If there’s anything that marketers learned in 2013, it’s that they have to put the user’s needs first. Every innovation made to search engines — algorithm updates such as Google Hummingbird, SERP enhancements, and social integrations — was designed to create a better overall experience for the searcher. As a result, SEO marketers must think more closely about how much users value their content and take the necessary steps to communicate that to the search engines.
In 2014, Google continues to the lead the charge in putting more information on the SERP, adapting to spoken language, and organizing results better. Bing is also slowly but surely following along with its search engine.
With that said, here are six SEO mistakes to avoid so Google doesn’t come crawling up your rear end.
Overlooking the power of Social Media
Believe it or not, social media is a key ingredient to Google’s ranking recipe. The higher your content quality is, the more sharable it is. Getting your content seen and shared via Google+ and Facebook is one of the best ways to increase organic SERPs results. In addition to gaining effortless backlinks, social media exposes your brand to all corners of the web while building trust. Here are some of the best social media SEO practices to help you out.
Not Optimizing for Mobile Users
Considering 48 percent of people start their mobile experience on a search engine, no matter whether they’re using a smartphone or an Android tablet, it’s important to optimize your website for mobile SEO. This comprehensive guide highlights how you can drive more traffic to your mobile site by using SEO tactics that’ll make sure your visitors get what they’re looking for out of their experience. Mobile optimization and SEO work together.
Including Irrelavent Content
If you’re publishing any content that looks duplicated or completely irrelevant, don’t be surprised if Google takes notice and starts lowering your ranking in its search results. The good news: this problem is easy to fix and within your control. Instead of writing 200-500 word blog posts that essentially regurgitate what others have already said, invest in writing longer articles that are more in-depth (even if it means it takes longer to publish and post).
Stuffing as many keywords as you possibly can
Sure, it’s hard for search engines like Google and Bing to completely rid their algorithms of their dependence on keywords, but they’re looking a lot less at keyword density as a way of measuring relevance. As a result, making small changes to keyword density won’t help. Instead, you should focus on a few keywords and boost them with a lot of supporting keywords that clarify the content’s purpose. Here are other ways to shift your keyword strategy.
Using Anchor Texts the wrong way
Anchor texts have acted as an important SEO tool recently, but dull ones should be avoided at all costs. In 2014, you should be mixing up your anchor text keywords frequently. If you’re continuing to use the same keyword repeatedly, the reader will lose interest and Google will consider it spammy. For instance, if your anchor text is “swimming pools,” try to use it with other combinations like “above ground swimming pools” or “outdoor swimming pools.”
Ignoring Your Old Content
Although you should be adding new content consistently on your website, you shouldn’t forget the old stuff that already exists. In case you didn’t know, bad, broken, or unrelated links hurt you in the world of SEO. You shouldn’t spend all your time revamping your old content to meet new demands, but you should look it over to make sure it’s not negatively impacting your SEO results. Although new content trumps old content, it doesn’t mean you should completely ignore it, especially if you can make a few tweaks to it to retrofit it.
Understanding SEO isn’t rocket science, but it does take some time to utilize it the right way to receive the rewards.
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