1. you forget to make your site accessible
According to a study by the Search Engine Journal, accessibility and indexing are the most important factors for 21 % of the SEO Error which makes accessibility one of the biggest SEO mistakes.
To ensure accessibility, you should include features such as Alt text prioritize and eliminate features like iframes.
How to solve the problem:
- Add Old-Text to your pictures so that visually impaired people can understand the stories your pictures tell.
- Give the Reading flow Priority over the Keyword-density.
- While you're at it, you should also check out all the Remove iframes from your website. They have a negative effect on the speed of your page and do not have a positive effect on your SEO results.
- Remove Flash-Elements on your pages.
2. you have not removed the "noindex" tag
A "noindex" tag in robots.txt tells search engines not to index your page. This means that you cannot rank despite all SEO measures.
This problem is quite common, accounting for 4.68 % of SEO problems. Of course, you can leave some pages out of organic search, such as automatically generated legal texts, but certainly not all.
How you can fix it:
1. check the robots.txt for all your pages and see if there is a "noindex" tag. If you want to remove it, do so to avoid another one of these SEO problems.
2. many WordPress Pages have "Prevent search engines from indexing this page" as standard under "Readability" settings. This setting makes sense as long as the website is unfinished, but should be urgently removed afterwards.
3. your texts are too short
Nowadays, content is getting longer and longer.
While you don't have to make every SEO-focused page super long, studies show that bloggers who spend more time in their Content invest, achieve better results.
In general, experts advise Google and other search engines to at least 300 words although more is usually recommended.
A study by SERPIQ recently revealed that the first result in the SERP usually 2,416 words while the tenth result has 2,032 words.
Of course, you shouldn't beat around the bush just to reach a certain word count. Make sure your article is long enough to cover a topic thoroughly. If that's possible in 500 words, that's fine for less competitive topics. Long Tail Keywords often too.
But if you need 2,500 words, make sure you devote the necessary time and attention to the topic to cover it comprehensively.
How to solve the problem:
1. look at old content that is suitable for a Keyword and see if you can improve them so that they are at least 300 words long.
2; Look at what your competitors have written on the topic and try to make your post even better.
3. take care of longer texts regularly in the future, especially for competitive keywords.
Consider leaving the work to someone else (after all, expertise, authority and trustworthiness are some of the most important criteria for Google).
4. your metadata is not properly optimized
Meta content or tags are essentially text in the code of a website that describes the content of the page for search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. This allows search engines to better understand what your page is about and index it accordingly.
If you are not optimizing meta titles or meta descriptions, you are making a big SEO mistake.
So you can use your Metadata Optimize:
1. meta titles should not be longer than 60 characters and should start with a Keyword start
2. Meta description should be no longer than 150 characters and contain your keywords and USPs.
5. your site is a battlefield of 404 errors
A server status code of 4xx or 5xx (x instead of digits) can prevent search engines from correctly crawl.
These errors occur when links are broken on both sides of the server. This can negatively affect your Ranking because Google has a certain crawl budget and doesn't want to waste it on a page that is repeatedly crawled. broken links sends.
How you can fix it:
If you have a lot of broken links that lead to 4xx or 5xx HTTP-Status codes you should enlist the help of an SEO tool or a Agency to fix or remove them. For this purpose, you can use the tools Screaming Frog, SEMrush or SEO Powersuite use
6. your headings are uncleanly structured
For search engines, your headings make the common thread of your website content visible.
If you don't structure them properly or optimize them correctly, it can have a negative impact on your rankings. If people find their way to your page, they're unlikely to stay there for long - headlines are a way of guiding users with short attention spans (i.e. most people these days!) through content and increasing dwell time on the page.
How to solve the problem:
- Include keywords in your headline tags, including the H1, H2 and H3 tags.
- Never forget to set an H1 heading
- Do not include more than one H1 heading in your content
- Structure the headings in the correct order to ensure clarity
7. incorrect handling of external links
If you include too many external links in your SEO content, it can affect your own Ranking limit. Each link gives a small part of your website strength to the other website.
At the same time, avoiding external links is one of the most important SEO mistakes. Because a page that does not link to any other page appears unnatural to Google.
You want do not link to your competitors and you definitely don't want to use the keywords you want to rank for as anchors for external links.
