Like any other industry, SEO is something you can learn to master as time passes. However, if you get too comfortable with this, you may start making mistakes.
After all, once you have been working in the field for a few years, you may start operating on autopilot. However, SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it marketing strategy. Along with making mistakes, you must remember that Google constantly changes the methods it uses. Because of this, it is a good idea to learn about some of the worst mistakes that have been made. Knowing what these are is one of the best ways to avoid them yourself.
Subpar Internal Link Structure
As your website gets bigger and grows with all the content you are producing; you will likely make some internal linking mistakes. This includes things from duplicating content to 404-page errors.
Unfortunately, internal linking structures are overlooked significantly by webmasters; however, it’s an important function of your SEO and UX strategy. There are several benefits offered by internal links for your site, including:
- Creating a clear path to conversion pages on your site.
- Spread authority to web pages that are hidden deep in your site.
- Provide additional interactive or reading material for users to consume on your website.
- Organize web pages based on category and anchor text.
- Communicate the most important pages to the search engine crawlers.
One way to open the crawl paths for search engines to various unlinked web pages is by submitting an XML sitemap.
Creating Content with No Real Value
Best practices state that you need to consistently produce content to help increase the authority and exposure of your brand. It can also help to increase the indexation rate for your site.
However, as your site grows to be several hundred pages – or more – it will be more challenging to find unique keywords for every page and to adhere to a set strategy. In some situations, you may think it’s necessary to create content just to have more of it to publish.
This isn’t true and can cause useless and thin content, which also means you are wasting resources. Never write content without first conducting keyword research. Be sure anything you write and publish is relevant to the keyword you choose and that it uses associated keywords in the H2 tags and the body paragraphs. This will ensure that search engines understand the content’s full contest and intent on several levels.
Avoiding SEO Mistakes on Your Website
When it comes to SEO mistakes, there are more than a few you may make. Knowing what they are is important, which will help you avoid them. It’s also a good idea to work with professionals who can provide more insight about what to do and what to avoid regarding SEO efforts. They can also spearhead your SEO efforts to help ensure the desired results are achieved. In the end, this is going to pay off. Being informed is the best way to avoid these mistakes.