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Concise Guide to the
Most Common SEO Mistakes
By Martin Sejas (c) 2010
It is time to reveal the 10 most common SEO mistakes
committed by website owners the world over.
If you are not too happy about your website's ranking on
the search engines, then look through this list and make
sure that your website is not committing any of these
mistakes.
I've decided to divide this article into 2 sections: on page
SEO and off page SEO mistakes. As you read through this
article, you will realize that the mistakes covered here are
all based on my previous articles about SEO.
On Page SEO Mistakes
This section refers to SEO mistakes made on your actual
website.
1. Not Targeting 1 Keyword Per Page
This is the most important facet of on page SEO yet so many
people are either unaware of its importance or forget to do
it. It's heaps easier to target a single keyword per page
than to target 10 keywords per page. At the very maximum,
you can target 2 keywords, but you should try to keep it to
just one. Focusing your efforts on 1 keyword per page will
get greater results quicker.
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2. No Keyword In URL
The URL of each page should have the keyword you are
targeting for that page. If it doesn't, then it's just going
to be harder for you to get that page ranking for that target
keyword. Fix up your URL if you have to because this is
crucial to SEO success.
3. No Keyword in Title Tag
I cannot count the number of pages I've seen that don't
have their target keyword in the title tag. Just in case
you're not aware, the title tag is what appears at the top
of your browser when you're on a webpage. This is the one
mistake I see the most because it is so obvious when I visit
a webpage. It's amazing how many home pages of websites have
the word "Home" in their title tags. You MUST have the
target keyword in your title tag because it will make a huge
difference to your SEO efforts. This is certainly one of the
top 10 SEO mistakes out there today.
4. Bad Use of Meta Description and Meta Keywords
The most common mistake regarding meta description is people
not using it at all. Just in case you weren't aware, the meta
description is a short description which is used to describe
your website in search engine result listings. You should
use it to encourage people to visit your website when they
find you on the search engines. It also doesn't hurt to
have your target keyword there.
Regarding meta keywords, the most common mistake people
commit is putting too many keywords there. You should limit
yourself to a maximum of 5 to 8 keywords because putting
more will only get you punished by the search engines for
keyword spamming.
5. Bad Keyword Density
Unfortunately, many people are still committing this grave
SEO mistake. Some are mentioning their target keyword as
much as possible on their webpage to try and get it to rank
highly. It used to work in the early days on the Web when
engines were not intelligent, but these days it can only
result in your websites getting penalized or even banned.
On the other hand, there are also people who do not use
their keyword enough on their webpages. This is equally bad
because it means that the search engines have no idea as to
what keyword your webpage is trying to rank highly for.
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The goal should be a keyword density of 3% which is not too
much and just enough for good SEO.
Off Page SEO Mistakes
This section refers to SEO mistakes made outside your
website, but which hamper your website's ability to rank
highly on the search engines.
6. Bad Keyword Research
Keyword research is the basis for SEO success. If you target
keywords with a high level of competition, then your ability
to rank highly and get traffic will be diminished in the
short term. On the other hand, you should not simply target
keywords because of low competition because there may not be
enough people searching for that keyword. It's all about
finding a balance between the number of searches and the
number of websites competing for that keyword. Using tools
such as the Google Keyword Tool can help you achieve that
objective.
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7. No Keyword in Anchor Text
Off page SEO is all about building backlinks aka links back
to your website. Nevertheless, while doing that, most people
forget to put their keywords in the anchor text of the
backlink. For example, if "computer repairs" was the primary
keyword of your website, then you want to be sure that
computer repairs is in the anchor text, just like in the
following:
"Visit the best computer repairs service in town."
Please note that the above is just an example.
This must be one of the most simple top 10 SEO mistakes
committed today.
8. No Anchor Text Variety
While it's great to use your target keyword in the anchor
text of your backlinks, you must also mix and match with
other keywords. In other words, if you use the same keywords
in the anchor text of 100 links, then the search engines will
regard this as suspicious and will penalize your website. For
this reason, you should find about 5 other related keywords
and use them in your anchor text too. The greater the
variety, the better your SEO results will be.
9. No Link Source Variety
There are plenty of ways to get backlinks. One of the top 10 SEO
mistakes committed, however, is using only a minimal number of
link sources. For example, some people simply use article
marketing to get their backlinks. Others just use social media.
You need to be using a variety of sources to get your backlinks.
The reason why this is the case is that the more sources you
utilize, the more natural the backlinks will appear to the
search engines, and the higher your site will rank.
10. No Natural Build Up of Links
Building on the previous mistake, you have to make sure that
the number of backlinks your website gets takes place in a
natural, human-like manner. For instance, getting 300 links
in just a single week will certainly grab the attention of
the search engines and as a result, they will punish your
website accordingly. However, if you get 300 links over the
course of a month, then that will appear to be more natural
and they will more likely than not reward you.
Fix Them and Then Avoid Them
I suggest that you go through all of your websites and see
whether they are committing the SEO mistakes covered in this
post. After correcting them, it's all about avoiding these
common SEO mistakes so that your websites get the rankings
and traffic they deserve.
About The Author
Martin Sejas provides an Internet marketing consulting service for people who want to establish
an online presence for their business or dramatically improve their current online presence today.
You can register for a free consultation today.
www.internetmarketingadvice.com.au
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