7 Common Errors That Hurt Your SEO Rankings

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy today. 

For your business to grow online, you need to be in the good books of search engines like Google. 

Google is likely to penalize all websites that commit SEO errors. Regardless of who you are, Google wants you to add value to its userbase. 

Though users blindly trust Google, it does not want to let its users complain about anything. 

So, the best way to reach your target audience is by keeping a close watch on your website’s SEO. 

Here are seven mistakes to be always avoided to attain high search rankings:

7 Mistakes to Avoid Attaining High Search Engine Rankings

Not Installing an SSL Certificate.

If you are looking to establish your brand online, then an SSL certificate is a must. 

A Secure Sockets Layer or an SSL certificate is a security technology that protects your website’s connection by encrypting it. 

SSL forms a secure network where only the sender and receiver can see the transmitted data. 

Since data gets passed through many computers in a plain text format, every website needs a security protocol on which it can rely while carrying out sensitive conversations that include exchanging credit/debit card numbers, bank details, and addresses. 

SSL comes in different types: a single-domain SSL certificate, wildcard SSL Certificate, and multi-domain SSL certificate.

A single domain SSL can only protect a single domain, a wildcard SSL certificate can protect unlimited subdomains of the first level, while a multi-domain SSL can protect unlimited primary and sub-domains up to 250. 

So, buy SSL Certificate as per your requirement and protect your website from the wrath of cybercriminals. 

Also Read: Why do You Need to Build a Strong Backlink Profile?

Not Posting Often

SEO rankings heavily depend on your activity. If you post once every two weeks then, your SEO rankings are sure to take a dip. 

Google would recognize you as an inactive website and rank you down. The only want to deal with that is by posting regularly. 

You must post at least twice every week to stay competitive. 

Top ranking websites engage with their users. They reply to comments and have an active presence on Google. 

So, if you want your website to rank on the top, actively engage with your audience in the comments and contests. 

Content is Down on Quality.

No amount of posting can save you if your content is of mediocre quality. 

People don’t like to engage with low-quality content. They prefer to bounce back in search of better articles if they come across mediocre content. 

High-quality content means creating blogs at least 1000 words long, having a clear call to action, and points that can entice users to take some action. 

So, hire quality writers to ensure that your content is adding value to the userbase. 

Don’t Use Plagiarized Content

Website SEO can only help if your content is original. 

Duplicate content pieces only add you to Google’s black list. If Google identifies that your content is plagiarized, it will penalize you for this cyber offense. 

Moreover, duplicate content does not add any value to your userbase. People want to read freshly-brewed up content that can solve their problems. 

If Google does not penalize you for duplicate content, your userbase will. So, it is best to avoid such acts to prevent reputation damage. 

Write a fresh copy with thoughts and ideas that can benefit your users. 

Don’t Use Duplicate Images.

Much like content, duplicate images are a strict no-no too.

Google has advanced tools that can identify duplicate images having copyright claims. By using such images, you can severely hurt your SEO rankings. 

Studies have found stock photos to be safe for use, and they don’t affect your search rankings directly.

However, that does not mean that you can add any image you want. If you add irrelevant images, users will lose their trust in your content, too, leaving your site. 

So, use relevant stock images that add value to the user’s experience instead of duplicate ones. 

The Absence of Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords tend to do better than short-tail keywords as they are easy to rank for. 

Short tail keywords, on the other hand, are more expensive. For example, it would be much harder to rank for “buy a property” than “buy a residential property in New Zealand”.

Unfortunately, businesses only stick to short-tail keywords for no good reason. The best way to use keywords is by using both the long tail and short tail keywords simultaneously in your content. 

It helps search engines recognize your product or services through long and short-tail keywords and rank you higher. 

Not Having Internal and External Linking.

External links help Google understand that your content is well-researched. It shows that others too have the same opinion as yours because you are linking to them and vice versa. 

On the other hand, internal linking is a great way to engage users to stay on your site for long and not bounce back after reading an article. 

Internal linking reduces your bounce rate and promotes engagement, allowing search engines to identify you as a credible business that deserves to rank high on the search rankings.  Quality backlinks are a must if you want to grow in this line of business.

To Conclude

Without appropriate SEO tactics, there is no way to rank higher on Google. If you can add value to your user’s experience, you are bound to attain high search rankings. 

You must integrate high-quality content that is freshly brewed and images that are relevant to it. 

Use both long and short-tail keywords to help Google identify you as a credible entity. Ask people to link back to your site and link their site on your content in return. 

Moreover, keep all these operations protected by buying an SSL certificate for your website from the SSL shop. 

On that note, do not commit these seven mistakes given above if you want to rank on the top of Google’s SERP.