SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is no new topic in the digital marketing world. After all, in order to be digitally accessible, one must be visible within the first however-many search results. And, in order to be visible in those results, one must optimize their content and website to rank well. This is not a hard concept to grasp, but with so many SEO methods out there, how do you know what’s really benefiting your business? 

You may be familiar with the phrase “all publicity is good publicity,” meaning that even if there is bad press, your name is still getting out there, and the story can potentially be spun in a way that ends up being positive. This phrase, however, does not apply to SEO. There are right and wrong ways to go about optimizing your content for search engines, and when done incorrectly, these methods can have the opposite effect you are intending. 

Duplicate Content

Some people believe that the quantity of content is just as or more important than the quality of content. While it is important to regularly upload new and additional content to your site, it is crucial that this is unique and fresh, not recycled content that you have already published. If your webpage simply repeats information that you have written before, search engines are given nothing new to work with, thus giving them no reason to rank your web page. 

Keyword Stuffing

Although including applicable keywords in your content is an efficient way to drive relevant traffic to your site, overdoing this can have the opposite effect. By repeating the same keywords over and over, your content becomes annoying and unreadable. Just like if someone repeats the same story multiple times (okay, we get it!), an agitated audience is less likely to listen any further to what you have to say. 

Guest Posting

While this practice can be very beneficial if done right, there are many ways that it can be done wrong. Guest posting should only involve other well-known, reputable brands and businesses. By guest posting on another site or having them guest post on yours, you are essentially indirectly linking yourself to their company and their values. This can lead to valuable exposure, but being placed on the wrong sites, or accepting irrelevant guest posts can diminish the actual potential this form of SEO has. 

Paid Links

Though paid links might be an appealing way to build brand awareness quickly, and success may happen with it in the beginning, it could quickly turn to a negative for your business. Google looks unfavorably towards links that are bought, and even if your site is boosted in results at first, once Google finds out, your rankings will drop and you will need to work even harder to build your reputation back up. 

Slow, Inaccessible, and Unavailable Websites

In order to be ranked well in search results, your website must be accessible. This means that it should load quickly, content should be properly formatted, and you should have an uptime of at least 99%. Content that is on your site can be optimized for web-friendly sizes and can be made responsive to various viewing platforms, such as mobile devices. In addition, having a good hosting provider ensures that your uptime is solid and your website is accessible to your intended audience. 

While SEO is essential to the success of a business, it is important that it is done properly as well. If it is not done right, it can have a negative effect on your rankings in search results, which is exactly what you don’t want. If you want to boost your search engine rankings, want to check out why your current SEO strategy isn’t working, or want to see what other services we offer, give us a shout. We look forward to helping you in all your digital marketing endeavors.