Struggling to understand why your keyword rankings aren’t improving? While it can be common to hop on the bandwagon that is blaming the quality of the content, before you rush to rewrite your website consider that it might be a few simple SEO issues instead that are the root of your problems.
You might be surprised how many people make these common SEO mistakes – ones that can cost you those all so valuable keyword rankings. Now for some good news; no matter the SEO issue we know how to fix it. And in this article, we’ll teach you how.
Interested in becoming a search engine optimisation wizard, with all the power and knowledge to fix issues and see keyword rankings soar? Then be sure to keep scrolling. Got no time to scroll? Let us handle it! The team at Immerse Marketing live, breathe and sleep SEO (seriously, we dream about it). We can iron out any SEO mistakes and help you achieve the website traffic flow your business needs.
Now, back to SEO issue problem solving.
Keywords are the golden ticket for website SEO. New and experienced developers and designers all know the importance of keywords, however which keywords you use does make all the difference.
Instead of going for words and terms that are highly searched, and therefore incredibly competitive, we recommend honing in on more specific words and phrases that will have much less competition for your website to go up against. This also allows for more retention, as by being specific the people finding your website want exactly what you offer, how and where you offer it.
Continuing on with the above point, it is important to not double up and overlap with these hyper specific keywords. Say you have a web page about chocolate shaped like redback spiders in Melbourne. If you have two, three or more pages about chocolate shaped like redback spiders in Melbourne, google won’t know which to push and you’ll end up suffering across your entire site. Consider that each and every web page should have its own purpose, its own keywords and its own audience. Anyone feel like chocolate all of a sudden?
Another common SEO mistake we see people make is misaligned content. You can have written Shakespearean level content, but if it doesn’t align with the search intent then no one is going to find it. To help your customers or target audience find your epic sonnets and legacy building plays, you need to consider what your audience is searching for and how to meet them in the middle.
For example, if you want to find out the type of searches your audience are making. Are they asking questions, for example ‘which Shakespeare play is the best?’ or are they simply typing in ‘Shakespeare fun facts’. The difference in these searches dramatically changes the type of content you want to write and the keywords you want to use. For questions, we recommend informative, educational articles or blogs. For best of or any sort of list, writing an article that compares or ranks facts or products is best to meet search intent.
We don’t need to tell you that there are a bunch of websites online now. A truly unfathomable amount, in reality. So, how do you stand out amongst the rest? Sadly, it’s not as easy as hiring someone to spin a sign on the side of a freeway – you need to write and publish content that is consistently trustworthy, evidence based and interesting.
Your content doesn’t need to be ground-breaking each and every time, but if you aren’t researching your content and taking the time to fact check as well as be personable, then not only will readers be put off but Google will too. Tiny tidbits of information are not enough to help you grow your Google rating.
What can help you grow your Google rating is this: prove your content is true and can be trusted by referencing your experiences, knowledge and authority on the topics you write about. Keep content fresh and updated as often as you can, and don’t repeat the same thing over and over. Google loves unique content almost as much as we love creating it (and cake, we love cake) so it is best to write content that is engaging, unique and informative without being repetitive.
Meta data is incredibly important – for SEO and beyond. Each page on your website needs to optimise meta data, from page titles to meta descriptions. The last thing you want is a weird or unrelated page description or title to appear in a google search, or when people are sharing your link on socials. Don’t ignore these 160 character meta descriptions, as they are essentially mini SEO cheat sheets where you can include keywords that align with search intent.
Are you reading this on a mobile device right now? Statistics will tell us that at least half of you will be, which as a reflection on web usage as a whole tells us that ensuring your website is mobile friendly is a top priority. The mistake that some website owners make is ignoring the reality that Google prioritises the mobile version of websites, and using this information to rank content both on mobile and across all devices. Struggling with your Google ranking? It could be your mobile version holding you back.
You can fix this fairly easily, and we will tell you how.
Firstly, improve loading times. A slow mobile site is going to rank poorly. Secondly, unresponsive website designs lead to frustration and they simply aren’t functional. And lastly, assess and improve the user experience. How does your website change on a mobile device? Is the navigation bar on the side, is it smaller, can you easily view the menu and check out your cart or is the text too small and the buttons too fiddly? Improving UX will make massive waves on the overall ranking and customer experience.
Websites without images are boring. It seems harsh, but it is true. Some colour and imagery go a long way to helping make content more appealing, and these images themselves are ranked in Google Images. However, it’s no use having images if they fall into the below categories:
To help fix the above issues, we recommend giving each and every image on your site an alt text description. You should also ensure your images are high quality, without being so large they slow the loading time for your pages. Balance is key, and if you get in contact with the team at Immerse we can help ensure that your website loads quickly without sacrificing on image quality!
Now, crawlability might sound like some horror-movie style move that a creature crawling towards you on the ceiling would do, but in reality the crawlability of your website is essentially how easy Google can comb through and understand your content and keywords, therefore pushing your page to the right people.
The best way to improve your crawlability is by maximising your internal links. This means adding internal links to every new piece of content, and where possible, going back to old content and adding in links to newer content. Choose your anchor text with intention, and try to make it a keyword or phrase for optimum effectiveness.
While we all wish SEO was something we could work on once and tick off our to-do list forever, it simply is not and will never be the case. Search engine optimisation is an ongoing process, where you update content, improve rankings and do everything you can to keep Google happy and keep traffic flowing in.
To avoid falling into the trap of never touching SEO again, we highly recommend monthly or bi-monthly SEO check-ins to improve keywords, update internal links and the like. Especially with Google’s ever changing algorithm and ranking criteria, working on SEO semi-regularly will help keep your website at the top of everyone’s searches – an invaluable asset to your business.
SEO is a learning process for all business owners. There is always something new to learn, new keywords to research and implement, webpages to update. Let us take the stress of SEO off your hands!
At Immerse Marketing, we live and breath web development and search engine optimisation. Our incredibly talented and experienced team of SEO experts and web developer wizards can work with you to help keep your website ahead of the curve. With our keyword research techniques, we keep tabs on trends and ensure that your website is maximising all the up and coming keywords and ticking all of Google’s favourite SEO ranking boxes.
Want a helping hand for your SEO? Visit our website, or reach out online!
