If you run any kind of business with an online presence, you have probably heard of the word “SEO.” Chances are that you are implementing a good number of SEO practices to boost your search rankings as well. Indeed, without proper Search Engine Optimization, an online business would simply find itself lost and sidelined amidst competition. Just as the “must do’s” of SEO are essential to the success of a business, there are certain “do not’s” that one must keep in mind so as to not make an SEO faux pas. And here they are, in no particular order.
Mistake 1: Not Researching Keywords Thoroughly Enough
Keywords form the basis of SEO and the way the world uses the internet at large. No matter how much content you pump into your website or how often you update it, it will not yield much traffic unless it is fortified with relevant and “high-result” keywords.
Mistake 2: Utilizing Localization in Keyword Usage
A common mistake that many web-owners make is to use their or their company’s name as a keyword. This obviously does not help in any way because users are seldom looking for an individual or company – they are looking for products and services in their area. So, instead, of using “ABC Photographers”, try using something like “wedding photographer, Ontario.” Also, if you have a local business, don’t forget geotagging – this will help you reach the targeted customer base more effectively.
Mistake 3: Taking Title Tags And Meta Descriptions For Granted
Adding title tags and meta descriptions to each post may seem trivial, even redundant, to some web owners but you’d be surprised to know how much these little additions can help towards garnering traffic and good search-engine rankings. Spend a little more effort in creating meta descriptions (read: relevant keyword phrases and attractive blurbs) and watch your rankings soar.
Mistake 4: Offering Poorly Written Content To Visitors
Yes, keywords are important – no one can deny that, but do you think a visitor is likely to stay on if your content is some gibberish stuffed with keywords and keyphrases? Make sure your content is simple, interesting, valuable and up-to-date. Secondly, write for people, not for search engines. Remember, they are the ones who are going to bring you business! A well-designed and organized website also helps SEO and improves the website’s rankings. While optimizing your website, do keep in mind that texts embedded in flash or pictures are usually not picked up by crawlers, so add keywords where they count.
Mistake 5: Resorting To Black Hat SEO Techniques
It is human nature to want faster and “instant” results, and that prompts many a website owner to resort to unethical practices such as buying links, stuffing keywords and using invisible texts. While this may help you gain some exposure in the beginning, you will find it hard to sustain the numbers in the longer run, which will eventually cause your rankings to plummet. In the SEO rule book, slow and steady always wins the race. Therefore, keep your focus on strong, relevant content, link building and establishing credibility in the digital world instead of wasting your energy on shortcuts and unethical practices.
very easy to read and navigate site. Very helpful tips. Thank you.
Yes Larry mortell you are right that this website is very easy to readable and also this website contains lots of useful content.thank you admin
Thanks, John and Larry, for the kind words! -Deborah (SocialWebCafe) 🙂
These seo mistakes can hurt your business very badly if not handled correctly can badly affect the seo and search engine rankings.
Yes, Ajay. Thank you for your feedback.
Please oh please whatever you do, don’t result to black hat SEO. You’ll find people selling you tactics and they can probably show you cases where those tactics have worked but at the end of the day it’s only a short term strategy. If you’re serious about marketing online you need to focus on building a brand. Not meeting short term conversion goals.
I could agree more, Chris! Yes, building brand, not backlinks..
Hi Deborah Great post! I just ran across this site.
Thanks, John! Glad you found us and welcome to Social Web Cafe! -Deborah
I thjink this is a grear article and you bring up a lot of good and valid point. The kewords and the conetent being the top 2.
I think having rro make every blog post a list is getting played out.
See 5 reason why in 2017!
Thank you, William. Truly appreciate your feedback.
I’m pleased with what you’ve shared. I think Black hat technique is beneficial if used correctly. What do you say?
No. I absolutely cannot recommend black hat techniques. To some extent, that is the point, to NOT use black hat. I might recommend that you read a bit more or read more carefully, as that is not what is represented or recommended on this blog.
