Halloween is quickly approaching and if you’re like us, you’re loving all things spooky and scary! One thing you shouldn’t be afraid of this time of year (or any time) is SEO. Here are a few mistakes to avoid along with some tips to help you find success.
SEO Mistakes to Avoid
- Targeting the wrong keywords: Keyword research is essential to digital marketing. Using the wrong keywords can hurt your business rather than bump it, so avoid using keywords that are too generic or irrelevant.
- Keyword stuffing: Keyword stuffing is the practice of overloading a web page or site with keywords in an effort to manipulate the site’s ranking in search results. Whether these keywords appear in a list or group or are entirely out of context, they can harm your site’s ranking.
- Cloaking: Cloaking or other dishonest tactics should be avoided no matter what. Cloaking is a technique where the content visible to the search engine spider is different from the content that the user sees. Cloaking is a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and will hurt your efforts much more than it will help them.
SEO Tips for Success
- Optimize your site for mobile: Last year, 68.1% of all website visits came from mobile devices, so if your site isn’t already optimized for mobile use, it is high time!
- Speed up your site: Slow-loading sites are a thing of the past. A slow webpage will frustrate users and discourage them from clicking through to other pages or buying your products. If your pages are slow, you won’t win the top spots for organic listing leaving it wide open for your competitors.
- Write for humans, not search engines: Just as you avoid keyword stuffing, avoid writing specifically for search engines. Content marketing should engage users and provide them with valuable content. Search spiders aren’t buying your products or services so keep the people you can best serve in mind.
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