Internet marketers often use search engine optimization to gain an advantage, but if you make some common SEO mistakes, you can end up doing your website more harm than good. Let’s take a look at some of the mistakes that you should do everything in your power to avoid as stated by SEO expert Alex Goad.
When you create your site’s content, don’t make the mistake of overusing certain keywords. When you write your content, don’t allow the keyword density to go above 5%. If you want the search engines to rank your site well, you should avoid using your keywords too often, as this can lower your site’s ranking and value. Another thing to avoid is using keywords that are irrelevant to your site’s niche. When you write your content, focus on using different words and phrases here and there so you conform to the search engines Lateral Semantic Indexing (LSI) standards. The search engines are likely to notice it if you are guilty of keyword stuffing on your site, and it won’t be good for you. You have to have the right balance with your keywords, not using them too much or too little. Your content and keywords should always be relevant and high quality. Finally, don’t forget about the main keyword you are targeting, and this should always be highly relevant. Attending to these matters is how you will be able to rank well for the long term.
One costly SEO mistake you never want to make is plagiarism, or taking content that doesn’t belong to you. It’s not worth it to take something created by someone else and claiming it as yours, as this will only ruin your site’s SEO and the creator of the content could sue you. The search engines favor those sites that keep their content original and high quality. Unique, helpful content is what the search engines want to make available to those who search. Besides that, there is something called the duplicate content filter, where the search engines filter out those sites that have duplicate content. This, however, only matters if your own site has content that is used multiple times. You can find a lot of content online that you have permission to use, but you have to leave the original writer’s name and other information intact. The general idea is to be truthful and up front in your efforts.