If you listen closely, you can almost hear the lamented cries of
business owners across the globe every day as they watch their search
engine rankings crash and burn. Too often those who are the most sincere
and determined do not see their efforts come to fruition, and this
usually transpires in a fit of confusion. If you are one of the many
perplexed and frustrated online entrepreneurs trying to understand why
your SEO efforts keep falling flat, read on and take an honest look at
which of your decisions cause Google to send you to the back of the
line.
1) A Website That Can’t Convert
Before you dive into link sharing, keywords and various other
external tactics, it’s crucial that you first examine what’s not working
with your own website. All the clever SEO tricks in the world won’t
move your revenues if your site fails to convert visitors. So before you
throw all your efforts into rankings and traffic, first ensure your
website is ready to welcome the masses. If your current conversion rate
is lackluster, targeted marketing efforts will only expose this all the
more. Make sure navigation is intuitive, your homepage is compelling and
informative, there are no content dead ends or other bad user
experiences, and that your ecommerce experience is fluid and flawless.
This may seem like common sense, but it’s staggering how many business
owners don’t realize their problems start at home. If you have a website
worth shouting about, only then is it time to call in the marketing
hounds.
2) Doing Everything Yourself
It’s tempting to take on SEO (and just about every other role)
yourself when you’re stepping into an entrepreneurial position, but
think twice if you want professional results. You likely know already
that the world of SEO is complex and extremely dynamic. Staying on top
of trends and your own site’s current rankings is a huge undertaking.
Those who do SEO halfway get results to match, so as soon as it is
possible, hire a consultant or staff member that spends at least half
their day focused on your SEO and social marketing efforts. You’ve got
many other aspects of your business to manage.
3) Using Outdated Strategies
Another sure-fire way to decrease your rankings is to follow archaic strategies. According to a recent report from RivalIQ,
over 50% of companies still use meta keyword tags, even though Google
has not used them in their algorithms for years. Not only is this a
waste of time, but it also publicly reveals your keyword strategies to
your competitors. This is further evidence that you shouldn’t own SEO
responsibilities yourself, unless you are aces at staying on top of
trends.
4) You’re Not Playing Nice with Others
Many business owners are hesitant to link to other sites for fear
they are sending traffic to their competitors. While it is essential to
choose your link share partners wisely, building content in a silo will
not get search engines to notice you. Google and company like businesses
that clearly play well with others, so targeted links to and from your
site are essential to great SEO. Likewise, as we recently emphasized in a
separate article on link sharing,
if you’re linking to any site that has shady partners of any kind
(spammers, link builders with no content, etc.) you, too, will be
punished. So play nice, but choose your partners wisely.
5) Guessing at Your Keywords
Most site owners work hard at predicting which keywords their
customers will most likely use to find their site. While a little
guesswork is necessary pre-launch, it is far more important to watch and
see how traffic finds you once you’re live. Failure to optimize your
content and keyword strategy based upon these real-world results will
definitely cripple your ranking efforts. Most SEO tools have a “search
in reverse” function – make this your best friend once your site is
live.
Even better, integrate your tool with your analytics source (like
Google Analytics), so you can see how well your site is optimized for
the keywords that are driving traffic. Don’t assume you know the best
keywords for your content. It’s a game of psychology, ultimately, and
your users will tell you how they are attempting to find your content.
The key is to listen, and respond accordingly.
Achieving envy-worthy search engine rankings requires the perfect
marriage of a great website, stellar content and savvy marketing
tactics. Failure to excel in any of these areas will not produce top
tier results. Typically, business people who are most frustrated about
their lackluster search rankings are focusing too much on one area, and
are not embracing the need for balance. Google’s ultimate goal with all
their algorithms and best practices is to give their users the best
possible experience when they search for anything on the web. So your
first step is to make sure your site does just that.
Once you have the confidence that what you have created is top-shelf,
then (and only then) is it time to get the attention you deserve.
Results-oriented SEO is not about magic tricks and pixie dust – it’s
about stellar content and smart, honest marketing and connecting.
Without this balance, Google will continue to look right past you.
Article by Tina Courtney-Brown in SPN
The Reasons Your SEO is Failing
