The current SEO space
SEO is ever-evolving. With endless new technologies surfacing, it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The increase in our dependence on technology in our everyday lives, also plays a part. In fact, the pandemic saw us shift even more of our lives online, from work, communication, shopping etc. These changes and behaviours all impact SEO.
For example, as over 50% of traffic now comes from mobile devices, search engines such as Google and Bing now prioritise websites that are optimised for mobile devices.
This can only mean one thing. Keeping up to date with these changes is key to success. Below are some key mistakes to avoid in order to boost your SEO performance in 2021 and beyond.
Mistake 1: Underestimating the importance of a clear SEO strategy
To maximise your SEO results, the answer is simple; you need a clear SEO strategy with actionable goals and metrics. The risk of taking the ‘easy road’ and focusing on the immediate tasks or goals is that you end up losing sight of the bigger picture and often make mistakes that can be avoided.
Mistake 2: Fake links
When it comes to whether or not businesses should be buying links, my answer is always – avoid, avoid, avoid! Quality is definitely more important that quantity. Not to mention, low quality links are really damaging to your site and may eventually result in a penalty, which should be avoided at all costs!
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Mistake 3: Poor content
Your content strategy and SEO strategy go hand in hand. If your content is not relevant or valuable to your target audience, it will not be ranked by search engines. The key is to not only focus on keywords. But ensure that you’re consistently producing high value content that your audience wants to engage with.
Mistake 4: Neglecting user experience
Many presume that good web visibility will automatically result in a surge in sales but as we know, there are also other factors that come into play. Your web design and hosting play a huge role into whether or not visitors will stay on your website and for how long. According to Chartbeat, 55% of your visitors spend less than 15 seconds on your website and things like load time, web design, navigation, call to actions etc play a part. It’s important to ensure a smooth experience at all points in the users’ journey.
Mistake 5: Inconsistency
SEO is a long-term, ongoing project. So, if you are looking for overnight results, you’re likely to be disappointed. Establishing and maintaining your rankings is not a one-time-only job or a quick win so consistency here is key. Using metrics to measure success and analyse what you are doing well and where you could use some improvement, is vital. It will help you maintain momentum and focus on the bigger picture.
Conclusion
Overall, businesses effectively implementing SEO in 2021 and beyond have a higher chance of success. Avoiding the common mistakes mentioned in this article will help you achieve your SEO goals.
As SEO is heavily dependent on search engines, changes to algorithms for the likes of Google and Bing will have a significant impact on achieving SEO success. So, staying up to date with key changes and updates will impact on your SEO performance.
For more on SEO and broader digital strategy you can get a copy of my best-selling book, Digital Marketing Strategy.