4 Things You Don't Want to Do with SEO

While there are plenty of articles out there on what you need to do in regards to SEO, it is just as important to know what not to do. This is particularly true when Google plans on rolling out some updates that could impact your ranking. So, here are four things you want to avoid when it comes to your website's SEO:

SEO Don't #1: Optimization without a Solid Plan

With any SEO marketing campaign, it is critical that you have a solid plan. In order to achieve long-lasting results, you must be able to plan and strategize both off-page and on-page optimization efforts. At one time, you could work on your keywords, repair your metatags, purchase links and post content. However, gone are those days. Now, you need to include user engagement, analysis, user intent and even social media in your SEO strategy.

But why?

Ultimately, there are three primary reasons: 1) More cutthroat competition, 2) More enhanced Google, and 3) Pickier customers.

So, to be successful in 2017, you need to be able to step up your game when it comes to SEO. If you do not develop and properly execute a solid plan, your website could possibly slip in the search results. If this happens, you could spend months or longer getting your site back up to the top.

A strategy that is based on facts and analysis rather than assumptions can be expensive and take time; however, it is better to invest in this type of strategy now rather than waiting to see if a basic SEO campaign works or simply blows up in your face.

SEO Don't #2: Creating a Site That's Not Mobile-Friendly

As each year passes by, mobile-friendly sites are becoming more and more important. In 2017, it is imperative to have a mobile-friendly site and the reasons are obvious. For starters, Google is looking to prioritize mobile-related searches. Then, the search engine giant is pushing the adaptation of AMP by website owners. On top of that, more than 50 percent of U.S. website traffic is generated from mobile devices.

Everyone knows that people are attached to their smartphones. While some people prefer desktop SE0 (maybe even you), it is crucial that you take the time to optimize your website for the mobile generation. If you don't, you will lose out to your competition in terms of traffic, customers and revenue.

SEO Don't #3: Failing to Amp Up Your Load Speed

Other than a mobile-friendly website, Google is also looking for websites that load incredibly fast. After all, who wants to go to a website that loads slow due to heavy images and intrusive pop-ups? No one, especially those on mobile phones.

One of the best ways to improve your website's SEO is to boost load times. Work with a task developer on caching your site's JavaScript, CSS, and images to see how it can be accelerated. It will probably take time to optimize your code, but it's worth it in the end.

Remember this one thing: faster load times equal increased user engagement equaling higher SERPs.

SEO Don't #4: Forgetting to Optimize Your Images

As a general rule, SEO professionals are aware of how important the optimization of the Alt tag is. However, many experts fail to understand the importance of image optimization. This is for many reasons.

For one, Google's image search isn't extremely convenient and isn't always incredibly accurate, which is why some users don't use it. For two, there is no reason to optimize images if they do not drive traffic. After all, why would use put in time and effort on image titles, descriptions, and Alt's if they aren't going to bring you any value? For three, Google's image search isn't profitable for the search engine giant. So, with that being said, it reduces the priority of images in the overall search results.

Regardless of those reasons, though, optimization of images is very likely to become a crucial ranking factor this year. In the summer of last year, Google acquired Moodstocks, which is an image recognition startup. Afterward, the company introduced a sitemap for images. This demonstrates the potential for image-related changes in the foreseeable future, and we all need to be prepared.

Therefore, you need to prepare your website now. Here's how:

• Check your titles, descriptions and Alt tags and incorporate necessary keywords.
• Prepare your product pages so that they can display images in the search results.
• Make sure your website's image sitemap does not have any mistakes.

The overall optimization of images is not a fun process, but it is a process that can help. In the end, it could be what helps get your website to the top of the search results in Google.

Conclusion

Developing a plan, optimizing your site for mobile, focusing on load speed and optimizing your site for images are all things that you need to focus on in 2017 to boost your site's SEO. In addition, you need to make sure that you have an SSL Certificate installed, focus on visual elements and possibly even research voice search, which is becoming popular in the SEO world. All of this will help generate more website traffic and help your bottom line.

For more information, contact us at WebDetail.