Common Mistakes With Website Optimization and How To Avoid Them
Blog
Apr 10 2024
While you can run a successful business without being online, adopting ecommerce is a smarter strategy for growth. Your customers are searching and shopping online, and you need to meet them where they’re at — before the competition reaches them first.
But creating a website isn’t as simple as building a few landing pages and slapping your logo on them. A strategically optimized website requires planning, and without a plan, it’s easy to make mistakes. Keep reading to learn how some common website optimization mistakes could be holding you back — and how to fix them.
Are You Making These Website Mistakes?
When talking about site improvements, search engine optimization (SEO) is a great place to start. But SEO tactics aren’t always straightforward, and it’s common to make missteps that can negatively impact your search ranking.
Skipping keyword research
The first mistake many brands make is skipping keyword research. Your brand name, product offering, and industry are all good keywords to start with, but you also need to consider search intent. Brands should select keywords based on competition level, global search volume, and other key metrics. Failing to do this kind of deep research can limit your exposure and ultimately hurt your rankings.
Focusing on quantity instead of quality
Some businesses reason that publishing large quantities of content will lead to brand recognition faster than producing a smaller amount of quality content, but that’s not always the case. While huge content libraries can essentially “flood the results,” the material still has to be valuable to the customer. If Google or Bing thinks you’re duplicating content or plagiarizing other sources, your site could be penalized.
Stuffing keywords
Long ago, keyword stuffing could trick search engines into thinking that your website was more valuable than another based solely on the presence of those keywords. That was possible in the days before advanced SEO, though. Today, stuffing keywords into your content can hurt your website’s rank. Why? Google started to update its processes.
-In 2003, Google finalized the Florida update, its first attempt at impacting keyword stuffing negatively.
-In 2011, the Panda update started to target sites that were of low quality or that had no real value for consumers.
-Most recently in 2023, the Hummingbird update release changed Google’s algorithm yet again.
Now, users can type in anything in natural language, and Google’s algorithm will figure out their intentions. As a result, today’s websites have to be written for people, not only with keywords in mind.
Tips To Avoid Common Missteps in Website Optimization
Ready to fix past missteps? Keep these tips in mind.
Focus on relevant keywords
The right keywords can be the difference between your messaging reaching its intended audience or seeing poor rankings on the results pages.
When researching, consider these questions before selecting keywords to use in website optimization efforts.
Can you be more specific? For example, if your keyword is “shoes,” can you narrow it down into more specific keywords such as “tennis shoes” or “tap dancing shoes” to be more precise?
What are your customers looking for? Check competitors’ content to see common keywords you might want to use (or use variations of).
Which keywords are competitors ignoring? After analyzing the competitor page, did they miss a keyword that you can use to set yourself apart? For instance, if the competitor sells glitter shoes but fails to use the keyword “sparkling” or “sparkly” you could use a variant to capture target audience members who didn’t use “glitter” in their searches.
What are your customers looking for? Check competitors’ content to see common keywords you might want to use (or use variations of).
Which keywords are competitors ignoring? After analyzing the competitor page, did they miss a keyword that you can use to set yourself apart? For instance, if the competitor sells glitter shoes but fails to use the keyword “sparkling” or “sparkly” you could use a variant to capture target audience members who didn’t use “glitter” in their searches.
Using Google’s free keyword planner will get you started on deeper research and can help uncover even more relevant keywords.
Build up a selection of quality content
High-quality content is vital to SEO and the user experience.
When forming a content plan, emphasize material that teaches, informs, or entertains the audience with optimized text, images, and video. Potential customers often turn to search engines like Google and Bing for information—providing valuable content can build trust in your brand and set you apart from competitors.
Eliminate keyword stuffing
Following best practices for SEO can help you rank without stuffing keywords into the content. Here are a few common guidelines to prevent keyword overload on your website:
1. Use long-tail keywords in titles, since titles are used in search results.
2. Use your keywords in headers to help your content rank.
3. Add a meta description with a primary or secondary keyword to encourage people to click through to your website.
4. Make your content unique. Don’t just write the same content with the same keywords repeatedly. Duplicate content could hurt your ranking.
Creating an effective website isn’t something you can improvise; it demands careful planning. To steer clear of common stumbling blocks in site optimization, stick to fundamental principles: construct a logical site layout, craft compelling content, and select keywords with precision. Taking this measured approach to optimizing your site can lead to improved performance.
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