Here are 8 SEO Mistakes that your company can avoid.  At times, understanding SEO can be confusing.  There are a lot of little things your company may not realize that is actually hurting your website ranking on Google. Understanding what to do and what not to do is essential when it comes to keeping a website on the first page of Google results.  Even those who know a lot about the algorithm still make some mistakes. If you want to ensure optimal possibility of success for your company, then you must take the time to ensure your website is following the necessary SEO rules. Without the time and effort put into avoiding common mistakes, you could be missing out on a large percentage of possible target audiences.

While this all may seem intimidating, don’t worry! That is exactly what we are here to help you with is how to avoid making the 8 SEO Mistakes.

If you haven’t yet read our post on SEO Los Angeles, I would recommend checking that out first!

8 SEO Mistakes to Avoid

Not including external links

Lacking a responsive site

Ignoring social media channels

Using large picture files

Having duplicate content

Missing Alt attributes

Broken internal and external links

Unique and relevant content

1. Not including external links.

   External links act as connectors to other audiences enabling your site to broaden its reach. This is also a way that Google assesses your website’s credibility. Therefore, it is important that you are linking to reputable and high-traffic content.

2. Lacking a responsive site.

   Not only is this a must for SEO, but it’s also simply needed in the digital age that we currently live in. Your website will not show up on the top of google search engine if people are unable to read it on their cellphones or tablets. Not only is Google able to decipher whether or not your site is responsive, your audience will click back within seconds as well.

3. Ignoring social media channels.

   While some will say that social media doesn’t affect your website ranking, studies show otherwise. There is a direct correlation to those who post more often and have more followers on their social media channels and where they show up on search rankings. Either way, social media is a necessary component to drive audience engagement.

4. Using large picture files.

   Websites that take too long to load are not seen well with Google. Google is all about being fast and finding answers quickly. It knows that people will not be happy waiting for a website to load. One of the biggest culprits of this are picture files, so just keep an eye on how large they are.

5. Having duplicate content.

   This is a big no no. Duplicate content does not sit well with Google. The search engine sees it as trying to pack too many keywords onto a website, in efforts to increase ranking. In reality, the opposite occurs. Content should always be new!

6. Missing Alt attributes.

   When uploading photos, always fill out the ‘alt attribute’ box. Google cannot ‘see’ photos, but if you add keywords of what the photo pertains to, it can scan those words instead.

7. Broken internal and external links.

   While having links does help your ranking, it also can hurt it if you do not ensure that the links work. Either manually check your links on occasion or use a tool to track them for you to avoid this problem.

8. Unique and relevant content.

   In the end, what matters most is your content. Listen to your audience and write what they want to read about and you will be golden in terms of SEO. Also, make sure that what you write is your own and not recycled from another website.

If you can keep these 8 SEO mistakes in mind and make sure not to make these faults yourself, you’ll increase your SEO in no time!