Search engine optimization is a methodical process that involves both on-site and off-site practices. Unfortunately, many digital marketers and small business owners are guilty of making one or more of the following mistakes.
Choosing the Wrong Keywords
SEO and keyword research go hand in hand. You can’t optimize your website for higher search rankings without first identifying profitable keywords — keywords for which you hope to rank. When choosing these “target keywords,” consider how much traffic they receive, how much competition they have, and their relevancy to your business.
Not Analzying Traffic
Without analyzing your website’s traffic, you’ll face an uphill battle trying to optimize it for higher search rankings. Thankfully, Google Analytics is a simple and effective solution that works for all websites, both big and small. Using Google Analytics, you can tell which keywords visitors are searching for, how long they spend on your site, which pages are most popular, which pages are least popular, and much more.
Lack of Outbound Links
Digital marketers often have mixed feelings about outbound links. Including a link to a different website provides an exit through which visitors can leave your website, which is why some marketers omit outbound links from their website. However, without outbound links, Google and other search engines will view your website as a one-way street. In turn, this can make it difficult to generate the necessary authority to achieve a top search ranking for your target keyword. If you’re worried about visitors clicking links and leaving your site, keep your outbound links to a minimum. You don’t have to omit them altogether, but rather try limiting outbound links to no more than half a dozen or so per page.
Using the Same Anchor Text
Using anchor text with both inbound and outbound links is beneficial for several reasons: it tells visitors what the linked page is about, and it also helps search engines determine a “connection” with the linked page. Unfortunately, though, many digital marketers are guilty of using the same anchor text for all of their links, believing it will help them rank for that keyword. Known as “over-optimized anchor text,” however, this can hurt your site’s search rankings.
Buying Backlinks
The allure of buying a hundreds of backlinks may seem enticing. After all, those extra backlinks would help your site climb the search rankings for its target keywords, right? Not necessarily, as the search engines have adjusted their rankings algorithm to specifically identify paid links. And websites caught buying backlinks will be penalized, meaning it could hurt your rankings instead of help it.
