About 32% of people click the first Google search result. Meanwhile, most people don’t look beyond the first page of a search. If you’re not ranking on the first page, there’s a chance you’re making some costly SEO mistakes.
Do you want to boost your ranking and improve your Fort Lauderdale SEO strategy this year? With this guide, you can make a strong start!
By improving your ranking, you can position your website ahead of competitors. Consumers will recognize your brand authority and visit your website. Then, you can appeal to more customers and boost sales.
Ready to get started? Keep reading to discover the nine SEO mistakes you need to keep out of your digital marketing strategy.
1. Not Researching First
If you want to develop a strong digital marketing strategy for any business, you need to start with research. That includes understanding your:
- Brand
- Value proposition
- Business and marketing goals
- Customers (and the keywords they search)
- Competitors
- SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
If you don’t understand your brand, you’ll fail to help your customers understand it. You might struggle to develop brand awareness and recognition as a result.
What’s your unique value? Why should customers choose your business over another?
Understanding your brand and value will help you develop high-quality content that connects with customers.
Do you know what those customers are searching for? What’s their search intent? What problems can you help them solve?
Many companies rush to experience the benefits of SEO without gathering research first. As a result, many companies use the wrong keywords in their content.
They also start stuffing keywords into their posts, which is a black hat SEO tactic. Black hat SEO could lead Google to penalize your site.
Making these SEO mistakes could cost you a high ranking and customers.
2. Not Investing in UX Design
When was the last time you updated your website? Do the pages load quickly? Are you aware of the latest user experience (UX) design trends?
UX design helps provide the user with an easy, convenient online experience. Otherwise, they might get frustrated on your website and leave.
Here are a few elements of UX design to consider:
- Readability (paragraph and sentence length, headers, text size, etc.)
- Load times
- Mobile optimization
- Navigation
- Broken links
- 4xx errors
- Pages not crawled
- Redirects
- Security
You might want to work with an experienced web design company to improve your site. Updating your website could benefit your Fort Lauderdale SEO strategy.
3. Forgetting Local Tactics
About 90% of consumers use their mobile devices to complete a goal while they’re out and about. Another 82% check their phone while they’re in a store. Meanwhile, about 51% purchase from a brand because the information they found was useful.
If mobile marketing and local SEO aren’t part of your digital marketing strategy, you’re making a big mistake.
Mobile marketing allows you to appeal to your on-the-go consumers. Shoppers might start searching while they’re at a store to compare two products. They might recognize your unique value after visiting your website.
Then, consumers will choose your store or product instead of another.
There are different ways you can improve your mobile marketing strategy.
First, make sure your website is mobile-optimized. You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check now. To appeal to the user experience, make sure your mobile site loads quickly, too.
If your mobile website lags behind, you could lose potential customers.
Google uses mobile-first indexing to determine rankings. If you’re not using mobile SEO, your competitors already have a head start.
GMB
Once you’re optimized for mobile devices, focus your time on your Google My Business (GMB) listing. This listing appears in the top right corner of a Google search. Since it takes up prominent space on the page, you’re bound to attract the consumer’s gaze!
Make sure your GMB listing is up-to-date. If you move locations or change phone numbers, update the listing right away.
Are you on any other online directories? Make sure your details remain consistent. Otherwise, you might risk confusing consumers.
Reviews are a great way to appeal to local consumers who are on the fence about choosing your business. Reading reviews can give them peace of mind that you’re trustworthy.
Ask your happy customers to post their reviews on your Google My Business listing.
You can also feature these reviews on your website. Consider creating a testimonial video reel, too. Then, you can use your video as Fort Lauderdale SEO content.
Localized Content
To improve your Fort Lauderdale SEO strategy, determine which keywords your local customers search for online. What problems are they facing that you can help solve?
Once you have a list of target keywords, start creating content with your local customers in mind!
Use local language within your posts, such as “Fort Lauderdale” or “South Florida.” You can create long-tail keywords by adding local language to your posts.
