The demise of SEO has been a much talked about topic for the last few years. Some have rushed to declare it dead, whilst others insist that it’s very much alive and kicking.
The truth is somewhere in between.
Search engine algorithm updates and paid ads have made it difficult for SEO to deliver results. But there are often legitimate excuses.
Ostensibly, the real issue is a lack of high-quality technical SEO to ensure a better ranking for your website. That’s why we’re going to talk about which on-page SEO practices to avoid, and which to focus on for the best results.
SEO Practices to Avoid
1. Using Wrong Keywords/Keyword Stuffing
When it comes to keywords, a common mistake is focusing on what feels right to you instead of what users prefer. Often, this means you’re neglecting the long-tail keywords and using something too generic.
For that reason, researching keywords before optimising is essential. Another tendency that should be avoided is overwhelming your content with too many keywords. This can end up seriously damaging how your website performs.
2. Duplicate Content
Duplicating or not producing new and original content is considered a big mistake when it comes to technical SEO.
While it used to be a relatively common practice, now it’s likely to be penalised by search engines. Unique, high-quality content is the best approach to get a better SERP ranking.
3. Skipping the Meta Description and Title Tags
The fundamentals of SEO are still going strong, and that includes adding meta description and title tags to optimise your content fully. Too often, these elements are neglected, leading to the loss of a better ranking.
Image tags are another aspect of technical SEO that’s often overlooked. Just because crawler bots can’t actually read images, doesn’t mean they can’t collect data from your image alt tags.
4. Not Checking Google Analytics
How can you know where to improve if you’re not sure about how your SEO efforts are working out? You don’t need to hyper-focus on numbers and data, because they don’t tell the whole story.
But Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools will give you a general overview of how your website is doing and where your attention is needed.
SEO Practices to Implement
1. Install an SSL Certificate
Adding an extra layer of security on your website is an excellent way to boost your SEO performance. The Secure Socket Layer technology means that between your browser and server there’s an encrypted link.
Several years ago, Google made it clear that websites with SSL certification will have an advantage over those that don’t. The best course of action is to choose a website building platform that already has this service by default.
2. Optimise Your Website’s Speed
It’s quite difficult to overstate just how much speed matters in terms of better SEO ranking. As all search engines will give the advantage to fast websites.
To make sure speed is not an issue for your site, choose fast hosting, optimise the size and quality of your images, compress your pages, and don’t use too many plug-in.
3. Optimise Your Landing Page
The single purpose of a landing page is to convert a visitor to a consumer. That’s why it’s one of the most important elements of your SEO practise.
When someone clicks on a link that will lead them to your landing page, they should see intuitive navigation and preferably minimalistic design.
The last thing you want is to overwhelm a potential customer with too much text or one too many images. Your landing page should also feature a clear call to action.
4. Build a Mobile-Friendly Website
As more and more consumers switch from their laptops and computers to their mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly website has become incredibly important.
And it’s not just a matter of common sense, since everyone uses their phones a great deal. Google made it very clear that websites optimised and fully responsive for mobiles will be prioritised.
SEO Is Here to Stay
Despite the many cries of injustice caused by search engines, SEO is still very much present and making a case for why it should stay.
Even though paid ads and ill-advised SEO tactics have worsened the position of SEO in some ways, things aren’t as bad as they might appear.
It would be best if you worked on your on-page SEO and ensured your website is fast, mobile-friendly, and has nothing but great content. Google and other search engines are likely to notice it and reward you with excellent ranking.