12 Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid

Often on our websites, we make SEO mistakes and, to our further dismay, sometimes almost without realizing it.

If we define SEO as the process of optimization for search engines, then... if we do not optimize and also make mistakes, how are we going to have optimal online presence?

It is just as important to take actions for SEO positioning as it is to avoid making mistakes.

In this article, we will discuss the mistakes made in SEO, such as not updating content, not doing link building, neglecting internal links, not analyzing the competition... among others.

Table of Contents

SEO Mistakes

And, as we learn from mistakes "and grow", pay close attention as we will explain how to avoid them and optimize your website to achieve the desired online visibility and attract potential customers to your business.

Not Updating or Curating Content

One of the main SEO mistakes we make is not renewing the content of our website.

When you review the content that was good at the time, you realize that you can do much better now, as some data may have changed and become outdated.

By improving old content, you achieve unique and updated content that encourages the user to stay longer on your website.

You should keep in mind that the easier it is to read the article, the longer they will stay to read it, so you should work on aspects such as the following:

SEO Structure

The SEO structure is the way in which the content of a site is grouped to facilitate reading for search engines and also for the user.

It is a mistake not to structure the content well as it will be harder for the user to read, and Google will not understand what the text is about either.

Google tells us that we should have a single H1 that generally includes the main keyword and several H2s that complement that main H1 header.

Although it may seem very obvious, it is one of the frequent SEO mistakes as not everyone works on it; for example, we have encountered sites with more than one H1 or sites that use H2s as a font style to highlight the design of the article... "Maemia".

Additionally, writing short paragraphs and using bold will make the information clearer and more understandable at first glance.

Duplicate Content

Another very common mistake is duplicate content. Imagine you have a cosmetics e-commerce site and to write the product descriptions, you copy all the text from the supplier's website.

That, besides being "very ugly", Google can easily penalize you.

So you must avoid it.

Not Addressing User Search Intent

Before you start writing, you should conduct a keyword research to find out which keywords you are interested in targeting.

Be careful! You should not target highly competitive keywords, as it will be much harder to achieve the desired position.

To write an article, you must also analyze what the user is looking for in each query to be able to return that answer as best as possible.

In other words, what does the user want or expect to find when they search on Google?

So that in your texts, Google recognizes that you address the search intent, you have the best answers, and you deserve the best positions.

It is also important for Google to detect that we are people, not robots; to do this, you can use personal expressions and real examples.

Real Images

Not adding real photos or screenshots is another of the SEO mistakes that are often made. Images are a key piece for positioning, and simply uploading them to the gallery and publishing them is not enough.

You need to consider the size, title, and "title" attribute of the image.

Other SEO Mistakes

After finishing the content update, it is ideal to also update the date to the day of the new publication.

As for the frequency of updating content, it will depend on each project, but the minimum would be one article per week or at least every two weeks.

Once you renew the content, you ensure the correct indexing and crawling of your site as you get the Google spider (bot) accustomed to crawling your site frequently. And every time you launch a new post, it will be indexed more quickly.

If your website is new, at first Google will not pay attention to you; it will do so gradually as you maintain the rhythm of publications.

Not Working on Link Building Strategies

And in the ranking of "SEO blunders", we find another common mistake, which is not trusting the importance of working on authority. A practical way to achieve this is by working on Link Building.

Links are essential for establishing the authority and reliability of your website. By neglecting links, you are missing a key part of SEO.

The absence of links can lead to low domain authority, which can negatively impact your website's ranking.

To avoid this mistake, make sure to create high-quality links that are relevant to your website's content.

Creating links just for the sake of creating them makes no sense; you must do it coherently.

For this purpose, you can rely on Unancor since link building is not easy and you may end up spending money foolishly without seeing a return.

You won't have any penalty issues with our links.

We accompany you at all times in a personalized way so you save time and improve your website's performance.

Only Seeking Dofollow Links

This is a typical mistake when obtaining links, that all are dofollow.

It is important to obtain links that transfer authority, but it is also beneficial to have nofollow links to create a more natural link profile.

It is similar to the case of links from social networks, which do not directly help positioning, but are seen by Google as a positive signal of social links.

Neglecting Links

Links help position a project unless they are removed. Once you have created the link, you need to be aware that it is not removed and to fix broken links.

Broken links are links that, when clicked, the browser returns a 404 error page or not found.

Google considers this a negative aspect for your website's SEO because it cannot crawl and index correctly.

You can detect them in Google Search Console and correct them as soon as you find them.

Not Optimizing Anchor Text

As we have seen, links are one of the most relevant factors in SEO. Well, for a good strategy, we cannot forget about anchor text.

The anchor text is the text in which we insert a link for the Google algorithm to identify it. Therefore, it is important to use relevant anchor text that helps search engines understand the content of the linked page, without overusing keywords.

