Types of Content Mistakes that Can Ruin Your SEO
There are many websites that have been negatively impacted by recent Google updates such as Panda and Penguin. You too, even without deliberately making some mistakes that would get you penalized by Google, might have been a victim of these updates. While the owners of the penalized websites did not necessarily make basic mistakes, such as not paying any attention to quality content, putting duplicate URLs in their index file, or other similar errors, they still got penalized, despite their clear intentions to produce quality and compelling content that creates a lot of buzz on the Internet. So, what are those common SEO mistakes that set off the alarm in Google’s headquarters and, most importantly, how do you avoid them?
Running Two or More Sites at a Similar Topic Won’t Help You That Much
Google definitely frowns upon websites that look almost identical, that target similar keywords, and considers them to be “spammy.” You don’t want to awaken the dragon known as Google, so keep the number of the websites on any topic to one.
Additionally, a website with 1,000 backlinks is more valuable and powerful than two websites with 500 backlinks each.
Short Posts Have to Go
Even if you enjoy writing just a few words in your post every day to send a signal to your readers letting them know that you are still alive, it won’t do you any good from Google’s perspective. The harsh truth is that if your post is less than 100 words long, chances are Google will not like it.
Not Using Social Media Buttons
We live in a day and age when almost everybody uses social media such as Facebook and Twitter. It would be a mistake for a person not to join in the orchestrated effort to become the most popular person on Facebook. Registering a website on Google+ can also help its owner a lot.
Server Location is King
Many of you have heard the expression “Content is King” before. While content is indeed very important, if your content is supposed to target a specific country, then the location of your server is something to consider. You might be surprised to discover that chances are the server where your website is hosted is located outside of the USA. It is common for many hosting providers to use data centers located on foreign soil, usually with the intention of saving some money. The practice can be detrimental to the website owners, and one should never assume blindly that his server is located in the USA. Google already admitted that it is crazy to host any of your website outside of the USA if you live in the USA yourself and want to target the US market. So, even if your hosting is cheap as dirt, at least make sure that you get on one of the US-based servers.
One way to check where your server is located is to use this tool here: whois.domaintools.com. Alternatively, you can contact your web host and ask him directly about it.
Use H1 Headings Wisely
If you use H1 headings, and you should, at least make sure that you do it properly. It is enough to use one H1 tag per webpage. Headings are a useful tool allowing for structuring of the content of a website, and their use should never be ignored.
Taking care of your SEO should be paramount as it is vital to the survival of your website. It might be very difficult for you to recover if you have been hit by one of the Google’s updates. If you have any doubts, contact Infintech Designs to help you with your SEO needs.
Sources:
https://www.seroundtable.com/archives/002429.html
https://www.thebrandonagency.com/blog/the-importance-of-social-media-follow-and-share-buttons-on-your-website/
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