Hi, Jeff
I read your post. Very informative article. seo is a slow process. If you want to speed up you have to accept wrong seo methods. But these methods are not long term methods. You can be penalize at any time by google.
So do seo in right manner and get good result.
Thanks Jeff to improve my knowledge
Yeah, abhiskek, I would say go with whitehat, realizing that patience is a virtue and you will get there (maybe a little longer), but have a better chance at staying there.
Firstly I must thank you for sharing such an informative article that you have here, I personally didn’t know tags could have had such a great impact on getting you rank higher.
Great,
I am glad you found this article helpful and found out something that you did not previously know 🙂
-Deborah (SocialWebCafe)
You’ve touched on the most common mistakes! I’ve seen some pretty poorly done SEO on sites and they all have those same errors in common. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Jaeson. We appreciate your feedback 😉
Awesome article, SEO plays an important role in blogging. Thanks for this informative share.
Good point that SEO plays an important role. I think many people focus just on the blogging aspect and don’t realize that with just a little knowledge, they can implement the most basic elements of SEO into their blogging efforts.
This is really amazing great Blog i really like to read this its very useful information.
I am glad that you found this helpful. I wish you success.
Can New sites with quality content can rank well on google without back links. Can we use only comments to get links from high pr pages?
Hi Vinay. The key is to use multiple methods and not rely on just one. But, even more importantly, to focus on quality. While it is ideal to be in good relationship with Google, not breaking any of their rules, at the end of the day it is our own reputation that lives or dies. Once you decide what you want to be known for, stick to that and maintain your brand according to your objective(s).
Repeating a word or phrase intentionally won’t boost your rankings. You’ll attract Google for sure, swiftly followed by a kick down the results pages. Crafting unique, compelling copy can seem like a tall order. But stealing it from a competitor is not only illegal: Google can push your site so far down the rankings that no-one will ever find it, and in severe cases, de-index the whole website, so just don’t do it.
Sadly, that was a technique that was actually taught in the earlier century. Now it seems odd that companies (credible companies!) taught that as the way to do SEO. But, it worked back then and so people thought it was correct. Was it? It is interesting how we change over time.
Nice article Jeff. Thanks for sharing your good knowledge of SEO with us. There must be a proper plan to advertise your business online. At first you should buy a domain name which reflects products/services of your business/brand & if that is a keyword rich domain then its bonus for you, which can only happen if you use keyword research tool for finding the most suitable & effective keyword. Then write quality content for your readers and apply the best possible SEO tricks/techniques/basics on your post to promote it online I am sure it will yield fruit for you.
Hi Raj, Do you ever think it is important to get a domain that reflects your own brand, even if it doesn’t reflect what you do? Thinking “Yahoo” here, when they first started. It isn’t like Yahoo makes one think of web directory or search. How do you think someone should handle that?
Jeff, I totally agree that taking title tag and meta tag for granted is insane. It is the greatest mistake. My friends are there who use to do such mistakes.
Landon, Yes, it seems like title and description are almost a “give me.”
thanks ! i got your point
first content is kink 2nd don’t manipulate search engine and users for a better performance..!
search engine always love fresh content!! thank admin for the information.!
Abhishek, Thanks so much for sharing with us. I hope for only success as you move forward in your endeavors.
Well, the content and the use of keywords is at first priority. Poorly written content contains keyword stuffing.
Allen, I can see your point. Would you say it is possible to simply have poor content (that isn’t keyword stuffing)? Though, I would agree that keyword stuffing does *not* produce quality content.
I am talking about the content without focusing on keywords. when you search for a specific keyword on Google, in top results you will never find the exact keyword in on page of any website.
Ah, ok. I see what you are saying, Allen.
One should not start with On-Page SEO until and unless they have taken care of the Keyword Research. And then having good quality content is the next area of focus.
The other 3 factors you mentioned are also very important, but in my opinion, the two I mentioned are the most important ones.
Good point, Carol. Yes, great strategy. It would seem to me, that that is how you maintain success, with your content/SEO strategy, eh?
