Search engine optimization is a prominent concern for marketers across all industries and for any business with an online presence. Having good SEO habits is likely to get your website ranked on search engines above your competitors. However, poor SEO habits likely won’t produce the results you’re looking for and can potentially lead to your site getting heavily penalized.

To help you cultivate acceptable SEO practices, 13 professionals from YEC discuss several examples of poor SEO habits they’ve run into and explain why these habits could have a severely negative impact on your marketing.

1. Choosing Quantity Over Quality

One poor SEO habit all marketers should stay away from is choosing quantity over quality. When it comes to anything related to backlinks or content, it is always best to use this strategy. It is better to have a few backlinks from highly authoritative sites than 100 backlinks from low-quality sites. It is better to have an amazing content guide than numerous thin pages on various topics.

– Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design

2. Being Inconsistent

The biggest thing I’ve learned about SEO these last few years is it has to be a consistent practice. Just focusing on SEO for a month or two and neglecting it after that is going to put you in a bad position. You need to bake your SEO strategy in when you create content, promote and work on all your other marketing tactics. Otherwise, you’re just playing catch-up.

– Sean Ogle, Location Rebel

3. Not Doing Enough Research

One habit that many businesses don’t think about is creating content without doing enough research. It isn’t enough to come up with topics you think are good. You need to look at what people are looking for. Use Google Trends, SEO tools, AnswerThePublic and other tools to help you create relevant topics and content that people actually want to read about.

– Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

4. Ignoring Search Intent

Stay away from picking high-volume keywords while ignoring search intent. Think carefully about what your users are searching for and align with those intentions. Help solve user problems and you’ll ultimately be rewarded.

– Diana Goodwin, MarketBox

5. Not Keeping Up With the Latest Practices

One of the worst SEO habits is to not keep up with the latest best practices. SEO practices keep changing and not knowing the current trend might be detrimental to the success of your business.

– Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster

6. Neglecting the Technical Aspect

I see a lot of marketers neglect the technical aspect of their SEO strategy. Things like the speed of your website play a pivotal role in how well you rank for specific keywords. Make sure you optimize your loading times and redirects and you’ll have a better shot at making it to the first page of Google.

– John Turner, SeedProd LLC

7. Using Black Hat SEO Tactics

Any black hat SEO tactics are ones you want to stay away from. Not only does it look bad if you get caught, but Google doesn’t appreciate using sneaky techniques to guide traffic to your site. One bad habit is paying for links to your site. People pay money to achieve higher search engine rankings, which is dishonest and will only catch up to you in the long run.

– Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

8. Providing Poor SEO Reports

One common bad habit is marketers providing terrible SEO reports to their clients. The specialist cannot explain the numbers or the explanation for the strategy. This creates issues when trying to convince clients that your methods work. Marketers should know which KPIs to implement into the report and translate during meetings. They need to show their expertise and logic behind decisions.

– Duran Inci, Optimum7

9. Not Optimizing Your Images

Unfortunately, many marketers forget to optimize the images on their website and social media. Adding information such as captions and tags is important for search engines to track those images. It’s also useful to resize images so they don’t cause lag issues for users on your website. This could cause them to bounce and never return.

– Jared Atchison, WPForms

10. Overusing Guest Posts

Some people think they can use guest posts to beef up their blog and boost their SEO score. The reality is these people end up with lackluster articles that actually hurt their site instead of helping. If you’re going to publish guest posts for the sake of SEO, make sure you only accept high-quality work.

– John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC

11. Not Beefing Up Successful Content

Too many people focus on producing new content all the time rather than beefing up content that’s already successful. Having some of your content rank for important keywords in your niche is like holding real estate, but the only problem is, you have to keep doing repairs to keep it looking pretty. Some businesses can get by with just a few pieces of great cornerstone content.

– Ismael Wrixen, FE International

12. Stuffing Keywords

Focusing too much on emphasizing certain keywords in your content can become so distracting that you lose sight of your buyer personas and their pain points. You might end up losing all relevance with your personas simply because you want to seize a term with high search volume. That includes using keywords with grammatical mistakes just because they have high search volume.

– Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

13. Stuffing Links

Stay away from stuffing links as part of your SEO strategy. Any inbound links to your website should be from reputable and relevant websites. If you try securing links from websites that are not relevant to your own website, Google can penalize or even remove your website from its search engine. It’s very difficult to get your website re-indexed by Google after its removal.

– Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC

How to Continually Rank Higher Day After Day

If you want to rank higher in the search results day after day, it’s going to take a lot of time and work to make it happen. Through the proper mix of content creation, marketing and SERP analysis, this can all become a reality — however, it’s one you need to work on daily.

To learn more about how to improve your site rankings, be sure to check out this SERP checker tool reference guide.

People are searching for ways to cut corners when it comes to improving their online presence. The truth is, SEO is a long game, so anyone promising quick results must be careful.

This article will take you through the step aim to improve your ranking in Google search engine results (SERPs).

Daily, people do searches, so you must enhance your site to boost your search engine ranking. A higher search engine rating will enable the company to develop or find new customers.

You’ve likely seen that we care a lot about the material. Search engines do as well. Routinely updated data is known as among the best measures of a site’s importance, so stay updated. Review the content (say, every quarter) and keep updated as possible.

5 Creative and Effective Ideas To Boost Your Site Rating

With all of this in mind, it’s now time to walk through each of our recommended solutions for improving the chances of your site to rank higher in Google.

Be sure to read through each of the methods below and see which you are currently using, and then implement any that you haven’t tried yet.

1. Make Content Skyscraper or SEO-friendly.

The basis for raising search engine rankings is data.

It is why content is so successful; it produces 6x higher sales for companies who use it. You cannot, however, write and post data and hope to see outcomes. You must create content that is tailored for both search engines and consumers.

Which Implies:

1. Analyzing your key group, related subjects, and keyword
2. Like keywords in the header tags, meta tags, and data
3. Posting your content on a website that is reliable or quick
4. Getting your product in front of influencers

Per the study, relying on skyscraper topics will boost your search engine ratings. This article acts as a detailed help page.

2. Develop A Reliable Or Quick Website

High search engine ratings can also result from the creation of a robust website.

A reactive website helps the website to react to any user’s screen instantly. They can scan and browse your website with ease if they read it on a notebook, tablet, or mobile. You risk getting your ratings down if you do not have a reliable website.

Google ranks websites relying on their device generosity. In reality, it slithers and indices sites from a smartphone view (allowing the website to show in search engines). It is why the user interface is so important for higher search rankings.

3. Make Use of Media That Are SEO-friendly.

People do not want a long post if it comes to digital media. They want photographs and videos to let them think about a subject, imagine an idea, or finish a task.

If your article lacks visuals, it can harm your search engine rankings. SEO-friendly photos and videos will help you boost your search engine rankings.

4. Use Quality Content.

Validity is only important in the sense of consistency. So here’s the perfect SEO tip.

If you need to boost your Google rankings, you should create the best web page on this topic. Don’t want to fool a tool. Have an attempt to assist users in getting the data they need.

Search for opportunities to improve the website. Include specifics. Include instances. Have links to other excellent websites. Include visuals. Include a recording. Can’t simply stuff keywords in there. It all boils down to the user. Improve the page in every way you may.

5. Raise Your Search Engine Rating By Enhancing Your keywords.

SEO success depends on having the right keywords.. When users perform scans, keywords and phrases are used to produce appropriate web pages. You will search for keywords if you do want your company’s ranking to show in articles.

Run keyword analysis to find the best versions for your campaign. You may use a set of keyword analysis software, such as KeywordsFX or Keyword Tool, to find specific search phrases for your campaign. This tool enables you to see keywords as well as their search size.

Find important keywords helps to enhance the usability of your pages. It not only helps you realize how your customer base views your page, but it also made you look in more specific search results.

Use these Working Methods to Rank Higher in Google

Once you start implementing each of the methods above into your content creation and marketing strategies, you should start to see some improved rankings with your search results. Of course, this will also vary depending on the keywords and search phrases you are going after.

Users are always on the lookout for new information, so you help them find the things they want by displaying ads. This is why it’s so important to always provide the best content and user experience possible.

When Google starts to keep a lid on repetitive tactics, those worried about online marketing would mean a large plan.

