Operating a business can be a struggle. Some of the biggest challenges business owners face is knowing how to market their business. You have to understand who your customer is and why they would want your product or service. However, you also have to know the best way to make sure your customers know your product or service exists! This is why SEO ranking is important for businesses that have an online presence.
Importance of SEO Rankings
First, you’ll need to understand why SEO rankings are important. SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s a term used to refer to increasing the visibility of your website through search engines like Google, Microsoft Bing, or Yahoo! Visibility is important for businesses because it’s a part of what connects businesses to customers.
SEO also helps in terms of website visits. When people are searching for a product and they come across your website, they’ll likely be compelled to click on it if your listing contains the information they seek. Getting traffic to your website is another critical factor in sales.
Mistakes That Can Hurt SEO Rankings
Be aware of the ways that business owners can hurt their SEO ranking. We’re breaking down some of those ways so that you know to avoid them.
- Word Count – Be mindful that your posts, blogs, or any other forms of copy need to have a certain word count. Websites should have at least 300 words on each page. It’s best to place unique content on each page. If you do not have enough words, it can lead search engines to skip over the content. Search engines are set up this way to determine which results are most likely to give users the information they want. Another aspect of this involves keywords. Using certain words in your copy can better your chances of achieving a more favorable SEO ranking.
- Changing Keywords – We mentioned keywords earlier, but this is important enough to have its own bullet point. Switching up the keywords on your website in the name of optimization can be tricky. You don’t want to change up the words too quickly or drastically because it could actually lower your SEO ranking. Experts suggest that if you decide your page needs a refresh with better keywords – do so slowly and carefully. You’ll also want to avoid what is known as keyword stuffing. This is when you try to overload keywords in a particular text to get a better SEO ranking. However, search engine companies have caught on to this. They have designed algorithms that spot keyword stuffing.
- Misusing Noindex Tags – A noindex tag is a tool that instructs search engines not to include a specific webpage in results. This can be done by adding the tag to the HTML. However, issues can come when you add a noindex tag to a page that you actually want to be indexed. It’s important for web page managers to stay up-to-date with which pages they have indexed and not.
- Identical Pages – When you have duplicate pages it makes it less likely that the page you want to be featured will end up with a good SEO ranking. Think of it as creating confusion for the search engine that is trying to determine which page is best for the user. Avoid this mistake by making sure you set up one page as the master page. A 301 redirect can also help let the search engine know that the two pages have the exact same content.
- Not Prioritizing Internal Linking – SEO experts believe that internal linking helps search engines continuously find relevant content on your website. It’s a great way to boost your SEO ranking. It also helps improve the user experience. When you have multiple links on your website it encourages the user to stay on your website longer.
Digital Mules: Helping Your Business Succeed
Digital Mules always has your business’s best interest in mind. We feature a staff of trained marketing professionals who use SEO tactics that can help your business attract new customers. We can help manage your social media page, give your website a fresh redesign, and more. Check out our list of services by visiting our Services page; click here for more information.