-Deborah (SocialWebCafe)
I think the researching the right keywords is the most important factor. So many people keyword stuff with “City Keyword” on every single page and post and do not diversify, so it’s hurting their rankings. Good article!
Good point, Leon. And, sadly, I think a lot of times this is out of ignorance.
The article is good. If you want to keep your business stable you will need to avoid the above mistakes and use unique keywords and content so that your website ranking can increase faster.
Good points, Persys. Thank you for sharing them with us.
Hi,
Thanks for posting such a great blog. After reading this, I understand the mistakes I am making on my website and loosing my valuable customers. Keep up work.
I am so glad that this has helped in highlighting where you can move forward, Norman. Thank you for sharing that with us. All of us have areas for improvement. I think I trip over those areas daily.. lol
Hi Jeff,
Good article on SEO. I would also like to add that creating social profiles that point to your website also helps a lot.
SocialWebCafe provides essential Fundamental Techniques that really has helped in the progress of Search Engine Optimization.
Thank you, Prasanna and Anuj!
Good point, adding the Social Media component, Prasanna. I think the only reason Jeff did not add it is that he was solely focused on Search Engine, but some of us tend to focus on both, as collective strategies, so I get both perspectives. Great contribution!
And, thank you for your kind words, Anuj. I am glad you find our content helpful, here on the site!
-Deborah (SocialWebCafe) 🙂
Nice post. Sometimes White HAT SEO faliure leads bloggers to focus on black hat seo.
They should understand that white hat may take time but black hat will destroy them forever.
Thanks for sharing your views 🙂
Good points. Yes, black hat gives that immediate gratification and even happiness, but not the long haul success, eh?
its really a nice article i know that Top Google SEO Tips You Should Know For Higher Rankings and More Traffic is very important factor for every one user thank you for sharing us good article keep up the good work
You’re very welcome. Thank you.
Hey, has anyone tried to rank any youtube videos on google? Currently, I am trying to rank a clients video, I have steamed it, sent socials signals, some back links, and PBN’s. Do you recommend sending a SAPE link, it is currently ranking bottom of page 3 in google for a long tail keyword. Thanks
Actually, ranking youtube videos is one of my specialties. I’ve been meaning to share my expertise via articles, so please feel free to keep on my tail! There is no reason that I should hoard the information that I have gathered and learned (and applied successfully).
Hello Author,
It was really a nice post. I found that I have to learn a lot about driving more traffic & SEO still. Everyone teaches me something different. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Thanks, Anish. Yes, we all have areas where we could use some more learning. But, life would be pretty boring if we didn’t, eh?
I don’t a have business site, but these tips are helpful. I totally agree with you.
Hello, Raj. I hope that if you ever decide to have a business site, that you will continue to find these tips helpful 🙂
Thanks for the tips. These are great for beginners and more experienced campaigners alike and ensure a firm foundation for future traffic. Converting that traffic into customers is another thing entirely.
Thank you for the kind words, Haroun. 🙂 Great point about this information (from Jeff) being helpful for beginners and experienced campaigners alike. Thank you for pointing that out, as that helps others. -Deborah (SocialWebCafe)
Bonjour, hey guys, i relly love to spend my time here to learn on your website, big kisses from france 🙂
Welcome, Rob! Glad that you have found our website helpful and glad to have you visit us from France 😉 Join us anytime 😀 A Hollywood kiss backatcha. -Deborah
White hat SEO is the one that will get you to the destination in the long run
Yes, I agree. It is more difficult, but it is the goal line.
When you apply SEO to your business online, you should be very careful of choosing what strategy are you going to use and know the right policy. Keep it up!
Yes, definitely understand it (i.e. knowing the policies and rules). Thanks, Alan.
very nice Good point that SEO plays an important role. I think many people focus just on the blogging aspect and don’t realize that with just a little knowledge, they can implement the most basic elements of SEO into their blogging efforts nice.
So true, Sara. If bloggers would just take a little bit of time and focus on what they need to learn about SEO, they could do that much better. Even a little knowledge can go a long way!
