The 7 Most Common Search Engine Optimisation Mistakes Made By Businesses In Auckland

Every website owner would like to be at the top of Google. After all, according to NielsenOnline, the international market research agency, 80% of potential customers go online to find out about new suppliers. From Google’s own figures, 94% of people don’t get as far as Page 2. And Number 1 gets around 42% of all clicks. So being at the top of Google is crucial for your business.

Yet very few companies in any market get to Page 1. And for most markets it isn’t even ten who get to that coveted place. Look at all the videos, directories and wikis that you see.

So it’s not even about being in the Top Ten. It’s the top four or five.

So why aren’t more companies up there on Page 1? Or more to the point, why isn’t your company up there?

There are many reasons but there are seven which stand out time and again with the clients that come to me.

1 Old copy on your pages
Google loves new content. As far as Google is concerned, the newer the better. Yet most sites are as fresh as the day they were put up.

Five years ago it may have been OK to have a site that you set-and-forget but now, if that’s how your site is managed, then it’s Google that forgets.

Simply, you must have fresh content on your site.

2 Not enough content
This is also a throw-back to the initial thinking about a website. Create a few pages about your company or products to create an online brochure. But that doesn’t work any longer.

Google wants to see a site that has plenty of informative, good quality copy that tells the visitor what they are looking for.

A common response is that visitors to a site don’t have time or want to read lots of copy on your website. Well, yes and no.

If the copy on a page is not relevant then they won’t read it. If the pages are badly written or boring, then people won’t want to read it. If the words don’t give people useful information, then they won’t want to read it.

But, if you can give your visitor information specifically about what they are looking for, that is informative, well written, engaging and leaves them feeling confident about your company, then they will read it.

Even though we are all busier than ever, we are reading more than ever as we spend more and more time on the Net engaging in what interests us.

3 Talking about the yourself
Do you know any websites with a Home Page like this?

“Welcome to our site. We’ve been in business for 15 years and have 23 dedicated employees who are our greatest asset. We pride ourselves on the quality solutions we deliver and the lowest price.”

Firstly, you’ve got three seconds to keep your visitor on your site. If the first words they read don’t match what they are looking for, they are gone. Re-read that paragraph.. What was it? 5 or 6 seconds? And how did that answer anyone’s problem that they were searching for?

It didn’t tell anyone anything, because it was all about “The Company” and nothing about the visitor and their problem. They might want to know all that sort of stuff but only after they are satisfied that you can deliver whatever package, program or widget they are after.

So, write about what people are searching for. And here’s a million dollar tip. Use their language, not yours. You are an expert. They have a problem. They don’t want to learn your techno-speak.

4 Flash intros
How many sites do you go to where there’s a little graphic – 10% loaded, 20% loaded? I don’t know anyone who waits until it’s 100% loaded. I’m gone.

Most either skip the Intro so why spend money creating it? Or people just leave your site. Remember – 3 seconds for people to find what they want.

From a technical point of view, Google doesn’t read Flash so if that is your main “marketing” piece on your Home Page, Big G just isn’t going to index it which means you won’t be found in the searches.

So two reasons not to have a flash intro. Neither people nor Google like it.

5 Not using the tags properly
Finally we get to a “proper” SEO technique.

Google uses “tags” to quickly assess if a site is relevant to someone’s search. The tags, the Title, Meta Description and the Header or h1, should contain your primary keyword for the page your want to optimize.

So many pages have the company name and a bland description of the page, usually for the web-designer’s ease of recognition rather than for the benefit of the reader or… Google.

But bear in mind that when Google returns the search results, it is giving you three opportunities to sell yourself or to generate a click.

The Title tag is the first line of the search and is the top line you see on your screen in the thin blue bar at the top. That tells Google – “Pick me, pick me” And it says exactly the same to the searcher. If it is line that answers their query, they are more likely to click it.

Sell yourself again
The Meta Description is the 2 or 3 lines below the title in the search results.

Here you have the opportunity to sell yourself again. Maybe a special offer. A phone number. A short testimonial. Be creative but be relevant.

Then finally the headline on the page should be enclosed in the h1 tag. (Ask your web designer to make sure that happens). BTW – you do have a properly crafted headline don’t you. One that intrigues, leads or is benefit-driven. Not the ubiquitous “Welcome to our website.”

6 Leaving SEO to people with different skills
Many times I talk to potential clients who say, “Our IT guy looks after our website.” Or, “Our web-designer handles that.”

I’m sure they are skilled at their particular role but neither of those are SEO or marketing roles. It’s like saying that the plumber can fix the electrical problem on the basis that they are both involved in the construction industry. It’s the same with your website.

From a practical point of view, Google doesn’t even consider the shade of green that a designer has lovingly agonized over. Or whether the picture should go up there on the right or down here on the left side of the logo. While bad design may lose a sale, good design won’t get you found by Google. And as discussed before, if your content is good, then your visitors are more likely to become customers.

Another common phrase I hear is “We will optimise it after the site’s been built.” Would you call the architect after the builder has finished? Leaving your SEO until after the site has been completed inevitably leads to extra, unnecessary expense. Plus it probably means that your site is not targeted at your market properly so you will have fewer visitors and less business.

7 Bad linking strategy
All of the foregoing is about stuff on the actual website yet the absolute most significant aspect affecting your rankings in Google, is the back-links to your site.

What are back-links?

It’s the other sites that link to your site. And the more sits that link the better Google regards your site. To a degree.

Not all links are created equal so it’s important to link with the “right” type of link.

This subject is so vast and so important that it will be a separate article but for now, aim to get links from other sites in your industry or from “clean” sites like relevant government or education organisations.

How can you make it all better?
1 Find out what your prospects are looking for
The foundation to your site structure, page titles, Tags and web-page copy is keyword research. You must find out what your future customers are looking for and that means the actual terms they use.

You need to assess the competition and its strength too. Again that is another article to give it full justice.

However, once you have found out the keywords people are using, then use those in the Tags, page titles and throughout the web page content.

The more that it reads like a useful document the better. A list of keywords isn’t going to help you nor the customer. Remember, Google wants to give its customers good products i.e. good quality information.

2 Use the right skilled people
Simply, get the right people for each task. A web-designer designs. They rarely know how to do keyword research properly. Fewer still now how to write good copy for your pages. And your IT Department Manager has too many programming issues to take care of to worry about your website.

As an SEO guy, I freely admit I have no idea how to program a website, a Linux box or how to design a web-page. And I am more than happy, in fact hanging out to hand over that side of the project... after the foundational SEO work has been done.

3 Write more and better copy
Yep, daunting as it sounds, that is the secret to long-term growth and prominence of our site.

Think of it this way.

You publish your web-site don’t you. Does a newspaper publisher publish one edition of his paper? Obviously not and it’s the same with your site. It’s not a one-time activity. Keep publishing more pages to make your site bigger. Provide more and newer thoughts and ideas to your prospects so that they come back so that they may become customers.

4 Get more links
Getting links is to be honest, a pain. It can take hours to get a good link. But the more good content you create, the more people will want to link to your site. And the more places you can place your content too.

But get your links gradually rather than loads at a rush because Google will think there is something amiss if there is a massive leap in links to your site. G will presume some artificial linking device which by implication is not good content for its customer, the searchers.

Is that the whole answer to good results in Google?
There are many more issues and mistakes to consider. And even more solutions but if you fix those you will inevitably see your site rise in Google. Plus you will be giving your visitors so much more value that they will be much more likely to become paying customers. And at the end of the day, that is why we are in business isn’t it? To get customers not just visitors.