With the changes that are constantly emerging in SEO, it can be hard to differentiate the tactics that will be most helpful, particularly if you are resource strapped.
Here are the top most common mistakes people make when optimizing content for SEO.
Duplicate or Poorly Written Page Titles
Why is it that some sites ignore the title for each page and choose to duplicate them by default. While some websites feel the need to include everything in a title tag. The poor title tag has typically been an ill-treated tag on the website, with some SEOs including keywords like anything in the title tag. The key role of title tag is not SEO rankings but it is what it provides you after you get ranked. Use the title tag to your benefit. You have approximately 50-60 characters to create a description in the title tag. Definitely, use keywords but keep in mind what message you want the title tag to give to the searcher.
Poorly Written Meta Descriptions
The meta description is a nice way to create something convincing to persuade the searcher to click on the SERP. Unlike titles, descriptions also highlight keywords from the search query, assisting the searcher know which search results are more likely to match the query. Remember, a meta description should not only include some keywords but it should be written as a sales piece. Give the searcher a reason to click on the result. This might sound surprising but when there is no meta description, Google may choose a description for you. But, it is not necessary that the pulled description is just what you want your searcher to know. Therefore, define your own meta description. Give people a reason to click on your website and not your competitors’.
No XML Sitemap
It is a fact that a site with XML Sitemap and the Sitemap registered with Google Search Console would appear more quickly in the Google index. You are writing amazing content on your site, correct? So ensure the search engines see it as soon as they can so it can get ranked. In order to create an XML Sitemap you can use a plugin with your CMS.
Broken Analytics Tracking
Analytics are webmaster’s and marketer’s secret agents, it tells you who visits, how they reach you and how they interact with your website. You can’t effectively benchmark organic traffic levels and check your progress without analytics working properly. So, when using Google Analytics remember to check your code. You can use the Google Tag Assistant plug-in. This plug-in checks Google Analytics tags as well as other types of Google tags for errors.
Monitor Sitelinks
While sitelinks are automatically generated by Google, it doesn’t suggest that you should not check them to see what is being generated. Sitelinks are a nice way to drive traffic deeper into your website- if you want your visitors to browse your website more. Remember to use Google Search Console to monitor your sitelinks for links that you want to exclude and errors.