Good web design can make or break a modern business. If your website is smooth and easy to navigate, it will attract more users and is a vote of confidence for your organization. A poorly designed site can have the opposite effect, turning users away no matter how good the product is.

Below, 12 members of YEC shared what they believe is the most important design element to incorporate into your company’s homepage to increase traffic. Try out their recommendations to start bringing in more website visitors.

1. A Clear Call to Action

A call to action that specifically and clearly explains what you want people to do “next” on your website is crucial. It doesn’t have to be (and probably shouldn’t be) a lot of sentences or lengthy, but it should be obvious. What’s the action you want people to take? Donate? Sign up? Contact you? Call you? Buy a product? Clarity is more important than persuasion in most cases. – Matthew Weinberg, Happy Cog

2. A Hero Image

Among one of the most important design elements to add to your site’s homepage is your hero image. Your hero image is the first thing that users see when they go to your website. If it doesn’t send the right message, then it could attract the wrong audience and send the right one away. It’s important for your hero image to be large, legible and match your branding.

– Jared Atchison, WPForms

3. A Chatbot

It’s mostly conversions that occur on the home page or website. The one design element that’s important for conversion is having a chatbot that allows customers to engage with your team right on your site. Your team can engage and convert your website audiences.

– Jean Ginzburg, JeanGinzburg.com

4. Dynamic, Interactive Content

Create dynamic and interactive content that lives above the fold of the website. That’s where you’ll see the most convertible traffic and it’s a good place for a call to action.

– Jordan Edelson, Appetizer Mobile LLC

5. A Clear Navigation Menu

Among the most important design elements on your homepage is the navigation menu. This is where you store your website’s main links so users can easily browse and explore it. The menu items should be accessible from any webpage so it’s easy to access different content. Poor navigation on your site translates to a higher bounce rate and lower conversions.

– Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

6. Social Proof

The best way to get more conversions is to add social proof to your homepage. This will help build credibility and increase trust among your users. It’s a great way of boosting your sales and overall conversions. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster

7. Easy-to-Read Typography

The most important design element to incorporate into a website’s homepage to increase customer traffic online is easy-to-read typography. The typography font says a lot about a page and it invites you to read. Typography that’s soft to the eyes and professional as well as consistent throughout the page will generate trust. – Alfredo Atanacio, Uassist.ME

8. Your Tagline

Add a clear tagline. People need to immediately get your business right from the start and understand the value that your business is going to create or bring them. Without that, the brand is just going to be confusing. – Nicole Munoz, Nicole Munoz Consulting, Inc.

9. Personalization

So many websites today follow the same container format: Container 1 = big statement. Container 2 = product offering. Container 3 = customer testimonials. But commonly, combined, this recipe is bland and abstract. The best home pages I’ve seen are direct, human and have a personality. – Adam Crawshaw, Assembly

10. Messaging That Communicates Your Value Proposition

Your site needs clear and concise messaging about your business and your value proposition. It’s important for anyone visiting your site to understand not only what you do but also what value you bring to the table. This is often best supported through imagery and/or content such as video. Offering elements on the site that mimic your mission as a business and the difference you make in your customers’ lives is key. – Maria Thimothy, OneIMS

11. An Email Newsletter Sign-Up Form

Building an email list is one of the best ways to increase your traffic and convert users into customers. An email list helps you control your traffic and direct customers to all of your online resources. Use your homepage to generate leads by making your email opt-in front and center with an incentive. This will help you connect with your customers and allow them to interact with your brand. – Shaun Conrad, Guitar Repair Bench Online Lessons

12. Strong Writing

If you can’t communicate what your business is doing in a simple, accessible way, you’re going to lose customers right out of the gate. When people visit your website, they should know straight away what you’re all about. Plus, strong writing can communicate clear calls to action on your homepage, which in turn drives traffic and can help you convert leads. – Ismael Wrixen, FE International

How to Get the Most Out of Your Homepage

In order to get the most out of your website, you need to understand your audience needs and making the engagement process as easy and enjoyable as possible.

To learn more about what’s working for site owners today, be sure to read up on this excellent SEO resource guide in order to rank your site higher in Google.