Are you putting in the effort to create great content, optimize your website, and attract more visitors—only to see little to no growth in your traffic? You might be making some common SEO mistakes that are holding your website back.
SEO isn’t just about stuffing keywords into your content and hoping for the best. It’s about strategy, consistency, and avoiding the pitfalls that could be pushing your site down in search rankings.
In today’s episode, I’m uncovering the 5 most common SEO mistakes that could be killing your website traffic. Plus, I’ll walk you through how to fix them so you can start climbing the rankings and getting the visitors (and conversions) you deserve!
Let’s Recap: 5 Common SEO Mistakes Killing Your Website Traffic
1️. Ignoring Technical SEO
The Mistake: Many business owners focus only on content but neglect the technical side of SEO. Issues like slow page speed, broken links, poor mobile optimization, and missing alt text can drastically impact rankings.
🔧 The Fix:
- Check your site speed with Google PageSpeed Insights and make improvements.
- Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive.
- Fix broken links using tools like Google Search Console.
- Add descriptive alt text to images to improve accessibility and rankings.
Why It Matters: Search engines prioritize user experience. If your website loads slowly or isn’t mobile-friendly, Google will push it down in the rankings.
2️. Not Using the Right Keywords
The Mistake: Many businesses either don’t research keywords at all or focus on broad, highly competitive keywords that they have no chance of ranking for. Others may target terms that don’t match what their customers are actually searching for.
🔧 The Fix:
- Use long-tail keywords that are specific and relevant to your niche.
- Research keyword intent—are people looking for information or ready to buy?
- Use free tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or AnswerThePublic to find better keywords.
- Place keywords naturally in titles, headers, and throughout your content.
Why It Matters: Without targeting the right keywords, you’ll either compete with huge brands you can’t outrank or attract visitors who aren’t actually interested in your offers.
3️. Publishing Low-Quality or Thin Content
The Mistake: Websites with short, unhelpful, or outdated content often get penalized. Google prioritizes useful, in-depth content that answers users’ questions.
🔧 The Fix:
- Write long-form content (500 words to 1,000+ words) that covers topics in depth.
- Use bullet points, headers, and visuals to make your content easy to read.
- Refresh and update old blog posts to keep them relevant.
- Answer real customer questions and pain points in your content.
Why It Matters: Google’s algorithm values helpful, original content over short, keyword-stuffed articles. Creating valuable, engaging content will boost your rankings and keep visitors coming back.
4️. Forgetting About Internal Linking
The Mistake: Many websites focus on getting backlinks from other sites but ignore internal linking. This means their pages are hard to navigate, and search engines struggle to understand site structure.
🔧 The Fix:
- Link to related blog posts and product pages within your content.
- Use descriptive anchor text instead of vague phrases like “click here.”
- Ensure your most important pages are easy to find with clear navigation.
Why It Matters: Internal linking improves SEO, keeps visitors on your site longer, and guides them toward important pages (like your services or product pages).
5️. Not Tracking Your SEO Performance
The Mistake: Many businesses set up their website, optimize a few pages, and then never check if their SEO efforts are actually working.
🔧 The Fix:
- Use Google Analytics to track your organic traffic and see which pages perform best.
- Set up Google Search Console to monitor site errors, keyword rankings, and click-through rates.
- Regularly review your SEO strategy and adjust based on what’s working.
Why It Matters: If you don’t track your performance, you’re flying blind. Monitoring your analytics helps you double down on what works and fix what doesn’t.
Now that you know the 5 common SEO mistakes, here’s what you can do right now to improve your website’s rankings:
✅ Check your site speed and fix technical issues.
✅ Do keyword research and target long-tail, intent-based terms.
✅ Create high-quality, valuable content (and update old posts!).
✅ Use internal linking to guide users to important pages.
✅ Track your SEO performance using Google Analytics & Search Console.
SEO isn’t a one-and-done task—it’s an ongoing process. By fixing these mistakes, you’ll start to see more traffic, more engagement, and ultimately, more sales!
Mentioned Resources
Mastering SEO
-> EP 024: Breaking Down SEO
-> Ep 033: Unlocking the Potential of Keyword Research to Skyrocket Your E-Commerce Success
-> EP 067: SEO for Long-Term Online Business Success
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