People often come up with different ideas or reasons why their SEO is failing. Some people just assume it’s because Google’s not favoring them and others believe it’s because they’re not advertising which is why Google puts them on a lower priority. Unfortunately, the reality is simple; you’re taking the wrong approach to SEO.
In this article, we’re going to explain 10 wrong approaches to SEO and how you can solve them to give your business the online presence it deserves.
Your website isn’t very good
Most people don’t think that the quality of their website has much to do with their SEO as long as they have the right number of keywords, but this is completely wrong. Think about it this way; the number of users that use and stay on your website is a much more powerful metric to measure than how many keywords you use. If your website lacks meaningful content, has poor navigation and is difficult to read due to keyword stuffing, then your users won’t stay.
The solution is easy; make a better website. Whether you need to hire a designer, completely overhaul your site or just revitalize your content with a better copywriter, there are plenty of ways to improve the user experience and make your website better.
You’re not tracking analytics
A lot of people overlook that you need to track the progress of your website. You need to have some kind of analytics or tracking programs in order to give yourself an overview of your website and how it can be improved.
You should always set goals when you invest in an SEO project because it helps you measure how successful your campaign and actions are. Without having a way to measure your SEO campaign, you’re effectively going in blind and you’ll have no clue what’s working and what’s not. Sales are often not the only metric that you can use, so make sure you utilize different tools.
Your industry is a little too competitive
Let’s face it; if you’re starting a website that already has well-established alternatives in the industry then you’re going to have a tough time doing anything. You’ll be overwhelmed because you lack the domain authority of other sites and it can be incredibly hard to make Google notice you if there are dozens of better websites that cover your industry.
This is where it pays to either branch out into a related niche or learn more about specific marketing strategies. For instance, the marketing approach to medical practices will be entirely different to a company that sells medication online because there’s the concept of local SEO involved, so make sure you understand all of the different niches and how you can take advantage of them to grow your presence.
You’re trying to do everything yourself
The concept of SEO is rather simple. It’s all about making your website more attractive to Google and one of the most basic fundamentals is to have commonly-searched terms on your website so that Google ranks it higher. However, there are far more variables at play here such as the quality of your content, the navigation of your website and even the number of social media links to your pages.
With so many different things that could positively and negatively affect your page ranking and SEO, it’s important to consider an agency. Hiring an agency for SEO has advantages such as constant updates to your strategies thanks to updated information and optimization assistance that will improve your website’s load speeds and general ease of navigation. There are so many variables involved in your page ranking and it’s impossible to analyze them all without a professional team that is capable of breaking down your website page by page and explicitly telling you what to improve and how to do so.
You’re misunderstanding who your target audience is
Good SEO involves understanding your target audience. From the keywords that you should be ranking for to the content you’re writing, it’s vital that you think about your target audience and how you plan to make your website relevant to their needs and interests. You have to think carefully about the type of content you add, the social media widgets you’re using and also the type of products you sell. Misunderstanding your target audience can not only have a negative effect on your SEO but also your entire business as a whole. Your goals could be completely misaligned with your products and intended audience, so it’s important to fix this as soon as possible.
This is a deep-rooted issue that needs to be solved by looking back at your original business plan. You need to think about how you can refocus your content and products to reach your target audience while also optimizing your website for a different SEO direction. The longer you leave this, the more difficult it will be to fix your business in the future and the more problems you’ll encounter as a result of a mismatched target audience with your business goals.
You’re not using social media as much as you could
If you’re still not using social media or even considering hiring a community manager then you need to get on it as soon as possible. Social media has become one of the best ways to expose your business to the public and also improve your SEO. Through sharing your posts, discussing with your audience and engaging others for interactions, you can create a much bigger name for yourself and get your name out there so that people start talking.
SEO and social media go hand-in-hand, so make sure you put a heavier emphasis on creating social media accounts, managing them and engaging your audience so that they grow. Start with social media accounts that showcase your newest products and make sure you add widgets where your visitors can share your products or blog posts to social media for more visibility. Use multiple social media platforms to also garner a bigger audience and take advantage of social media-specific tools like Instagram’s focus on visual content and Facebook’s own advertising services.