Not Using Internal Linking

Internal linking is an SEO technique that allows connecting URLs of the same website with each other. Not implementing this strategy is a mistake as it provides several advantages such as:

Improves User Experience

Internal linking facilitates user navigation by allowing them to easily find information related to the content they are looking for.

Helps with Website Indexing

Internal linking helps Google better understand the structure of the site. By connecting different pages within the same site, internal linking allows search engines to crawl and index the content better.

Distributes Authority

Internal links can distribute the value of one page among other pages of the same website, which can improve the relevance and authority of the website as a whole.

Improves Time on Site

By providing users with relevant internal links, you increase the time spent on the website and reduce the bounce rate.

Not Creating a Sitemap

If we define a sitemap as an XML file that contains a list of all the web pages that are part of a website, as well as information about its structure and hierarchy. Its main objective is to provide a map to search engines so they can effectively index all the pages of the website...

...Therefore, it is logical that not creating a sitemap is one of the SEO mistakes you should avoid.

Ignoring the Competition

When it comes to SEO, ignoring the competition can be a serious mistake.

Not analyzing competitors can mean losing potential business opportunities.

You should conduct an analysis of the keywords, the content they are ranking for, and the positions they occupy in search engines, backlinks...

Staying informed about the current state of SEO is essential to ensure that a company's online presence remains relevant and effective.

For example: when we write an article and it ranks, we cannot consider this position as something permanent. If another blog publishes similar content to ours and Google considers it of better quality than ours, it is possible that our position in the search results will be affected.

Not Keeping Up with Google Updates

Staying up to date with changes in Google's algorithm gives you information to continue working on keeping your content relevant and optimized for the keywords your audience uses.

By doing so, you can identify new keywords and relevant topics for your target audience, allowing you to create optimized content for those searches and thus improve SEO.

Not Using Meta Descriptions

Ignoring meta descriptions is an SEO mistake you should avoid because they are an important aspect of on-page SEO.

These short snippets that appear below the page title in search engine results provide a quick summary of the page's content.

It is essential to incorporate an accurate, concise meta description for each page to maximize the chances of users clicking on your page.

URL Canonicalization

URL canonicalization consists of choosing the preferred address among several available options for the same content.

This process helps search engines identify the original source and avoid issues of duplicate content, which can affect organic SEO.

The URL canonicalization issue refers to having multiple versions of the same webpage, which can negatively affect the website's ranking in search results.

To solve this mistake, it is necessary to implement a canonicalization strategy, which consists of choosing a canonical URL for each page and ensuring that all versions of the website point to it. This can be done by using "canonical" HTML tags on web pages or by setting up 301 redirects from duplicate pages to the canonical URL.

Not Optimizing Load Speed

If a website is slow, it will negatively affect user experience and hinder the website's ranking, making it very likely that users will leave, increasing the bounce rate.

It is important to ensure that the load speed of a website is optimal. And prioritize this in the site design. This can be achieved by optimizing images, reducing file sizes...

You can use speed analysis tools or plugins to identify areas for improvement.

Neglecting Mobile-First Design

Not having a mobile-first design is one of the most common SEO mistakes. Having a website adapted for mobile is essential to ensure that the website displays correctly.

This can lead to penalties from Google as it can cause slow load times, poor navigation, and difficulties accessing content.

By applying it, companies can improve user experience and consequently improve their SEO ranking in search engines.

Companies can enhance user experience and thus improve their SEO ranking in search engines.

Forgetting Business Goals

Forgetting about business is a fairly common SEO mistake, and all actions should be coherently aligned to improve the conversion rate of the website.

If we define your website traffic as the people who visit it, the conversion rate would be the people who become customers.

It is of no use to have a high volume of traffic if it does not convert.

For example, before creating a new content creation strategy, analyze the type of content that truly adds value to the business, to discover how it can convert more users into customers.

The ability of a website to achieve a good conversion rate depends on its content, design, languages, usability...

Not Conducting an SEO Audit

Before starting to work on a project's SEO, the first thing to do is a complete analysis of the factors affecting positioning.

Or in other words, conduct a SEO audit of the business.

Well, omitting this part is one of the most serious SEO mistakes as this analysis aims to view the project in depth and identify errors and improvement actions to implement.

This complete SEO analysis covers everything from checking which URLs are indexed, the usability of the website and user experience, site architecture and content and images, backlinks and internal linking, to business goals and competitor analysis..

Conclusion

Have you made clear the SEO mistakes... what NOT to commit on your website?

If you avoid SEO mistakes such as not updating content, not working on link building or internal linking, not analyzing the competition... you can improve your website's visibility and achieve your business goals.

We hope you found it useful. And leave in the comments any interesting ones you think we have left out of this list.