Four SEO traps you should try to avoid

Search engine optimisation techniques are constantly changing, so staying on top of the latest trends and techniques is important. Outdated SEO strategies may result in a decrease in the number of visitors to your website, and Google downranking. Therefore if you are active and aware of the top SEO traps to avoid, then it’s much easier to build a strong and winning SEO strategy. Below we’ve listed four of the most common SEO traps that you need to avoid.

1. Unnatural link building

Google actually lists all of the reasons of downranking in their webmaster guidelines and one of the top negatives is ‘Unnatural link building’. Unnaturally created links and spam are considered wrong and these violations of rules can bring about downranking and penalties, so it’s therefore advised to use more advanced and ethical tactics of link building.

2. Negative user experience

Google is focused on ensuring that visitors to a website have an easy, enjoyable experience and find exactly what they are looking for, without needing to jump through hoops or be bombarded with spam and ads. Of course, the aim of any website is to make a person stay on it for it for longer periods of time and return as this will help with the website your bounce rate, which will in return help your Google rankings. This means you need to focus your attention on high-quality content, easy navigation and visual appeal.

3. Non-responsive mobile web design

How mobile-friendly your website is now affects your site’s rankings, and therefore is a reason you should optimise all your web pages specifically for mobile devices. More people now access the Internet via mobiles, so it would be silly to miss out on a key target audience. You need to ensure their experience is convenient and satisfying.

4. Using exact anchor texts

Google’s algorithm now penalises the overuse of exact anchor texts. This is because it’s considered over-optimisation, similar to the use of excessive keywords. That doesn’t mean you need to get rid of all hyperlinks, especially if you are citing something or directing your readers to an external or authority site, but try your best to limit them to a maximum of 10 and less if possible.

For more tips and tricks on SEO and web design, or if you’d like to discuss updating or creating your own website or developing your SEO strategy, then get in touch with Yellow Marshmallow today.