If you want to hide a dead body, the best place to do so is on the second page of Google. As absurd as it might sound, there is a lot of truth in the statement. The top three results account for 40% of the clicks for a search term and the numbers will keep decreasing the lower you go on the SERPs. If you care about driving leads and conversions, the focus should be on being on the first page of search engines. You’re probably aware of SEO and even tried a couple of strategies but nothing seems to be working. Here are some of the reasons why your SEO sucks and what you can do about it.
Failure to Do Keyword Research
Web copy has to be intentional for it to serve its purpose. You can’t start creating content when you’re not sure if there is enough interest. Keyword research is the base of SEO and you’re not likely to succeed if it is not done right. If you’re not sure of the process, you can look for an Atlanta SEO Company that Doesn’t Suck – We Build ROI Fast. Letting an experienced agency handle your SEO will come with a couple of benefits.
Keyword research can be approached in different ways. One of the most effective ways is by looking at the competition. What are the keywords they’re ranking for? How is the content developed? There are tools like Ahrefs that can help with competitor analysis so that you’re aware of the areas that need improvement. With proper keyword research, it will be easier for potential customers to find your business since you’ll be making use of the right search terms.
Neglecting On-page SEO
You’re not likely to see any improvements in rankings if you neglect on-page optimization regardless of the links that you build. On-page can be termed as the practices that you use on your website to make it easy for search engines to understand what your content is all about. With proper on-page, it will be easier for Google bots to crawl your website and understand how content is related. The title tags, metatags, and content have to be optimized for search visibility. Don’t blindly follow the recommendations that are provided by SEO plugins. The focus should be on writing for humans first before search engines. Avoid click baits as it could result in high bounce rates.
You’re Slacking With Link Building
Link building still remains one of the most important factors in ranking. Google measures the authority of a page with the links that are pointing to it. Spamming directories is no longer an effective link building strategy. As much as Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are still effective, you’ll always be at the mercy of Google whenever there is a major algorithm update. There should be a long term strategy when it comes to building links. The process should also be sustained as you’ll not want to build links and stop just because you’ve started seeing results. One of the ways that you can easily build links is by creating linkable assets.
Even if the website is conversion-driven, there is always a way that you can create valuable content. It could be a detailed analysis of the statistics in your industry. People like linking to statistics, especially if it is presented in a visually appealing format. The use of infographics will come in handy if you’re looking to build sustained links for your website.
Your Website is Not Responsive
Responsive design has become important now than ever before. Google is giving priority to mobile indexing. This is because the majority of people that are using the internet are doing so via their phones. That is why you could be losing visitors if your website is not mobile-friendly. Google will give ranking priority to websites that are mobile-friendly and load fast. Before you can think about thousands of factors that could be affecting your ranking, you need to make sure that you’re getting the basics right and this will start by having a mobile-friendly design for your website.
You Don’t Have a Blog
Having a blog will not only be beneficial when it comes to building a loyal audience but can also help with the SEO endeavors. It is a lot easier to convert a reader into a customer when they’re getting valuable information from your website. If you don’t already have a blog section, it will be time to set one up. SEO requires effort and consistency for it to be successful.