The strong ranking effect of external links is the reason why it is so important, Backlinks for your site.
How to solve the problem:
Limit yourself to the external links that are necessary. These include reputable sites for studies, statistics and resources.
8. your internal links do not have optimized anchor texts
On the other side of the spectrum, you also need to pay attention to your internal links.
If you link to other pages within your website, you should Use relevant anchor texts, which are not generic. This means that you should avoid linking via texts such as "Click here".
How you do it:
If you link internally, use the Keyword the other side as Anchor text on the new page. If you link to a contact page, you should use the Anchor text "contact us" button. The Anchor text of the internal link helps Google to understand what the linked website should rank for. For example, if I want Google to understand that my homepage should rank for SEO Agency I will link to exactly this Keyword to her.
9. you have too much duplicate content on your website
Depending on how you duplicate the content, copying content and publishing it elsewhere can add to your Ranking damage.
When search engines try to spit out the best results for a search query, they assume that the content they find is unique. If one page has the same content as another, it can be difficult to determine a unique position for each page. Therefore, it is more difficult to deliver relevant results as the content is indistinguishable. This can lead to lower rankings and poorer search engine results for the affected pages.
How to solve the problem:
Make sure you don't duplicate your own content or that of your competitors. You want the content to be both indexable and rankable, so uniqueness is key.
10. one of the biggest SEO mistakes is poor website performance
Website performance is an undeniable ranking factor. Factors such as page speed, code and Caching play a role here.
A bad Pagespeed has a bad effect on the Google Ranking, as a slow Loading time the users Poor Experience offers.
If a page loads slowly, it can cause users to leave the page before they've even had a chance to see the content.
Google rates the user experience and if the page load time is poor, the Ranking worse. A bad Ranking means less visibility and less Trafficwhich can ultimately lead to a decline in sales.
How you can fix it:
If you want to improve your page speed, you should PageSpeed Insights from Google or use another page speed tool. In the meantime, you should make sure that your code structure is not too complicated.
You can use your JavaScript and CSS and remove additional content from the code that clutters your page. You should also make sure that you use the Browser-Caching in the response header.
11. you choose the wrong keywords (or don't research keywords at all)
We talk about them all the time, but using them incorrectly or not at all is one of the most common SEO mistakes of all. Mistakes include using global keywords for a local business, using overly generic Short-Tail Keywords and too long niche keywords.
Typical keyword selection mistakes are:
- Choosing keywords that are too general or unspecific: If your keywords are too general or non-specific, it will be difficult to rank in the search engines as there are many competitors using these keywords. Instead, you should use more specific, longer-tail keywords (also known as "long-tail keywords"), which have less competition and can have a higher conversion rate.
- Choose keywords that are not more relevant: Choosing keywords that are not more relevant can lead to you Traffic from users who aren't interested in what you're offering. This leads to a lower conversion rate and can also contribute to your site being downgraded by search engines, as users leaving your site without clicking on anything is seen as a sign that the site is not relevant.
- Choose keywords that are too difficult to rank for: Choosing keywords that are too difficult to rank for can result in you never appearing on the first page of search engines. Instead, you should choose keywords that are more realistic to rank for and then focus on improving your site and creating quality content to improve your rankings.
- Not doing enough research: If you don't do enough research before choosing your keywords, you could choose keywords that are either too general, too hard to rank for or not more relevant. Make sure you do enough research to find keywords that are relevant, specific and realistic to rank for.
How you can fix it:
Use a Keyword Research tool for all your content. Depending on your budget and the amount of content you want to publish, you can opt for a premium tool like SEMrush pay, a budget-friendly tool like KWFinder Use Google Trends to fill the gap.
12. stealing your own keywords - a common SEO mistake
If you have the same Keyword for more than one page means that two (or more) pages are competing against each other. There's already enough competition in the world, so don't make it even bigger by cannibalizing your own keywords!
If you always use the same Keyword this can lead to your page being seen as spamming and downgraded by the search engines. Instead, you should use a variety of keywords.
How to solve the problem:
Choose unique keywords for each page. Yes, this sounds tedious, but there really are enough keywords (especially sophisticated long-tail keywords) to choose from. Besides, why would you put content on the same topic everywhere on your website?
13. the neglect of local SEO
If you are a brick-and-mortar retailer or your location is the hub of your business, local SEO is a must.