4. Creating Low-Quality Content
Google prioritizes ranking high-quality, unique content that appeals to the user’s search intent.
Don’t allow someone to make rushed, low-quality content for your website. Consumers will notice and leave.
Take a look at the content your competitors are ranking for. What about their content appeals to you?
When creating content, you might also make costly mistakes such as:
- Not posting regularly
- Failing to repurpose content
- Posting duplicate content
- Posting content that isn’t original
- Not updating old content
You can turn a single blog post into various forms of content. For example, you can create an infographic, video, or quiz. If you have multiple pieces of content for the same topic, consider creating an eBook.
Improving your content will help you enjoy the benefits of SEO (like more leads!).
5. Focusing on Text
By the end of this year, about 50% of all searches will occur through a voice assistant. In fact, about 35.6 million Americans use a voice-activated device once a month. About one in every six Americans own smart speakers.
One of the biggest SEO mistakes you can make is ignoring an opportunity like voice search. Since voice search is very different from traditional SEO, it can alter your entire strategy.
For example, most people use voice search by asking Google direct questions. These questions are usually long-tail keywords. If you’re only focusing on short-tail keywords, you’re already missing out.
Google’s algorithm focuses on providing users with accurate answers to their questions.
As a result, you need to know how to answer these questions using natural language. Make sure you’re writing for the consumer, not for the search engine.
Google prefers short answers for voice search queries. Try to create a quick, condensed answer that fits under 30 words.
Use the consumer’s question as your target keyword. Phrase it within the opening paragraph. Then, follow up with a condensed answer to their questions.
You can go into more detail throughout the rest of your post.
6. Missing Trends
Developing a strong SEO strategy can help you get ahead of the competition on search engine pages. If you’re not keeping track of the latest trends, however, you’re likely falling behind.
Voice search is only one trend to consider utilizing. In fact, using voice search could help you appeal to other trends, like featured snippets.
Featured snippets appear at the top of a search page, above the organic results. These short answers display as:
- Paragraphs
- Tables
- Bulleted lists
- Numbered lists
- Videos
You can appear for paragraph snippets for keywords that include “what,” “why,” “who,” or “how to.”
You’ll need to format your content to appear as a featured snippet. Schema is a great way to help Google recognize your content is formatted properly.
Once you appear as a featured snippet, your content will appear at the top of the page. You’ll then generate more brand awareness and website visits. Appearing as a featured snippet also positions you in the zero-click
If you’re not adapting, you’re falling behind.
7. Neglecting Link-Building
Link-building is an important part of your Fort Lauderdale SEO strategy. Links show Google you’re appealing to EAT (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness).
Make sure to use links from high-quality, reputable resources. If a link breaks, update it immediately. Otherwise, visitors might get frustrated.
Using internal links to send your readers to other pages on your website (like the contact page), too.
8. Ignoring Analytics
Once you improve your SEO digital marketing strategy, you’ll want to see proof of improvement. Many companies fail to review their analytics.
Which posts and topics appeal to your readers? Gathering this data will help you make informed decisions in the future.
Pay attention to where your readers are coming from, too. Do they arrive through Google or a social media platform? Creating a social media and SEO strategy can help you reach more customers.
9. Not Hiring a Pro
You don’t have to improve your Fort Lauderdale SEO strategy alone. If you want to avoid these SEO mistakes, considering hiring an SEO consultant.
They can help you develop an SEO strategy that works as part of your overall digital marketing strategy. With their help, you can accomplish your business goals!
Don’t make the mistake of falling for guarantees. Instead, make sure to hire an experienced professional. Ask for proof of how they helped clients in the past, too.
Step Up Your SEO: 9 SEO Mistakes For Lauderdale Businesses Need to Avoid
Ready to boost your Fort Lauderdale SEO ranking? Make sure you’re avoiding these nine SEO mistakes first. Otherwise, your ranking might drop.
Remember, you don’t have to improve your SEO alone. Instead, consider working with an experienced SEO company. They can help boost your ranking to the top of the page!
Want help? Discover our SEO deal today!
