Monday, 19 April 2021 16:03

5 SEO Mistakes To Avoid According To A SEO Firm In Denver

Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is one of the best digital marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes! However, search engine optimization can be very technical, complex, and confusing, especially if you have no former experience with it. Small business owners can make all kinds of SEO mistakes that may negatively impact their organic rankings. As a top SEO firm in Denver, we wanted to share some expert advice to help you avoid those common missteps.

Common Errors Our SEO Firm In Denver Sees All The Time

Before we dive in, we should note that search engine optimization is not a perfect science. Best practices can change over time, as search engines like Google release new algorithm updates to better meet the needs of their users.

So don't beat yourself up over a few site optimization errors! Just do your best to follow the current industry best practices and to fix the following errors on your site.

1. Publishing The Wrong Type Of Content

The content that you publish on your website needs to be drafted for a specific audience. Not only that, but your content also must be original and must offer some value for your target audience.

For instance, if a business consulting firm publishes duplicate content on their site (i.e., content copied from elsewhere on the web), Google will notice that duplicate content as it crawls the site. This may lead to a drop in their search engine rankings, as Google will always prioritize original value-add content over duplicate articles.

On the other hand, it isn't a good idea for that same consulting business to publish a blog on "X Activities To Do During The Holidays." That piece of content will fail to speak to their target market of business professionals and may negatively impact their organic rankings. The site may even start to rank for irrelevant key phrases, which will only further impede its SEO strategy.

For those reasons, make sure the content you publish on your site adds value, is original and written for your target audience.

2. Skipping On-Page SEO

Search engine optimization isn't as simple as placing your target keyword several times on one page. There are many other on-page SEO factors that you can't forget to optimize! These include:

  • Title tags
  • Header tags (i.e., H1s, H2s, H3s, etc.)
  • Image alt tags
  • Outbound links
  • Internal links
  • Meta descriptions
  • And more

All of those on-page SEO elements are essential for your strategy. If you skip over any of these factors, you will struggle to improve your organic search engine rankings.

3. Slow Load Times

Have you ever clicked on a website and grown quickly frustrated by the slow loading time? Don't worry, you're not alone.

These days, we're all accustomed to immediate results, quick rewards, and fast service. Everyone gets frustrated when a website won't load quickly, and Google has caught onto that. To accommodate those irritated searchers, Google has made page speed a ranking factor (SearchEngineLand).

The intent of a search query is still important for search results. However, Google now prioritizes sites that load quickly over ones that load slowly. So even if it only takes 5 or 6 seconds to load your site, Google may still rank your site lower due to those milliseconds.

How can you improve your site speed? Head to Google's PageSpeed Insights tool to see your current load times and recommendations on how to improve your site speed. Here are a few of the best ways to boost your load times quickly:

  • Enable image compression on your site
  • Minify your HTML
  • Compress Javascript and CSS files
  • Use browser and server-side caching

4. Your Site Is Not Mobile-Friendly

Did you know that approximately 60% of all searches are now conducted on mobile devices? A report from Hitwise found that online searches for certain industries, like food and beverage or health, have a high share of mobile searches (72% and 68% respectively). So any desktop-only sites are missing out on a large chunk of traffic.

We should also note that Google has switched over to mobile-first indexing. This means that the search engine now prioritizes mobile-friendly sites over desktop-only ones.

If your site is not currently mobile-friendly, make it your top priority to change that!

5. No Listings On Online Directories

Does your business pop up in Google Maps? What about Apple Maps? Can customers find your business on sites like Yelp, Angi's, or the Better Business Bureau? If not, your local SEO strategy is likely suffering.

Those web directories can play a minor, yet influential role in your search engine rankings, as Google evaluates all of the links to your site when assessing your domain authority. And many of those directories receive plenty of annual visitors, which could translate into referral traffic for your website.

If you want to capitalize upon your local SEO, then you should claim or create listings for your business on these web directories. Every business should be listed, at the very least, on Google My Business, Bing Places, and Apple Maps.

And don't worry about the cost! While there are a few exceptions (e.g., Yahoo, BBB, etc.), virtually every web directory allows you to create listings for free.

Improve Your Rankings With A Top SEO Firm In Denver

If you are struggling to get results out of your SEO strategy, reach out to us at Real FiG Advertising + Marketing! We'll run an in-depth audit of your entire website and develop a custom search engine optimization strategy to attract qualified leads for your business. We can also provide other digital marketing services to further benefit your online presence in Colorado!

Contact us today to learn how our SEO firm in Denver can benefit your business.