If you want to get and maintain high rankings for the year 2017 and after, avoid committing the following SEO booboos:
1. Depending on great content to get you to rank well
Great content works great with SEO. However, it is not a substitute for SEO. Content marketing does not automatically mean high rankings. It is not enough. With no intentional optimization, it is possible not to get high rankings in spite of amazing content. You need to have on-page SEO if you want your page to rank. Intentional optimization is critical to rank well. It also enhances user experience.
2. Expecting to get links with great content – even without any effort to formally build links
Amazing content can get you links – sometimes, even if you do not exert any effort to get the links. This is not usual though. If you do not set out to purposely get the links, your content, no matter how awesome, is likely to sit idle on your site. If you want to get the links, you should provide great content, promote content by guest blogging, get local citations, and do digital PR.
3. Doing guest posts without checking out the site
You can increase exposure and boost leads by doing guest posts. But if you guest post in the wrong site, you may do both your ranking and reputation more harm than good. Do due diligence if you are requested to guest post. Make sure that the site provides high-quality and unique content. Check out its link profile. Go over its online reviews. Check out its Domain Authority score. Make sure that you do everything you can to ensure that the site is trustworthy.
4. Failing to promote your content
If you want your content to get people interested and engaged, make sure that you promote it. Without a clear intentional distribution plan, you will find it difficult to gather interest, links, or shares. Use social media and/or your email list to promote content.
5. Depending on social media alone to improve your ranking.
Marketing through social media has its use. However, it cannot compare with intentional link building to improve your ranks. If you want your rankings to improve dramatically, you should not neglect building page-level and domain links. Research shows that link-building has the strongest weight for improving ranking.
6. Doing spammy linking
You should know enough not to buy links clearly and directly from link farms. However, some practices for building links can be just as appalling. Do not offer services, “complimentary” products, or cash for links. Do not require or insist on a followed link on web tools or templates that you distribute or sell. These practices are likely to mar your reputation and make people question your being trustworthy.
7. Using short and useless content
Content with less than 400 or 500 words may get high rankings. However, this is not usual. On the average, blog posts with 1000 or more words tend to rank higher. They also provide your readers with a better and more helpful user-experience.
8. Disregarding internal links
Internal links make for higher rankings. They also provide a better user experience. If you want your site to have link equity across your posts and increase page views and time on site metrics, you can use internal links to your advantage.
9. Ineffective use of keywords
Do not rely on using trendy and low-competition keywords or phrases. Do not engage in keyword stuffing. Use keywords that are highly relevant – and use related terms, as well as variations. Use these keywords to develop relevant and helpful content that is responsive to user demand. These practices help to improve ranking potential.
10. Using broken links
Erroneous re-directs, alterations in URL structure, moved or deleted content result in broken links. Avoid broken links. They annoy visitors. They also harm rankings.