SEO not working? Do you see only brief, sporadic results? Designing and maintaining a cutting-edge website that is adored by search engines can be tricky. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of major mistakes made by those just starting to explore SEO. Whether leads to your website are high or low, these points are ones you’ll want to avoid.

#1: Cracking The Algorithm

In no marketing world is it a poor use of time to understand Google’s latest algorithms. Updates are about as constant as they are complex. Understanding what Google is doing and what they are looking for is an indispensable step in mastering SEO. However, obsessing over the fine print and poring over the smallest details can divert your attention from real, quality marketing to a never-ending race to please Google. Stay updated but don’t be a slave.

#2 Choosing Quantity Over Quality

Whatever your field of labor is, you’re likely somewhat of an expert. Your company has valuable insight to share with readers. Instead of losing sleep to miss self-imposed content deadlines, it may be more beneficial to create high quality, relevant content. Give readers what they need. Exceptional content will reward you for weeks and months to come. With improved relationships with customers, simplified link building activities, and a website loved by Google’s crawlers, you’ll begin to notice a difference.

#3 Technical Issues

Google crawlers have one objective: connect search engine users with the intent behind their search query. Should Google ever ease up on delivering quality results, we would probably all throw our hands in the air and switch to a different search engine. (Wait, what else would we use?) Since that’s not likely to happen, let’s talk about instant strike-out practices in the SEO world—technical problems.

Having a technical website problem is like showing up late to an interview. You have control over the issue, but failure to deliver 100% will cost you. Here are some common issues to match your website against:

• Mobile awkwardness- Search engines pay attention to your mobile site. If users have difficulty navigating your mobile site, it’ll cost you SEO points.
• Duplicate content- Beware of tweaking or spinning websites just enough to create a spark of originality. Google says duplicate content is not usually “deceptive in origin”, but contains similar or irrelevant content compared to another popular website.
• Slow loading speed- Wait, really? You bet! How many times in the last month have you abandoned a website because the refresh button couldn’t override a website’s turtle speed? Readers are naturally frustrated with slow-loading content. Speeding up time speeds up traffic.

#4 Keyword Stuffing

Once upon a time, it was advantageous to throw a keyword in every nook and cranny of your website and receive optimal results. Today this malpractice looks like an unusually large number of comments with the same keywords, similar titles for every post, and links with the same keyword. Google is all about delivering users with pertinent, useful information, not just catchphrases that will satisfy for about 10 seconds. Start thinking about topics in addition to keywords. Topics are ideas, questions, and the knowledge that readers are interested in, search for and spend time learning about. Think about the reader-friendly material. Keywords will follow.

If you’re struggling with website traffic, contact Get Found First. We do this for a living. We know what works.