Not prioritizing this can mean that you won't rank in your region, which ultimately means you won't reach your target audience.
How to solve the problem:
Include keywords that are specific to your region. Add your address and phone number to every page (in the header or footer so they don't get in the way). While you're at it, list your business on all major websites. This includes business directories like 11880, Yellow Pages and Google My Business.
14. you forget to analyze your conversions
Organic Traffic is the be-all and end-all, right?
Well, partly. Conversions count too. Otherwise your company will stand alone in the crowd.
It is important in SEO to analyze conversions as this can help measure the effectiveness of the SEO strategy and understand how well the site is performing against business goals. A conversion occurs when a user comes to the site and performs a specific action that has been defined as a conversion, such as filling out a contact form or buying a product.
By analyzing the conversion rate, you can see how many users actually come to the site and make a conversion compared to the total visitors. This gives important insights into how well the site is performing against the business goals and whether it is necessary to adjust the SEO strategy to improve the conversion rate.
It is also important to analyze the conversion rate to understand what factors influence the conversion rate. This can help to customize the page and content to encourage users to take the desired action. So, by analyzing the conversion rate, one can determine if the SEO strategy is successful and how to improve it to achieve the business goals.
How you can change that:
Use conversion tracking tools to find out which content leads to conversions and in which part of the funnel it helps. Converting keywords into visitors is important, but at the end of the day, the Traffic also convert, otherwise it's just smoke and mirrors.
15. you have forgotten the language attributes
Language attributes (or "hreflang" attributes) are important for websites that use different languages on their website.
If this applies to you, you must include them in your code if necessary. Otherwise, search engines may have difficulty indexing your pages.
How to solve the problem:
1. add language attributes to your <html> and <head> Add tags.
2. make sure that there are no conflicts with other encodings, such as the source URLs of the pages.
3. make sure that the language code is correct (e.g. "en" for English) and the corresponding country code is correct; separate the two with a hyphen and place the country code in the first position.
16. a pop-up lurks on every page
We understand that you want to inform your visitors about an important event, a newsletter or an announcement.
But you should not set the pop-up to appear more than once when you first enter the website. Otherwise it will be extremely annoying and visitors will leave the site. And they may never come back.
High bounce rates have a negative impact on your Search engine optimization which is why exaggerating the pop-up trend is one of the biggest SEO mistakes.
How to solve the problem:
Limit the number of Pop-ups to one at most. Check the code for the pop-up and set the triggers only on the first website visit. As for the timing of the Pop-ups you should set it so that it happens relatively early and not when the user is already in the middle of a possible conversion.
17. your URLs are not formatted properly
URLs for SEO are an important element that will have a positive impact on your rankings. If you do it right. Given that more than 3.5 billion searches are made on Google every day, it is extremely important for you and your website to make it as easy as possible for Google to understand and categorize your website.
Tips to improve your URL to be structured cleanly:
- Avoid special characters. Avoid symbols and special characters that appear in the URL-link will appear. This can hinder search engine optimization and should therefore be avoided.
- Use relevant keywords. Try to include relevant keywords in your URL to use. Search engines can better find out what your page is about.
- Pay attention to the structure. Avoid unnecessarily long URLs and try to keep them simple and self-explanatory. Also the structure of the URL should be clear and meaningful.
- Eliminate stop words. If possible, you should remove so-called stop words such as "and", "the" or "with" from your URL remove. This makes it shorter and can be understood more quickly.
- Use Lower case letters. Do not use capital letters in your URLsince most search engines do not support this. Use only lowercase letters to avoid problems.
18. you pay too much attention to optimization and not enough to overall quality
Search engine optimization is all about optimizing your content so that users can find it, but clicks aren't all you need.
High bounce rates as a result of poor content can have a negative impact on your Ranking impact, even if you've already landed on page one.
How you can solve the problem:
Focus on the quality of your content, whether it's blog posts, resource pages, podcast landing pages or any other page. Whether you invest in internal or external sources depends on your team's capacity and your company's budget, but always go for quality first.
SEO mistakes are common, but you can avoid them
SEO is a constantly evolving industry, so anyone using it on their own website needs to keep learning.
As search engine algorithms change, so will reputable SEO advice. In the meantime, you can start crossing things off your SEO to-do list with these 20 SEO mistakes.
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