10 Most Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid in 2018

It is a wonderful experience for one to arrive at the top position in the SERPs but it can be challenging to arrive at it. Below is how one can get it for their website. While creating a content marketing strategy, optimization of the website and avoiding SEO Mistakes and blog will prove quite important.

There is a constant evolution of SEO methods that are brought about by the development of search engines as well as the altering perspectives of the users.

Some of the SEO mistakes that show up frequently are still quite difficult to avoid. Optimization tests are difficult to carry out as the methods cannot be verified with real-time due to difficulty in predicting search engines’ rules.

There have been some practices that have remained effective despite the constant evolution of the optimization field. Below are some the mistakes that show constant reoccurrence:

1. SEO Mistakes:  Choosing The Wrong Keywords

It is important that the right keywords be selected in accordance with how one intends to have the website ranked.

This is a visible mistake as there are those who seem to ignore the preferences that are suggested by search engines as well as users of long-tail keywords.

One may prefer defining their products and services in a particular manner but the preference may prove to be contrary to what potential clients opt for.

The terms considered best by one could refer to a different item for others. Either way, the wrong keywords will end up being used.

Research should be conducted before optimization begins. The tools that can prove helpful are Google AdWords Keyword Planner, Google Trends, SEMrush as well as Moz Keyword Explorer.

2. SEO Mistakes:  Using Keyword Stuffing

Contrary to common belief, use of target keywords excessively within the displayed content does not boost ratings.

Instead, the keywords will be listed as spam by various search engines and this is a problem for the SEO performance ratings.

Overuse of the keyword tends to make the content lack use for the potential clients. Google is taking advantage of Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) to identify the topic of certain content without having to involve constant repetition of keywords.

3. SEO Mistakes:  Creation Of Content That Does Not Agree With The Keywords

It is a common mistake to find content that is not in agreement with the keywords selected.

The ranking is done based on keywords used within the content but the content lacks a relation to the used keyword.

The content will, therefore, receive poor ranking if the content does not satisfy user needs.

This is a mistake that is mostly brought about by squeezing in different topics to a single article resulting in content that has low-quality, provided the keywords optimized within are in large numbers.

The primary goal should remain production of high-quality content that meets the needs of the readers by providing answers to given queries while using suitable terms.

4. SEO Mistakes:  Publishing Non-original Content

This is a mistake that relates to the quality of content. The duplication of content was done frequently in the past but such a move is now penalized, plagiarism and copying are discouraged, and content that has this is considered spam.

Hence, it is imperative that webmasters utilize a plagiarism checker to see if there is any duplication in the content they are going to publish. Plagiarism checkers can compare the content against online sources and see if there is any copied text present in it. They highlight/underline the duplicated parts, which can be edited or removed by the webmaster.

One should put effort into creating original content that is of high quality rather than using software to alter old content to make it appear new as it helps avoid a situation where the website will receive a low ranking in the different search engines.

5. SEO Mistakes:  Skipping Title Tags And Meta Descriptions

Optimization of content is not complete upon the inclusion of target keywords in the article.

When it comes to SEO, title tags and meta-description should not be excluded because it will lead to the decrease of the content’s potential.

When crawling through websites, the optimizing factors are considerations of search engines and content performance can improve with the proper application of optimization factors.

An image tag is a common enough technical aspect that is forgotten by content marketers. The visual tags are important as it shows how you’re targeting articles.

Tags are important as they help with searching for pictures as search bots are not able to see pictures but are able to view tags and the information is added when indexing pages.

6. SEO Mistakes:  Missing Quality Links

Content marketers should be informed of the importance of external links that are present in content that prove to be important than quantity especially when trying to get more from SEO.

It is hereby important to link relevant websites that have attractive reputations and not just random sites. Sites that have linked to you should be linked up to as it is useful to generate traffic.

It is of no use to link while using ineffective anchor texts. Doing this will result in the loss of SEO chances as the anchor texts will inform particular readers as well as search bots the importance of the ink as well as defining it.

In most cases, avoid the use of ‘click here’ rather take advantage of the anchor text variety available because reuse of the same anchor text ends up as spam.

7. SEO Mistakes:  Losing Direction With The Internal Links

One should always make note of the pages that are performing well and consider having links that lead to such pages within your published content.

This will prove helpful in providing visibility and creating traction as an addition.

The links should not be included in your content unless it is comparable to the topic and subject of the article.

In a manner similar to keywords, the links should not be overused as this will lead to a reduction in rankings as well.

8. SEO Mistakes:  Avoid Investing In Fast And Mobile-Friendly Experience

SEO optimization also relates to the quality of the site when it is in use on mobile devices that are the most commonly used.

Search engines such as Google are able to detect whether a site is mobile friendly or not. When good mobile user experience is not considered the rating of the site by search engines will decrease.

The rating is further affected by load speed as well as emphasis posed by search engines. Slow websites result in low SERP.

Analysis can be done by online tools to determine the problems affecting speed and how they can be fixed.

9.  SEO Mistakes:  Not Using Influencers’ Power For Social Media Interactions

There is a social dimension when it comes to optimization. During media sharing, one should seek to attract the attention of users who have great influence on other social media users.

This will ensure that the content gains the attention of both the target audience as well as the search engines.

Once you create a relationship with such promoters, your content will acquire validation necessary to further promote the content.

To further take advantage of this, submit your posts to blogs or for website promotions without necessarily using promoters.

This is because your content easily gains credibility if the promoter is a respected member of the group. Structured outreach is an important part of strategy relating to optimization.

10. SEO Mistakes:  Forgetting About Analytics

One can only know how effective SEO optimization is through tracking. Tools such as Google analytics as well as Google webmaster can help with performance measurement to determine what strategies are proving beneficial.