Google’s SEO Tips – Common Search Engine Optimization Mistakes & How to Fix Them
IX Brand SEO Services Company is a Sugar Land, Texas, based search engine optimization and Internet marketing agency. We serve small and medium-size businesses in Sugar Land and Fort Bend County, around Metro Houston, and in several other states. if you need help with search engine optimization, social media marketing, or reputation marketing please call us at 281-343-3284.
In this video, Google’s Matt Cutts answers the question, “what are the top 3 to 5 search engine optimization areas where webmasters make the most mistakes.” He gives the SEO tips to fix those five mistakes.
SEO Tip #1 – Make your website crawlable by search engines
Matt says the biggest search engine optimization mistake is not making your site crawlable or not having a website at all. There are lots of businesses that don’t even have a website. If you don’t have a website or if you have one, but none of your customers can find it, than that’s a big problem. One way to check that your site is crawlable is to make sure that you can reach all of the pages of your site by clicking on links.
I’ve seen this issue occur with area chambers of commerce who maintain membership listings in databases. They don’t provide for access to the database information by clicking on links alone – – they require website visitors to enter text in search boxes to reach chamber members’ business information. Google and the other search engines won’t enter text in those search boxes, so that membership information, that keyword rich membership information, won’t be available to the search engines. If your membership listing in that database can contains a link back to your website, that link won’t benefit your business in search engine rankings. Check your chamber of commerce member listing. Is it crawlable?
SEO Tip #2 – Include the right keywords on your pages
Include the right words on the page. Think about what the user will type and make sure you have those words on your page. I’ve seen many instances where businesses load their website with marketing jargon, and they don’t use the words that customers would use in searching for their type of business. Customers don’t use words like “scalable, flexible solutions” so don’t depend on those words when you write the text for your business website pages.
Provide the information customers are looking for. If own a restaurant, include your menu in a format that search engines can access, plain text if possible. Make sure your hours are easy to find on your website.
SEO Tip #3 – Don’t focus on link building and forget marketing
Think more about “compelling content and marketing” than building links. Marketing can include paying for billboards but it can also include clever guerrilla marketing in your community. Don’t put too much of a focus on links. Think more about what you can do to market your website in your community. Make yourself more well known within your community without only thinking about search engines.
SEO Tip #4 – Improve the titles and descriptions of your important pages
Another important point to think about is improving the title and description of your really important pages. If someone bookmarks your page, will they be able to understand what the bookmark is all about by looking at the title of your page?
Your meta-description will oftentimes determine what text shows up in your snippet in search results and that will determine whether or not people will click into your page. So you want to make sure that the meta-description includes the language you need to entice prospective customers to click into your page from search results. You can even run tests and experiment with different kinds of meta-descriptions to see which ones are more enticing to potential customers. You want people to know that you’re going to have the answer that they are looking for.
SEO Tip #5 – Use Google’s free Webmaster Tools resources
Another big mistake is not using Webmaster resources. Google provides great resources at Google.com/webmasters. There are videos like the one here. Being the other search engines also provide lots of free resources. Explore the webmaster forum space.
If we can help your business implement these SEO tips, please call IX Brand SEO Services Company at 281-343-3284. You can also send us a message through our contact form. Search engine optimization is a process, not a result. The earlier you get started, the better your business will do on the Internet!
