20 Common SEO Mistakes To Avoid

There are a lot of different SEO mistakes that local business site owners can make. Here are the top 10 most common ones that you should absolutely avoid:

1. Not Optimizing Your Title Tags

One of the most common SEO mistakes is not optimizing your title tags. The title tag is the most important meta tag, as it tells the search engine what the web page is about. The title should be brief, keyword rich, and accurately describe the content on the page.

2. Not Optimizing Your Meta Descriptions

Another common mistake is not optimizing your meta descriptions. The meta description provides a brief summary of the web page’s content. The description should be keyword rich and accurately describe the content on the page.

3. Not Using Keyword-Rich Anchor Text

When linking to other websites or pages on your own website, be sure to use keyword-rich anchor text. This will help the search engines understand what the linked page is about and may help your website rank higher for those keywords.

4. Not diversifying anchor text

Anchor text is the text that’s used for links. Be sure to diversify your anchor text and use a variety of different keywords. Using too much exact match anchor text or using the same keyword over and over again can look spammy and get you penalized by the search engines.

5. Not Optimizing Your Website For Mobile

With more and more people using smartphones and tablets to access the internet, it’s important to make sure that your website is optimized for mobile. This includes things like having a responsive design and fast-loading pages.

6. Not using keyword-rich titles

One of the most common SEO mistakes is not optimizing your title tags. The title tag is the most important meta tag, as it tells the search engine what the web page is about. The title should be brief, keyword rich, and accurately describe the content on the page.

7. Not building enough backlinks

One way to improve your website’s ranking is by building backlinks. A backlink is simply a link from another website to yours. The more backlinks you have, the better. Just be sure that they are quality backlinks from reputable websites.

8. Not Optimizing Your Images

Another common mistake is not optimizing your images. When you upload an image to your website, be sure to include keywords in the file name and fill out the alternate text field with a brief, keyword-rich description of the image.

9. Stuffing keywords into content

One of the worst things you can do is stuff keywords into your content. Not only will this irritate your readers, but it will also get you penalized by the search engines. Use keywords sparingly and only where they naturally fit. 

10. Duplicating content

One of the worst things you can do is duplicate content. This includes copying content from other websites or even from other pages on your own website. Duplicate content will not only get you penalized by the search engines, but it will also irritate your readers.