The holy grail of executing a search engine optimization strategy is getting your page on the first page of Google’s search results.
Even if you have an SEO plan in place, there is a strong probability that it is not achieving your desired results.
There are numerous culprits for why your SEO strategy is flopping more than a live Tuna. Without an understanding of what you’re doing wrong, your content will be doomed in the middle of the search results.
I explain the three biggest mistakes that you can make:
1. You’re not using the right keywords
It is a strenuous task to identify the best keywords for you and your organization, especially if you’re working in a broad category with lots of competition.
The most common keyword-related mistakes include using single-word keywords instead of long-tail keywords, hoping to get noticed using popular keywords, and targeting keywords that are too specific (or not specific enough).
If you’re using single-word keywords or highly popular keywords, your page is most likely going to be lost in the thousands of results that appear after a general search. You may be asking yourself how you are going to be able to compete with the budgets that many million-dollar companies invest to gain first place spots. Therefore, it is essential to your SEO strategy that you find a keyword path around them.
In your quest to find the best keywords, don’t be overly specific or too general. If you optimize a keyword that is too broad, potential consumers will have trouble finding you and consumers seeking a different service might find their way to your page.
On the other hand, if no one searches for the keywords you’ve selected, you will be too difficult to find. Either way, take the steps to make it easier for potential customers to reach your page.
Select keywords that are specific enough to describe your organization well, but broad enough that they will be typed into a search bar.
2. You’re not using digital marketing tools
Digital marketing tools can show you what is a hit and what is a miss, so you know where your strategy is strong—and where it needs support.
Everything from analytic trackers to goal trackers fall under the data visualization tools category, and all are integral if you want to your SEO strategy to achieve results.
If you are only measuring the success of your SEO strategy by an increase in business, you’re unlikely to see the results you’re anticipating. Optimizing your website’s content takes time, effort and continuous improvements. If you use you SEO as a one-time project, it’s likely to have minimal impact.
Management tools give you the ability to track and understand the side of SEO you couldn’t see before and measure results beyond a regular increase in business. The tools you choose can provide you with information from how several new visitors you’re seeing on your website to potential keywords that may be optimal for your business.
Getting help from computer software/hardware, online programs or other marketing tools is integral in creating a strong SEO strategy. Ongoing technological changes require improved comprehension of your site’s effect on the hardware it interacts with.
An intro to networking courses provides you the competitive advantage needed to understand any server related problem flagged on your site. Don’t allow your efforts to fail because you’re not adapting and adjusting.
3. You’re not targeting your customers
Your SEO strategy needs to revolve around what your customers—or potential customers—look for when they need your product or service. If you don’t understand who your customer is, your SEO strategy is doomed.
Targeting the wrong audience will not improve your business even if your SEO strategy puts you on top on the results page. Concurrently, if you’re not appearing in the results for the correct audience, those searching for your business won’t be able to find you.
An excellent way to track if you are reaching the right customer is to check out your bounce rate—the number of individuals who come to your website and leave without visiting multiple pages. If your bounce rate is high, you are probably appearing in the wrong search results and your SEO strategy will need to be altered.
Spend the time to understand whom your target customer is and reflect on how they might be searching online. An older customer isn’t going to search the web the same way a Millennial would. Your keywords must represent the audience that brings you the most business.
Getting the right SEO strategy takes trial and error. With a lot of attention and a little adjusting, you can find your way to the first page of search engine results and increase your website traffic, leading to your organization’s success.
