If you’re newer to the world of search engine optimization (SEO), you may want to achieve a high ranking, but you might not know all of the hazards that your content is up against. Here are a few to keep in mind.

Keyword-Stuffing Your Content
If you’re selling lesson plan notebooks, you might want to attract teachers to your website, but you won’t get there by repeating “teachers” every few lines. At this point, Google’s algorithm is sophisticated enough to sense easy tricks.

Not Optimizing Your Content for Local Searches
Mention region-specific keywords in your content and meta descriptions. Then, list yourself everywhere you can: Yelp, Google Places, Merchant Circle, FourSquare, and anywhere else where new pairs of eyes can find you.

Choosing the Wrong Keywords
When it comes to common or basic searches like “ice cream,” landing on the front page and defending your ranking can require a team of SEO experts. If your keywords aren’t specific enough, there’s a good chance your consumers will slip by. What are your clients searching? Use that information to reach them and answer for their specific questions and needs.

Ignoring Your Title Tags
You might blink and think: What are those? When you start a new tab in your browser and go to Google.com, you’ll see your tab is now titled “Google.” That’s a title tag, and you have absolute control over it on your own website. It’s actually extremely important that your title tags are uniquely descriptive when people share your website, too. Let’s say someone posts a link to your website on social media. Facebook and Twitter will often show your title tag before anything else. This makes your title tag the first, most important preview to whether your page is relevant to new potential traffic.

If you can avoid these mistakes, your website is well on its way to creating fresh traffic for your business. Best of all, if you’re an AFEUSA member, you won’t have to worry about making any other mistakes because you’ll have FREE access to a custom, step-by-step SEO marketing plan by SocialCore Marketing. Don’t miss out and join us today to claim your membership benefits!

Article by
Wayne Goshkarian,
Senior Advisor

Wayne Goshkarian in front of his jet