As with many things, sometimes it’s best to go back to basics. After all, if you can get the basics done right (and really well) you can get pretty far – especially if you’re a local business looking to boost rankings within the area.
But don’t worry, you’re not alone or in the dark anymore! We’ve written below the top 8 digital marketing mistakes we come across every week.
1. Not Auditing Meta Data
Page titles are essential for SEO. Without these, Google gets very few clues on what your website is about and where to rank it. Although this is one of the first things people will do when optimising a website and its web design, it’s a process that requires ample keyword research and competitor analysis.
With everything in digital marketing, these also require regular reviews and auditing to ensure that both meta titles and descriptions are enticing users onto the site as well as ranking organically. After all, if you’re ranking in the top spot but no one wants to click on your website – you’ve got a problem.
2. Choosing the Wrong Keywords
Make sure that your website is ranking for the right keywords. We often come across business owners that are trying to rank for generic keywords that are too broad and competitive. If you’re a local business, instead of trying to rank for ‘plumber’, consider keyword search terms like ‘plumber in Peterborough’. This means you are no longer competing with plumbers all over the world and will be able to target your local area for leads that are relevant to you.
Similarly, if you’re a nationwide business, keyword research is vital to ensure you can find long-tail keywords that are targeted to your audience and that will allow you to get to the top of Google much quicker than the very broad terms.
3. Poor Internal Linking
The bigger your website gets, the more important is it for you to have a good internal linking structure throughout your pages. By ensuring that Google (and users) can clearly navigate your website and understand which pages are more important than others will play a big part in how well you rank. Internal links allow you to create clear pathways for users to find the information they need as well as spreading the authority throughout your webpages hidden within the site.
4. Submitting Your Website
It is essential that you submit your website to search engines like Google if you truly want to understand how search engines are viewing your website. It will also bridge the gap between you and Google by telling them that you own your website and all the related URLs (such as HTTP and HTTPS). Using tools like Google Search Console allow you to submit your sitemap and clearly outline to Google the website you own and the pages that are on it.
Another important thing to remember is that Google will inform you if there is anything wrong with your website that will impact on your SEO rankings; if you’re not utilising GSC then you won’t know any of this.
5. Skipping Out on Content
Google and your target audience want to know more about your business, your products, and services. You need good quality content to tell readers who you are, what you do and your expertise in the industry. But don’t fall into the trap of writing content for content’s sake; ensure that the information on the website is useful. Google is becoming smarter and smarter and can understand when and where content is helpful for the user and when it is displayed in an easy-to-navigate and easy-to-read format.
Don’t write content without completing keyword research too. Without knowing what people are searching for, how will you be able to write copy that will benefit your rankings?
6. Ignoring Page Speed
As of July 2018, Google has taken more influence on page speed. If you have a website that loads slowly – then your website will not rank well on search engines. Visitors to your website want to find what they need quickly and if your website takes more than a few seconds to load, they will simply go elsewhere.
Although page speed involves a number of factors, there are some easy fixes that are overlooked. Things like image size can have a drastic influence on how quickly pages load, and ensuring that all images are compressed before uploaded will help to keep your site running faster. Still not sure on what page speed means for your website? Don’t worry we’ve broken it down in a previous blog on Google mobile page speed.
7. Missing Call to Actions
After doing all the hard work to get people to your website, you don’t want to lose them. You need a call to action on your pages so visitors don’t bounce straight back to Google; and instead, stay on your website, find out more about you and hopefully convert to paying customers. As bounce rate can also have an effect on your rankings, you want to make sure that users are finding the information they need quickly. If you find your users are bouncing off, it might be time to re-evaluate your keywords and meta data to see if you are bringing in the wrong users.
8. Forgetting to Think Ahead
In 2018, Google switched to mobile-first indexing. While having a great desktop version of your web design will have worked in the past, not having a mobile-friendly website will affect your rankings. You need to think ahead when it comes to websites. By working with a professional digital marketing agency, you can ensure you stay ahead of all trends and SEO techniques. With Google updating their search engine results every day, it’s important to stay on top of the latest news so you can ready yourself (and your website) for changes you’ll have to make.
If you need help with SEO in Peterborough, why not give us a call on 01733 839839 for a chat? We will happily book you in for an SEO review to help you get the most from your website design and business online.
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