10 Small Business SEO Mistakes You Must Avoid

Why You Need to Stay on The Good Side of Google!

In 2019 search engine optimization needs to be part of an overall diversified digital marketing strategy. SEO will push your website toward the top of organic search results. If done correctly it can have your website ranking at or near the top. But you need to avoid making common small business SEO mistakes along the way!

Let’s take a look at why SEO is so important for small business marketing. According to Search Engine Journal:

• 75% of all online users never scroll past the first page
• 70% of all links clicked on by visitors are organic, not paid
• The top 3 search results get 61% of all search clicks
• SEO generated leads have an average close rate of 6%

As you can see SEO is definitely an effective digital marketing strategy. But it is also a fairly complex process involving a number of steps. To get the best possible results you must avoid making common small business SEO mistakes!

10 Small Business SEO Mistakes

1 – Keyword Stuffing

Keywords are important to your overall SEO success. But recent Google algorithm changes make them less important than before. And using too many keywords will attract Google’s attention, and potentially get you de-indexed!

Solution: Use One focus keyword and One Related Keyword or phrase per page.

2 – Broken Links

A broken link is defined as a hyperlink that is not pointing to the intended page or location. Having broken links will earn you a bad reputation on Google and other search engines.

Solution: Regularly check for and repair broken links using a Broken Link Checker. Even better, WordPress users can simply use this Broken Link Checker Plugin.

3 – Copying Content

Stealing ANY content from a competitor or any other website is not only not nice, but it is actually ILLEGAL! Yes, Google and humans may not notice right away. But Google will eventually notice and penalize your site accordingly.

Solution: Take the time and create your own unique and engaging content.

4 – Duplicate Content

I am not sure why you would really want to do this, but never duplicate a page on your own business website. Google and other search engines will most often only index one page anyway. Plus you want unique content on each page in order to provide the best overall user experience.

Solution: Write unique copy and create unique content for each page on your site. This will increase user engagement and time spent on site.

5 – Poor Quality Content

Only great content is King. Poor quality content that has been hastily created for the sake of creating content will not do well. The same goes for content created by amateurs instead of professionals.

Solution: Create a solid content strategy before creating any content. Identify relevant topics of interest to your audience. Write informative and engaging content, and be sure to proofread it!

6 – Duplicate Title Tags

Don’t be lazy! Avoid using the same page titles on different pages. Be aware that some CMS systems, including WordPress and Drupal, may auto-generate titles for you. Be sure to use the actual page or post title instead.

Solution: Create unique page titles that allow search engines to index your site correctly, make sense to end users, and tell crawlers about your relevant content.

7 – Duplicate Meta Descriptions

Once again, don’t be lazy! Don’t forget that your page Meta description shows up in the search engine results page (SERP) snippet as well. Make sure you make it as descriptive as you can in order to stand out from your competitors.

Solution: Create a persuasive and descriptive Meta Description within the 156-character limit.

8 – Non-Credible Links

Creating backlinks is still a relevant SEO strategy. But only if you use high-quality links! Linking to pages that have a low or very low page rank has absolutely no value or credibility.

Solution: Think quality rather than quantity! Focus on high PR sites and authoritative industry blogs.

9 – Not Using Analytics

Not using website analytics like Google Analytics makes absolutely no sense to me. How can you measure the impact your SEO is having on your overall digital marketing strategy without some form of measurement and performance tracking?

Solution: Install and configure Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools for your website.

10 – Optimizing the Wrong Keywords

Don’t waste your time optimizing your business website for keywords that have nothing to do with your business or the expectations of your audience.

Solution: Use only keywords and phrases that people are actually searching for. Keyword Research can provide big rewards.

Avoiding Small Business SEO Mistakes

If you are lucky you did not make any of our common small business SEO mistakes. Good for you, you may go home now! But those of you who did make one or more small business SEO mistakes better think about fixing them. The longer you wait the further ahead your competitors will be.

Fixing many of our small business SEO mistakes is pretty straightforward. If you already do some or all of your small business digital marketing you should have no problem fixing them. In some cases you may need the help of your web designer, a search engine expert, and possibly a good copywriter.

For a more comprehensive guide on search engine optimization and how to get more targeted high-quality website traffic check out this 2019 SEO Guide from our friends at Cardinal Digital Marketing.

Fixing existing small business SEO mistakes is only the beginning. In order to keep your business website ranking highly, you need to avoid these common small business SEO mistakes in the future as well. For many of you, this will become second nature. But if you are already uncomfortable with SEO you may be better off engaging professional help.

Does Small Business SEO Confuse You?

Here at ESPRESSO.digital, we offer a full range of small business SEO services, including WordPress web design and development, e-commerce solutions, and search engine optimization .

Here at ESPRESSO.digital, we offer a full range of search engine optimization and web design services for businesses and product brands of all kinds, including brand strategy and design, website design and development, website re-design, search engine optimization, and business website hosting.

Feel free reach out to us and learn more about avoiding these common small business SEO mistakes. Our team can help you determine exactly what type SEO strategy you really need, and help you create the online presence you need to drive more consumers to your business website or e-commerce store. All you have to do is fill out the form below. The highly caffeinated agency is here to help!

Did You Make Any Small Business SEO Mistakes?

Did you make any of our small business SEO mistakes yourself? If so, how did you fix them? Did our suggestions help you improve your search rankings? Please feel free to let us know so our audience can benefit as well, and grab our feed so you don’t miss our next post! And feel free to share our post with your audience!

Thank you! We appreciate your help to end bad business websites, one pixel at a time!

By ESPRESSO Team Mobile-first experts translating innovative web design ideas into measurable business results! @ESPRESSOcreates