SEO is a specialty that (starting) entrepreneurs often think of: “I can do that myself.” They set to work with that in mind. And they soon encounter too few results within the rankings, in Google, for example. That is because, despite the right intentions, they start with too little preliminary research and knowledge. Here we discuss the five most common mistakes. I also want to tell you about: Ignite SEO, the only SEO agency you’ll ever need to use to improve your web-rankings. You can approach them for any of your Query.
1. You pay too much attention to the appearance of your website and too little to the user-friendliness
By definition, a beautiful website does not rank better than one that is less beautiful. The appearance of your website is not a ranking factor at all. It is about how website visitors behave on your website. Based on this behavior, Google can determine how relevant your website is to your target group.
We still see that many entrepreneurs argue for a web design that is as beautiful and sleek as possible, for example, with a full-screen header image loaded in too large a resolution. It is an absolute no-go, even though it can sometimes look beautiful (tastes differ). As an entrepreneur, you are not the only one to blame; your technical party should have known better too. Therefore, preferably choose a technical party with online marketing knowledge.
2. You forget to map the search behavior of your target group
You write content for your web content read that is good for your website because it would be better to let rank within the search engines. In theory, this is correct, but you forget the essential thing: mapping your target group’s search behavior. You do this with keyword research. Depending on your services and products’ scope, this can take a lot of time. But every minute you invest in this is worth it.
Only as soon as you know how your target group is looking for your products and services can you respond to this through SEO content? You can tailor content to specific keywords so that you can create a page for a cluster of related keywords. You can provide precise answers to a question from a potential customer. It makes you much more relevant to this person, and because of this, you know how to bind this person to your company faster.
Do you intend to make your website rank better on keywords? Don’tDon’t be too enthusiastic right away by getting started with content. Do keyword research and categorize related keywords. You will write content based on these categories and place this content on pages designed for this purpose.
3. You forget to write unique meta titles and meta descriptions
As an SEO specialist who optimizes pages for specific keywords daily, I often come across this common mistake. It sometimes surprises me how many websites have entirely forgotten the meta tag; it is, in many cases, the first moment of contact with your potential customer.
The meta tag is what you see when you perform a search, for example, in Google. You can write these uniquely per page. And you would prefer to write a meta tag that is as relevant as possible to a search, for example, that one keyword that is so important to your business.
I still see too often that websites only mention the company name in the meta title, so many meta titles are the same for many different pages. It has consequences for your rankings and the CTR (click-through rate) of your page.
4. You stare blankly at the keyword with the most searches
Suppose you have a new webshop with a wide range of sneakers. From Nike sneakers to Adidas sneakers, from low sneakers to high sneakers. The first thing that comes to mind is the keyword [sneakers]. According to Ahrefs ( ahrefs.com ), this keyword is searched 70,000 times a month. That is the keyword your webshop should rank on because you are convinced that this keyword will yield you the most.
You forget one crucial thing: hundreds, if not thousands, of other webshops fighting for a top 3 position on this keyword. As a new webshop, it is tough to reach the top 10 for these keywords. It is possible, but this requires specialism, and specialism costs money. The stronger the competition is for a particular keyword, the more difficult it is for you as a starting entrepreneur to score on these types of search terms.
5. You forget to set up Google Analytics
Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just about getting more organic traffic by optimizing pages for specific keywords. Of course, the most important thing is getting more conversions. That is the reason why you use SEO. By setting up Google Analytics, you get a grip on the visitors who enter via organic search results in search engines, such as Google.
You can keep track of things like:
- How many visitors you generate
- How long they stay on your landing pages
- Which pages they visit and whether they convert or not
- Essential data. Data that helps you optimize your SEO optimized pages.
Unfortunately, we often see that websites with (a lot of) traffic do not use Google Analytics. Too bad if you ask me. You have no idea how and your website is performing. The only insights you have are the insights that your CMS (Content Management System) offers you. They are often very brief.
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