If you have a website, or maybe you’re running some other kind of business on the web, you’re going to want traffic that’s actually searching for what you’re offering. And the best way to do that is to optimize your site for the search engines. When SEO is done correctly, you get that targeted traffic and they’ll also typically buy, too. However, if you are new to the whole SEO concept, then you might make mistakes that will harm your site in the long run.
Your aim should be for the search engines to like you, you don’t want them to ban your site. That is why it’s necessary to understand what you shouldn’t do so that you can succeed. You are about to read some blunders you shouldn’t make if you hope to get that targeted traffic that converts.
Using Flash
The most common SEO mistake made by new webmasters is that they try to use a lot of flash on their website. Sure, flash will wow some viewers, but where SEO is concerned it really doesn’t help. Flash may help you with the visitors to your website, but search engines can’t see it and therefore it can’t be seen by the spiders.
The search engine bots only care about the text on your site and if it’s not found, they’ll go to another site. You will get ranked higher if you do this. If you still want flash, you can use graphics along with your text so that the search engine spiders will see it. The search engines will place you higher the more content you have. It’s essential for you to avoid committing the other mistake which is to use content that’s not yours, as you’ll want to consider ethics. You can’t just copy content and hope that it’s going to help you, because it won’t. While nobody may notice at first, people will soon recognize that you’ve stolen the content you’re using. The largest downfall is that the search engines have figured out how to get around this, and they can recognize content that’s been duplicated. Your site will stick in the filter that’s reserved for double content and that will not rank you very high. That’s why it’s necessary to insert content that’s one of the kind that readers and the search engines will both enjoy.
Irrelevant Title and Description
Another SEO error that many webmasters make is writing an irrelevant site title and a poor site description, which can both be detrimental to your search engine rankings. Search engines use the title and description to try and determine a central theme for ranking your site in the results shown to visitors. Compared to a few years ago, search engines and their algorithms for determining rankings have evolved, so pay attention to these elements.
Search engine optimization can bring more free traffic to your site than you have ever dreamed possible. It takes patience, time, and consistency. Sometimes the best things are worth waiting on. No matter what, don’t fall for all of the gimmicks, they work temporarily and then blow up in your face; if you stick with the long-term methods then you will still be around when the smoke clears.