SEO is not new. But there are is a lot of misinformation floating around online. Look for SEO data, for instance, and the many results will have differing ideas. The reason why people seem to be confused by optimization is that millions of sites are ranking for the same keywords. Google does well to rank and publish via relevance, but there are still mistakes made with the algorithm.
As a webmaster, you may publish good content. You may upload proper SEO tools, but what happens when they don’t work? Could you be making mistakes when reading and implementing SEO data?
The short answer is, yes!
SEO data can easily be misread. To offset that, you must focus on something different. Take a step back and look at the most common mistakes webmasters make when trying to make sense of SEO data today.
Implementing One SEO Data Metric Too Much
Setting up a website is not difficult. Working with all of the SEO elements is. People focus on one SEO data metric and run with it. That can be content management, or WordPress plugins. There is nothing wrong with mastering one branch of optimization. However, you have to look at other interactions that cover optimization.
Traffic cannot sustain a spike with just content. You need link exchange, keyword placement, citations, and social media to name a few. Just focusing on the latest trends in SEO is not going to get you anywhere. Focus on the bigger picture, and diversify your strategy.
Falling For Intrinsic SEO Belief Systems
Every webmaster thinks that they are doing an “ok” job with publishing their site. You may feel that you are on the right track as well. You may think that your “brand” of SEO is working, and you may see a spike in traffic. There is nothing wrong with that, but if you believe too much of your own hype, you will lose out big. Information that favors your intrinsic thought about SEO is not going to pay off. You need hard evidence, and you may not like what you see. If after publishing content, and updating your optimization components, you do not see favorable data, change.
If you see positive data, do not assume it’s what you’re doing right. Analyze all of the pieces. The more you do this, the clearer the picture will become. It’s a big mistake to consider your intrinsic SEO factors are the reason for success on your page.
Forgetting To Change Up Traffic Options
The popularity of SEO is based on “organic” and “free” traffic. This is not a bad thing. The negative impact of this is that you can put too much emphasis on this arena. If you do this, you will end up with an isolated traffic that is not diverse. Diversifying traffic is critical to your website’s longevity. The goal of your SEO campaigns is to rank high in search engines. If that is your only resource for traffic, it will be limited.
Optimization based on SEO data is limited in several factors. When there is an algorithm shift with Google or even Bing, your page may have a plateau of traffic. It may even spike down. To avoid that, consider factoring in other traffic resources. Test options that require payment like pay per click. Use paid search protocol, and submission to article pages. The more diverse your traffic resources, the better your SEO campaigns can become. Otherwise, you will isolate your ranking to just one area.
Using Saturated Keyword Phrases
As you look at existing SEO data, be careful not to just use 1 or 2 keyword phrases. Look at Google’s Keyword Tool for instance. When you look there, you will be given the search density of the words. Do not chase over saturated, popular keyword phrases. This should be done after you have already conquered lower level keywords. Isolate words that are not in heavy competition. When you rank high for those, you can start ranking for heavy competition words.
If you rush out of the gate and start trying to rank for heavily competed keyword phrases, it won’t work. SEO data will show you spikes. However, you need more than isolated spikes. You need longevity, and that takes time to build properly. If nothing else, do not rush the process of ranking.
Read All Of The SEO Data You Have
Search engine optimization is not just “one” area of expertise. It is like a tree. There are several branches that come out of the trunk. To ensure that you are working with modern techniques, read all of the SEO data you can. This includes your backend, Google SEO tools, and more. My favorite tool for gathering website data is Google Analytics. It’s a free web-based analytics service offered by Google. It provides tons of insight on your website traffic which allows you to understand your visitors and what they are doing on your website.
Google can tell you so much about your website traffic but in the end it’s up to you on how you use that data.
