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You’ve built a website, penned some content, and waited for visitors to come in, only to find your brand stuck far down in search results. Frustrating, right? If you cannot find your website on Google, chances are that you’re making some fundamental SEO
mistakes. The good news is that they can be fixed. Here are five fundamental SEO mistakes and how you can turn them around to start experiencing the exposure your brand needs.
1. Ignoring Keyword Research:
Keywords should be the base of your SEO campaign. If you want to reach the right audience, you need to target the right keywords. If you fail to do so, there’s a chance of low ranking and missed opportunities.
What you’re doing wrong:
- Generic keywords that have no chance of ranking are being targeted.
- Long-tail keywords that are in line with the primary search are being completely ignored.
- Ruining readability and rankings with keyword stuffing.
How to fix it:
- Find low competition, relevant keywords with the help of tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs.
- To attract targeted traffic, focus on long-tail keywords with clear search intent.
- Use keywords naturally in headings and throughout the content to improve SEO.
2. Ignoring Mobile Optimization & User Experience:
Google favors mobile-first indexing. A slow and non-responsive site makes the user frustrated and results in high bouncing rates and lost conversions. Search engines take user experience seriously; therefore, a bad mobile experience might be killing your rankings.
What you’re doing wrong:
- Your website is not mobile-friendly.
- High bounce rates due to longer loading times.
- Decreased engagement times due to poor navigation.
How to fix it:
- Explore your site and enhance its ease of use by employing mobile-friendly tests.
- Enhance your host’s provision by image optimization and enabling lazy loading to boost speed.
- Enhance user engagement with the help of clear menus, internal links, and CTA’s to improve navigation.
3. Building Low Quality Backlinks:
All backlinks are not created equal. Some backlinks might boost your ranking while others might kill them. Low-quality and spammy backlinks inform Google that your site is not a reliable source, which ultimately leads to penalties and a drop in the rankings.
What you’re doing wrong:
- Relying on low-grade backlinking that is of no value to your site.
- Buying backlinks that Google does not recognize and receiving a penalty for it.
- Failing to recognize internal linking that helps to distribute link equity throughout websites.
How to fix it:
- Optimize for quality and get backlinks from niche-relevant sources.
- Write guest blogs for high-authority niche sites instead of black-hat link farms.
- Improve internal linking to enable search engines to perceive your content hierarchy and improve user experience.
4. Ignoring Local SEO:
Google prefers local search results, and if your company is not appearing in location-based searches, you’re probably losing traffic to your competitors.
What you’re doing wrong:
- Your Google My Business is not listed or doesn’t exist, limiting your local search exposure.
- Focusing on non-location-based keywords makes it hard for local shoppers to find you.
- Discrepancy in the NAP information of all platforms results in misleading consumers and search engines, thus harming your business.
How to fix it:
- Claim your Google My Business listing and add correct details to it.
- Make sure to include location-specific words in your site content, meta descriptions, and even headings.
- Consistent NAP details across all platforms are a must.
5. Failure to Track and Adjust Progress:
SEO is not something you do once. Google’s algorithms update, and if you’re not keeping an eye on your performance, you have no idea what is working and what is not.
What you’re doing wrong:
- You’re leading to blind spots in your strategy by not monitoring rankings, traffic, or engagement metrics.
- Bad policies never get corrected because performance adjustments are never made.
- You are preventing growth by applying outdated SEO strategies.
How to fix it:
- Observe trends and track your SEO progress with the help of Google Search Console and Analytics.
- Inspect your site regularly for broken links, outdated information, and technical issues that hurt rankings.
- Refine your approach based on the latest trends and algorithm changes to stay competitive.
Conclusion
If your website is not ranking, it’s not back luck- it’s likely to be bad SEO. The mistakes listed above are common but easily fixable. Start by making the given changes, and watch your search rankings soar. SEO is not an instant game, but when done correctly, it’s well worth the wait.
Need help with optimizing your website? Start by fixing these mistakes, and you’ll be on your way to better ranking in no time!