuitive navigation, fast-loading pages, etc. Customer feedback often helps to identify potential issues.

Wrong Keywords

Using keywords selected by what companies think consumers are searching for is another major error. Avoid doom and gloom by using properly researched keywords analysed with the help of keyword tools that show the most relevant keywords to your business, what competitors are using, and more.

High Bounce Rates

High organic search traffic bounce rates indicate that the wrong keywords are being optimised and visitors do not find what they were searching for. Should bounce rates be equally high for direct, referred and other visits, there may be more significant problems, like your Website’s design or content, to deal with. Regular monitoring and analysing traffic and engagement rates for all types of visitors is therefore essential.

Poor Content

Writing content purely to attract search engines, rather than providing visitors with the information they are looking for also causes SEO disasters. Ensuring content addresses typical consumer concerns and answers questions prospective customers may have is appreciated by visitors and increases conversion rates.

Lack of Data Tracking

Finally, measuring the success of SEO campaigns by just looking at traffic or ranking could prove to be a costly mistake. All data, from ranking and received traffic to engagement, conversion rates and more, must be monitored and analysed regularly, making necessary changes/ improvements as, when and where necessary to ensure success.