Thanks for pointing that out here, Sara. -Deborah
I think your thoughts on the “poorly written content” are spot on. It baffles me how some authors cannot seem to grasp the fact that a poorly written presentation can be fatal to success. I’m writing an Ebook at on how to be funny. While I know writing great content can be a challenge, I also understand that it takes patience!
Keep up the great work!
Good luck on your ebook, Brad. I’m sure you have it all set and don’t need luck. lol Yes, I agree with you on being baffled by poorly written content.
Hey Deborah,
Thank you for that beautiful article.
Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way 6 years ago I had someone work on my first website, but didn’t know anything about black hat seo.
Only to find out later that I have plenty of crappy links linking back to my website, which I had to get rid of.
That is tough, Omar. Especially in cases where you are doing everything right as you understand it and it happens in the middle of trusting another person. I am hoping that life is going well for you now.
Is there any possibilities to sustain the number for a long time using black hat technique? If u have any idea Please share here.
Probably, technically speaking, it is possible or black hat techniques would not exist because they would not be appealing. Just like, one could ask a similar question about whether or not someone could increase the intake of money in their household by robbing a bank (crime). Yes, if they do not get caught and lose the money, and assuming that they are successful at robbing a bank, it would increase the amount of cash that may be on hand in their house. However, that doesn’t make it right and doesn’t make it viable advice.
so nice article are publish really helpful for me thank you
I am glad that you found the article helpful. Thank you for sharing.
So true,some are really having these mistakes.Good post!
Thank you, Kathy. Glad you enjoyed it.
SEO makes the websites to bring into topmost position.which is very much important to business people to make profit in their business.Thanks for sharing such a post
Yes, it is very important, John. Thank you for your insight.
Hey Deborah Anderson,
No doubt, you’re the one! I truly impressed, “how can you do this mate!”. This is not only common 5 SEO mistakes but also crucial learning for the newbie and experts. Many of us didn’t care about content. They obviously marketing poorly written content and loss valuable traffic, can’t able to build trust and finally brand grows bad reputation in SERPs.
I appreciate you and this is very important to know before start SEO for the business. I would like to say a big thanks to Deborah for this brilliant SEO conception. Keep it up!
Thank you, Shakoat, for your kind words and for your insights. Much appreciated.
Thanks, brother this article really helped me a lot in my SEO and I want to tell you that, it’s amazing article I have ever read. Now it’s time for your share, let me share this article with my friends
On behalf of our guest author, Jeff, thank you, Rahul. And, thank you so much for sharing the article.
Who want to improve their site , I think the article help you.
Thank you for your comment, Salina. Appreciated.
The key to SEO is building a brand first on the Internet, and then sending as many high quality links as possible. In every form. i.e. social, forum posts, blog comments, guest posting, citations, PBN’s
This can be done for any URL.
Good point, Jeffrey. And, I like how you highlighted the building of that brand, as well as the different techniques available.
Thanks for the information… I really liked this article… I want to know how the internet marketing works…? and tell me about the scope of this field…..
Jack, thank you for the kind words. The topic of internet marketing is a vast topic. This may be a bit biased, but I recommend that you subscribe or bookmark this site, to learn about internet marketing through the articles that we publish.
I would not want to be insincere, but unfortunately there are not quite enough hours in the day for me to ensure that I parlay all of the information on the answer to your question about the scope of the field of internet marketing. However, I am happy to share when I can and have the time to share via my articles and those of my team and guests. Please stay tuned.
“In the SEO rule book, slow and steady always wins the race.”
some of the customer always want instant result, what is your suggestions to deal with this client?
The hard thing, speaking from my psychology background, is that there is no easy answer. But, then that goes for life, too. For example, wouldn’t you want to win a million dollars in a lottery and not owe anything in taxes? Just because you want something doesn’t mean you will get it. So, in dealing with clients, you need to explain to them that it is nice that they want everything instantaneously, but that doesn’t mean that that is possible. In fact, usually, quality takes more time, rather than less time.