6 SEO Mistakes That Small Businesses Make (and how to fix them)
SEO can be an effective marketing tool for businesses, but it is also difficult to get right, especially for SMEs, as they have a much steeper climb. Building a presence for yourself online is a tough challenge, arguably one of the biggest challenges you will face as a business, especially if you only have limited funds.
However, just because getting your SEO right is difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible. By being prepared when you start producing SEO content, you make the odds of achieving success swing much further in your favour. There are several mistakes that are synonymous with small businesses, so by being aware of these and knowing how to avoid them, you’re already putting yourself in a good position moving forward.
So, what are these mistakes?
Not Having a Proper Plan
Planning a successful SEO strategy is one of the biggest challenges you will face. If you don’t have a solid grasp of your strategy and what you will rank for, it will be hard to know where to begin. Before diving headfirst into the world of SEO, you should thoroughly understand what you’re trying to achieve. Your goals will vary depending on your business’s size and industry.
Be sure to plan out the key elements of your SEO strategy, which include:
- What your goals are
- Who is your target audience
- What keywords are you going to target
- Who is your competition
Thinking That SEO is Cheap
There is a common misconception that SEO is free or cheap. This is mainly because you are not paying for clicks or any kind of advertising when you focus on SEO. This is a problematic mindset as it overlooks the time necessary for a good SEO strategy and the resources needed to optimise your pages correctly.
Ignore the suggestion that SEO is cheap and consider it a marketing channel that promises high ROI that you should be ready to invest in. It takes time and money to produce top-quality content, so be prepared to provide both. The worst thing you can do is underinvest in SEO, as you will struggle to stand out from the crowd, and your content won’t mean much.
Not Engaging with the Technical Side of SEO
You need to engage with technical SEO, as by doing so, you ensure that Google and other search engines can find and rank your organisation’s pages. It also optimises the code and back-end aspects of your site to ensure that Google can obtain all the information it needs. Many businesses are hesitant to engage with the technical side of SEO due to how technical it is, but if you are going to climb the ranks on search engines and generate a high return on investment, it has to be done. You can be patient and learn the ropes of technical SEO as you go, or you could SEO strategy to look at the specifics for you.
Using ‘Hacks’
A lot of time and effort is involved in putting together an effective SEO strategy. As such, looking out for different hacks and shortcuts can be pretty tempting, but this isn’t a good idea, especially if you are a small business. You will find a lot of different hacks that promise quick results, and whilst they might sound tempting, the fact is that cutting corners very rarely works out. Other methods, such as keyword stuffing and link purchasing, were promoted as good SEO hacks, but then Google cracked down on them so they could not be taken advantage of.
Sending Traffic to a Poor Website
No matter what kind of content you produce and your attitude towards said content, it all comes with the same end goal: sending traffic to your business’s website. This will all be for nothing if your site is lacking in quality. Consumers these days are very much aware that they have access to the entire world right there in the palm of their hands, and, as such, if you have a website that doesn’t look appealing, people aren’t going to stay on it. You need to ensure that your site looks good, is safe and easy to use.
Making Links Unnatural
Links are important in ranking highly on search engines such as Google, but they must be done naturally. If your links don’t appear natural, then Google will likely pick up on them and stop your site from ranking. Google treats links very seriously as they are one of the fundamental aspects that signify quality (so long as they come from a legitimate third-party site).
You should stay on top of which sites are linking to yours and how legitimate that link appears. If you are unhappy with how your site is being linked, then you can always report it. Next, if you are writing on third-party websites intending to include a link back to yours, be sure to include that link in a natural way.
Do You Need Help with Your SEO?
SEO is an effective form of marketing, but it can be tough to get right. If you need assistance with your business’s SEO, consider enlisting the help of YouYaa. YouYaa and our team of experts can help you avoid the common mistakes small businesses make when they attempt this marketing channel. If you have any questions or would like any further information, then do not hesitate to get in touch.
