The term SEO or search engine optimisation refers to the process of increasing organic or unpaid web traffic to a specific online property by enhancing its visibility on the search engine results pages. Because most consumers rely on search engines like Google for most of the products and services they require, getting a high search ranking can lead to more brand exposure and greater sales numbers for a business. For this reason, many organisations don’t take it for granted, and neither should you.
As easy as it is to understand the standard SEO practices, it’s also not hard to make mistakes. And because even a minor error can set your efforts back significantly, it’s important to steer clear of them from the outset. With that said, here are some common mistakes to avoid in search engine optimisation.
1. Not hiring experts
With all the guides online, you might think that search engine optimisation is a simple affair. However, the reality is that it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Unless you can afford to spend a considerable amount of time and money developing an in-house department for the job, you might not be able to achieve your goals. In fact, you could potentially open yourself up to even more mistakes and costly and irrecoverable setbacks. So click here for an SEO Oxford agency if you’re based in the same area.
2. Failing to have location-specific webpages
There’s been a rise in “near me” searches in recent years. This means that more and more people are looking for businesses local to them. If you want your brand’s local presence to be recognised, you’ll need to have web pages that are optimised and location-specific. Doing so will give you a favourable outcome when ranking for the local SERPs.
3. Ignoring negative reviews
It’s common for consumers to look up online reviews on a specific brand or business before deciding to make a purchase or financial commitment. However, even the best companies will have their fair share of negative feedback. And if you ignore these reviews, you’ll miss out on opportunities to clear your company’s name, rebuild the relationship, and attract more customers. As a result, you’ll likely lower your search rankings. So don’t make this mistake and try to address every concern appropriately.
4. Having duplicate content
As the name suggests, duplicate content is published material identical or similar within a website. While search engines won’t necessarily penalise an online domain for it, there’s a good chance that it’ll affect its search rankings. Since most won’t show similar versions, it’ll select what it deems to be the most relevant and likely to engage users instead. Thankfully, it’s a mistake that you can avoid easily by double-checking any material you plan to publish.
Conclusion
The ability of a business to create exposure for itself and its offerings online is the key to its success, and few are as effective as SEO. You’ll give yourself better odds of building visibility and drawing in traffic to your site by avoiding the mistakes above.
