7 Costly Search Engine Optimization Mistakes to Avoid

If you have a business website then you already know the importance of traffic. Traffic is not just anyone popping in for a visit on your site but an actual interested target group who are specifically looking for a product or service in your industry/ business. If you cannot generate targeted visitors to your website, then the chances of high sales volume is out of the question.


Usually the owner or designer of the website is the person designated to drive traffic to the site. The main ingredient in generating traffic is the search engine. There is always the option to use advertising but we all know how expensive that option can be. By using search engines to generate targeted (interested in your product) traffic is the least expensive method known.

Unfortunately, many business website owners do not understand the importance of search engine visibility, which leads to traffic. They place more importance on producing a "pretty" website. It is important to have a presentable site, but it must serve the fundamental purpose and that it bring in more sales for your business. So, what are some of the pitfalls someone can fall into?

1. Keywords – Not using them effectively

This is probably one of the most critical areas of website design. Choose the right keywords and potential customers will find your site. Use the wrong one and you will hardly see any traffic to your site. It is therefore recommended to seek the services of a professional website design company which also usesearch engine optimisation elements to create a Search engine friendly website.

2. Keywords – Please do not repeat them

If you are new to keywords, you would be using the same keyword in the content again and again. Some users use it in each sentence. This is a big no-no and search engines actually look past these websites as "spam". Keywords should be used in moderation and most people agree that using 2-3 keywords (2 to 3 times) on a content page is more than sufficient.

3. Do not steal content

Search engines change their algorithms all the time and one of the more recent changes is detecting duplicate content. Never steal content directly from a website; not even the images.
You can always get ideas from other sites but your content should be unique. Search engines favour content which is unique. Some sites are banned from search engine listings if found to be directly copying from other websites. If you cannot write the content for your websites, seek the help of professional writers.

4. Using keywords that are not related to your website

Some unethical website owners use keywords which are not even related to their website. A classic example is using the name of a celebrity as a keyword. Even though it is a popular keyword, it is a dead giveaway when someone lands on your site to discover what they are looking for is not available on your website. Instead, stick to keywords relevant to your site as the whole idea is to receive target traffic to your site who will convert later on to be your clients.

5. Do not hide your keywords

Yes, it is true. There are some people who stoop to a low level just to get traffic to their site. What they do is make the keywords invisible by changing the colour of the keyword font to match the background. This is clearly not a good idea as search engines are becoming really smart now. It is not worth getting your website blacklisted.

6. Search Engines have their own rules

To really stay ahead of your competition you have to realise that all search engines have their own logic and algorithms. This means that if you understand what sites they give more importance to, the higher your success rate of making your website visible to the online community.

7. Check your website regularly

Make sure to check every page in your website for completeness, like missing links, graphics, etc. The reason is that you may have some important keywords located in some pages and if information is missing or links broken, it will only drive traffic away from your website instead of retaining the visitor.

The above are real examples of what has happened to website owners who have gone off and done their own thing. Play by the rules when it comes to search engine optimisation and work with a good website design company if you are planning to build a website from scratch because the SEO elements they incorporate from the website design phase will have long-time positive results for your business website.
 

Reference :

http://www.yourseomanager.com.au/blog/search-engine-optimisation/7-costly-search-engine-optimization-mistakes-to-avoid/