When you’re working tirelessly on your website, the last thing that you want to hear is that your efforts aren’t producing the results that you anticipated. More often than not, this is the result of a website owner not knowing about search engine optimization (SEO) or having an SEO strategy that doesn’t utilize the right methods to begin ranking. The good news? Learning more about the mistakes you’re making will set you on the path to success. If you’re interested in learning more about why your website isn’t popping up on search engines, here’s a guide to the most common SEO issues.
You’re using the wrong keyword or you’re not using target keywords.
More often than not, a website won’t be bringing in organic traffic because they’re not using the right keywords. Of course, this can mean many different things. If you’re not using keywords at all, you’re publishing your content online without doing the necessary optimization needed to become visible to Google and other search engines. If you’re using keywords that require a higher domain authority, you won’t be able to rank from them until you raise your own domain authority. This means that you need to focus on long tail keywords that you can rank for.
But how do you find out where the SEO errors lie if the problem is your keywords (or beyond)? The best way to get started is to get a free SEO audit. An SEO audit will provide you with an in-depth SEO report that dives deeper into items like backlinks, technical SEO components, user experience and interaction, and your content itself (a quality SEO audit tool encompasses more than just the qualities listed here). With more detail about your current standing, you can create the perfect content strategy to move forward more effectively. It’s never too late to get started!
You’re creating content that doesn’t break the mold.
When it comes to SEO, keywords aren’t the only focus that you should have. Creating thin or low-quality content packed with terms from your keyword research won’t put you higher on search engine results or help you retain readers. Content should be properly formatted (subheadings, bullet points, photos), be informative and helpful, and offer something unique to their audience that other similar published pieces don’t. Creating unique, valuable content also plays an important role in your link building strategy. Always aim to go above and beyond, no matter what your blog article or web page may be about.
You’re forgetting to work on the important metadata.
On-page SEO items like your title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs can be easy to overlook. However, optimizing these is just as important as optimizing your content. After you’re finished writing a piece, make sure to double-check these items so that they’re ready to go once you hit publish. Given that these can be one of the common SEO problems for those who notice that they’re not getting the results they want, it’s important to keep this in the back of your mind each time you write.
SEO is more complex than many small business believe. If you’re working on your own site, you may get frustrated by slow progress or obstacles that are preventing you from getting the organic traffic that you want. The good news? No matter where you are in your journey, taking the time to learn more about SEO and the problems that websites face when trying to implement their own SEO strategies is a great way to get started. If you want to keep an eye out for some of the issues that may crop up in your journey, use the common problems above as a starting point and being working on an improved SEO strategy today!
