With so much competition on the web, it’s vital to know SEO when you get started. But, if your website is built on or around any of the mistakes in this list, you’re inadvertently sabotaging your efforts.

Targeting the Wrong Keywords

It’s not enough to find the keywords and check them to see what kind of competition there is. You also need to check to see how well the competition is doing with those keywords and then recheck the keywords to make sure there aren’t any better ones you could target. Taking time to double and triple check the keywords before you start trying to focus them means you’re spending money on keywords you know you can rank on instead of wasting money trying to rank for keywords that will be difficult or irrelevant.

Your SEO strategy can only be as good as the keywords you’re targeting, so the extra effort to ensure you get it right can make all the difference in the success or failure of your campaigns. Make sure to look for LSI keywords to add, which will help you rank the content faster. You can also find them at the bottom of Google’s search results pages.

Meta Descriptions and Title Tags

Your page’s meta description shows up in the search results under your website. It’s free advertising to users, enticing them to click on your site rather than someone else’s. Using keywords here can also boost ranking because it helps Google decide your content is the right thing to put in front of users for that search.

The title tag is what shows up in the search results as your website. Keywords are vital here, as well. Using the same title tag on each page can be tempting, but each page on your site is competing against itself for ranking if you use that approach. Instead, vary them up to target different but related keywords.

Slow-Loading Website

If your website loads too slow, you’re hurting domain authority. People are more likely to bounce off your site if it takes too long to load, and Google considers bounce rate when they determine your ranking. They also factor in your website speed when they push out results to users, so ensuring your site loads as quickly as possible is essential and will increase your rankings.

47% of users expect a website to load within two seconds or less. And a one-second delay in page load speed can cause a 7% decrease in conversion rate. So if you earn $100,000/day, you lose $2.5 million per year because your website is slow.

Test your website speed with GT Metrix. You’ll get information on how well your site is loading and recommendations on improving the load time.

Check our BLAZING FAST Web Core Vitals/Page Speed scores. We can assist with getting more performance and faster speeds for your website. Contact us here!

 Ignoring Your Website Analytics

When things work out the way you wanted them to, it can be easy to overlook the data. But it’s at this point the data can be your best friend. You can find where you’re ranking for your keywords, which keywords are getting the most traffic, leads, and conversions, which pages people are leaving your website on, and more. This lets you see areas of your strategy that are working and pinpoint areas that need improvement if you want to reach your goals.

 Choosing Content Quantity over Quality

If you’ve got 100 blog posts on your blog, and none are helpful to your readers, it won’t matter to Google. Google has a user base to serve, and if their users can’t find what they’re looking for on your website, Google has no incentive to include your site in the rankings for that keyword. That’s why it’s better to produce fewer pieces of higher quality content than to consistently churn out poor quality content. If you can push out quality content at a high volume, that’s great, but don’t let quality fall for quantity’s sake.

 Not Using ALT Tags on Images

Many marketers and website owners forget about the Google Images search option and the images tab when people use the search engine. With that search, they can find images on your website if you’ve taken the time to optimize them. However, if you haven’t, all the competition that has made the time to optimize their images will beat you.

Adding the ALT text and file title to each image on your website can quickly be done in WordPress.

Inserting keywords here tells Google what the image is about so you can appear in the relevant searches.

Is it Time to Revamp Your Website?

Hopefully, you haven’t found any mistakes from this list on your website. But, if you have, don’t panic just yet. You can go back and fix things any time and see your ranking improve. If you’re too busy or don’t have the know-how to do it yourself, SEO Inc. can handle it for you. Contact us today to learn more about our services and to get your free SEO audit. The audit will highlight critical areas where your site needs improvement so you can see a higher ranking. Or book a meeting directly with our CEO Garry Grant; click the following link to Schedule a call with Garry.