Over the last two decades, the digital marketing landscape has changed tremendously. Today, search engine optimization (SEO) is incredibly important for marketers, specifically when blogging. According to HubSpot, “Blogging helps boost SEO quality by positioning your website asa relevant answer to your customers’ questions. Blog posts that specifically use a variety of on-page SEO tactics can give you more opportunities to rank in search engines and get customers to visit your site.”No doubt you have witnessed Google’s ever-changing algorithm one time or another. This has made it hard for some to stay on top of the best practices of blogging. Whether you’re new to the blog sphere or you have been blogging for some time, you should be aware of some of the most common SEO mistakes relative to blogging. Here is a list of the top 5 SEO mistakes made by bloggers that you should avoid.
Top 5 SEO Mistakes Made by Bloggers
1. Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing, including keywords as much as possible, is arguably one of the most common SEO mistakes. This can do a ton of damage to your search rankings and it makes for a pretty poor reading experience. To avoid this, stick to one or two long-tail keywords to center your blog post around. Long-tail keywords keep your post focused on the specific goals of your audience, encouraging visitors to read your whole post and seek more information from you.
2. Not Writing Enough Content
Many websites feature blogs that are just too short. Writing short posts can hurt your reader loyalty. Even more so, search engines may identify your blog as “low quality,” if it doesn’t have enough content. This makes it extremely difficult to rank. In 2019, the ideal blog post is a minimum of 300 words. If you’re experiencing writer’s block and you need to beef up your blogs, try researching similar topics for inspiration.
3. Poor Page Copy
When blog writing, keep in mind that you’re writing to address your readers and their pain points. You’re not writing for search engines. Keep your content light. Don’t attempt to show off your knowledge with unnecessary jargon. Write content that can be easily understood. Also, make sure your content is visually appealing, utilizing white space and inserting a few images.
Recommended for You
Webcast, January 16th: The Latest in Growth Hacking: Link Retargeting
4. Not Including Internal and External Links
External links prove to search engines that your content is valid and relevant. If your blog includes a topic that has been mentioned in another blog post or web page, you should link back to that page. Internal linking will help keep visitors on your site and helps surface your other authoritative pages to search engines. Internal links should link to a core or pillar page on your website, as well as direct readers to related blog content.
5. Failing to Optimize Title Tags
Title tags are one of the most important aspects of search engine rankings. Readers and search engines use title tags to determine the relevancy of your content. You should keep your title tag targeted towards a keyword. Consider checking the popularity of the keyword you have chosen using a keyword tool, like Serpstat, before optimizing for it. It’s a best practice to include your keyword within the first 60 characters of your title so it is not cut off on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Conclusion
While these SEO mistakes may seem basic, they occur often, hindering many blogs from achieving optimal search engine rankings. Optimizing blogs for SEO can be tedious, but it is necessary if you’re looking to reach your audience and compete against others in your marketplace.
