Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an effective tool that is simple to use but hard to master. A well-implemented SEO strategy can substantially boost search traffic, while one that is performed incorrectly and makes mistakes can result in a site’s rankings being severely penalized.
Despite our best efforts, there will undoubtedly be some common SEO mistakes on every website that can negatively impact the ranking. If you are facing the same dilemma, be calm in knowing that you are not alone. We’ve compiled a list of some common SEO errors to get you started on identifying these issues.
Ignoring Mobile Optimization:
With the increasing use of mobile devices, Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites. Neglecting the optimization of a website for mobile devices can lead to lower rankings.
Google PageSpeed Insights is a web performance analysis tool provided by Google. The tool provides a numerical score (ranging from 0 to 100) for each analyzed page, along with actionable recommendations to improve the performance of mobile and desktop devices.
Slow Page Load Speed:
Slow-loading pages frustrate users and can lead to higher bounce rates. Google also considers page speed as a ranking factor.
Tools like Pingdom and GTmetrix are designed to help website owners and developers analyze, troubleshoot, and optimize the loading times of their web pages. The tool is commonly used to identify performance bottlenecks, monitor uptime, and improve the overall user experience.
Duplicate Content:
Search engines cannot determine which page they need to crawl and show on the search engine results pages (SERPs) when you have two or more duplicate pages. There are some solutions for this, but the most suitable option is to use a canonical tag. This informs search engines which pages should be prioritized for indexing.
Poor Content Quality:
Creating low-quality, thin, or duplicate content might not do the topic justice, and Google might label the content as being of “low value.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean that word count has a direct impact on ranking. The content must convey the information the reader is searching.
Ignoring Meta Tags:
Title and description tags help search engines understand the content on a page. Title tags are a confirmed Google ranking factor. Well-optimized description tags improve click-through rates from search results. Failing to optimize meta titles and descriptions could potentially impact your position in search engine rankings.
Lack of Internal Linking:
The practice of interlinking aids Google in discovering various pages within your website. If a page has more interlinks, it signals to Google that it’s an important page of your website. Internal linking helps search engines understand the structure of your site and improves user navigation.
Neglecting to include relevant internal links within content could result in delays in the crawling and indexing of the page, potentially affecting its ultimate ranking on search engines.
Overlooking Technical SEO:
Technical SEO plays a crucial role in ensuring that search engines can accurately crawl and index your website.
It enables website owners to address common technical issues and prepare the website for optimal visibility in search engine results. Neglecting technical elements like XML sitemaps, robots.txt, HTTPS redirect, canonical tags, and others may adversely affect the overall SEO performance of the website.
No-index Tags not removed
A no-index tag is used to eliminate a page from search engine results. People occasionally forget to delete this tag, which causes search engines to overlook pages that ought to be ranked. Keeping a list of all pages that use the no-index tag is an excellent approach to preventing this extremely common error, thus we include it in our publishing checklist.
Conclusion
You can avoid making these common SEO errors and prevent a negative impact on the SERP by focusing on generating high-quality content and improving user engagement when it comes to SEO.
Feel free to share your comments if you identify additional technical SEO errors, and inform readers about the steps you’ve taken to address and enhance the website.