SEO Pitfalls: Key Things to Watch Out For
For those of us who are not digital giants, the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) holds an element of mystery. Sure, we can get the definition, but what’s BEHIND it all. And when you talk to a digital provider they speak in terms that aren’t familiar, OR (worse) they get hazy about what they are providing as a service, you as the prospective client are left with having to make a very pricey decision without full knowledge of what you are supposed to be buying.
I’ve been there. I’ve spent four years learning what SEO is and what it’s not supposed to be.
Today, instead of talking about the “IS” portion, I’m going to talk about what you as a website owner want to watch out for. After all, the reason for spending the money on SEO is to get your website referred by the search engines, not to be penalized by those same search engines because your SEO provider did the programming wrong.
So, here we go with five critical issues.
Through Artificial Intelligence applications, search engines have exploded their capability to “read” your website. The search engines now want websites to be relevant, with original copy (words), providing real information to the readers. No longer can you put irrelevant content (words) on a website, stuff a few keywords in the paragraphs, and get away with it. No longer can you hire someone for pennies on the dollar to create a website where the words on the website are not in colloquial language and are off a template. No longer can someone creating your website go out and simply copy words that look good from another website and plop it down into your website. Google will find it and will know which was the original website. You as the owner of the website will have to dig down yourself to help the website developer convey why your company is different from everyone else’s.
While keywords are essential to SEO, something called “keyword stuffing” is no longer allowed. There is a limit to how many keywords can go on a webpage. No longer can your website developer create a separate page for every keyword: A page for Sugar Land, a page for Cypress, etc, just to get the keywords in.
And this one: cloaking. This is where a website developer hides words or links on your website where the print is the same color as the background, all just to get a keyword into the page. You can’t see it, but Google can, and Google knows the difference. Google wants transparency every time.
The next issue is called backlinks. This is where your website “talks” to another website. Example: you are a roofer and you have sourced out a company that would provide financing to your clients. Your website developer can install a link on your website to the financial provider. That’s a good link. Bad links is where a developer goes to a “link farm” and buys a bunch of links to install on your website where the links to go companies that have zero to do with your industry. In this case a good example would be a link to a retail store. Google analyzes the links and will refuse to refer your website if you have a bunch of irrelevant links.
The last issue today is keeping your website fresh. Search engines look for websites where there are changes and updates made regularly. This may be a few words on several of the pages, it may be a new service added to the website, or it may be a new blog added. Websites can go “stale” and the search engines will start referring them to searches less and less often. Spend a little time every quarter looking at your website, spend the money with your developer to get something changed or updated. You won’t be sorry.
There are a dozen or so more technical practices you as the owner need to know in order to protect a large business investment: your website. If you have questions, just call Silver Moon Agency, 832-370-1328, and we can have a talk.