Looking for new opportunities to drive growth, many small business owners orient themselves towards the World Wide Web, whether this is to sell their products across the web or just to boost their brand’s visibility. Optimizing your website for the search engines is one of the first internet marketing tips you will get as a small business owner who’s trying to stretch his wings online.
But, what does this actually mean? It is difficult to come up with an exact definition and to explain what a good search engine optimization plan should look like. Even the most reputed SEO experts will just tell you their professional opinion and present you the results of several experiments they have performed. What you can know for sure is that there are some, rather common SEO mistakes you should avoid when trying to boost your website’srank within search results and to increase its organic performance.
Not emphasizing the edge you have over your competitors
What makes your company stand out in front of other small business dealing in the same field and in the same geographical area? Do the best experts work for you? Do you have the fastest turn around? Do you provide the largest range of services? Whatever your competitive edge is, make sure you include it in your website’s “About Us” page.
Although not SEO related, here is another mistake you should avoid: not having an “About us” page. Why? Because this is where you speak about who you are and what makes you the best? That, but also more: this is how your potential customers know you are a legitimate business. Besides providing useful information such as your phone number or physical address, the “About Us” page is also an important trust element that provides you with credibility.
Keywords stuffing
It is true that keywords continue to represent the basis of search engine algorithms. Although it is very important to define the keywords by means of which your website will be found, avoid repeating them too often. You don’t have to use the phrase “hair dresser Los Angeles” ten times throughout the page for the search engines’ spiders to understand what you want to rank for. Instead, use natural language and write informative content.
Loosing focus of the user
Until not so long ago, good SEO practices meant chasing solely the search engines. But the latter reacted to this unfair race and introduced sophisticated algorithms that focus on users’ experience while visiting a website. This is why, instead of stuffing your accounting website with keywords, try to find the relevant ones. In order to do so, place yourself in the Internet users’ position. What query would they use when searching for the services your company provides?
Using too many Flash applications
While they may provide a neat aspect to your website, Flash applications cannot be read by search engines. Therefore, try to minimize their amount and, instead, fill your website with relevant well-written content.
