26 Jan 2010
Top 5 SEO Mistakes
If your into SEO you know how complicated it can be, there are just so many elements to get right and then when you do things start changing a little as the search engines tweak their algorithms again, so to help those who are on the treadmill here is a reminder of the top 5 SEO mistakes that will cause the most damage.
1) Poor choice of keywords
Keyword selection or poor choice of keywords is with out any doubt, is the most common SEO mistake made today. Many webmasters make this mistake over and over again, wasting not only decent amount of money but substantial amounts of time, as keyword optimization takes no hostages on both these fronts. Simply following someone else’s strategy, particular in a highly competitive market is setting you up for a fall. Find keywords that have a decent number of searches with low competition and then put together a plan to optimize each and every page to maximize the results.
2) Incorrect page title
The title of your page is the first item that search engine spiders will come across when they check out your web page and its role for them is to inform them as to what the contents of the page will be, therefore its SEO value can not be reinforced enough. It is also the first text that a potential visitor will read when searching for content. To maximize both of these elements a title tag should be unique to your website, engaging, descriptive, contain your pages keywords and be no more than 62 characters in length.
3) Header tags not used
After title tags, the next and most important tags to focus on are the header tags. Header tags are labeled in HTML as <h1>, <h2>, <h3> etc and they should be used to contain your pages most important keywords in the order of 1,2,3 etc. A single page should not be under just one header tag, a minimum of 2 and preferably 3 should be used where possible. The header tags should also be located close to the body text on the page, and the body text should also contain the main key word within the first sentence to boost your SEO header tag impact.
4) Lack of content
You have heard it before but hear it again, Content is King! Text is what search engine spiders like to eat for breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, supper and late night snacks, so make sure that you do not leave them hungry. 300-400 uniquely written words per page will keep them well fed and. feeding times should preferably be at once a week.
5) Incorrect linking policy
Links are the lifeblood of your website, without them your site will simply wither away. The type of links that are required to help keep a site healthy should include two-way relevant links, ideally from page rank 3 sites and above complete with one way links from similarly themed blogs, forums and well organized and categorized web directories. The old saying runs as, a link a day keeps a search engine slip at bay.
Get these 5 SEO basics right and you will soon be back on track to the seventh internet SEO heaven.
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