SEO Blog

Search engine optimisation is by definition a series of processes designed to make a website stronger and improve its chances of gaining an improved ranking within SERPs for a range of key terms. When everything is done properly, this is exactly what you should achieve; however, there are a few pitfalls that you need to be aware of.

Whilst SEO is something that all websites need to do, it isn’t looked upon too kindly by the search engines. Their algorithms have become increasingly complex to rid the internet of some of the more damaging SEO techniques (known as black hat SEO) that were so virulent many moons ago. This all means that you have to be really clever and make sure that you are always adhering to the search engines codes and statutes.

So what can you do?

Well the first piece of advice is to use your common sense. If something seems a little dodgy, maybe just too easy, you probably need to think twice about implementing it. SEO is all about adding quality to your site, making it easier for visitors and search engine crawlers to navigate around and understand what it is that you offer.

Don’t get too Keyword Happy

Keywords are good to use, essential in fact, but they have to be used in moderation. Before PageRank came into existence, which put an onus on links, it was only through the keywords that websites would gain their rankings. Now it’s quite different, keywords are used as a reference point for the spiders, not a determining factor. So use them by all means, just don’t go crazy.

Only Source Links from Reliable Sources

Toxic links can do no end of damage to your website’s SEO credentials. If you go out and buy one from a link farm, you can get dragged into all sorts of messes. Unscrupulous types use links to gain money and clicks, due to their nature they tend to be seen as coming from a bad online neighbourhood. By getting involved in these kinds of linking activities, knowingly or otherwise, you can find yourself tarred with the same brush. Needless to say, this isn’t easy to overturn.

Don’t Copy and Paste

Whether it’s your content or your Meta, search engines don’t like having to read the same thing twice. If you’re looking to cut corners, be creative, but don’t rely on the old CTRL C, CTRL V, it won’t do you any favours. This is particularly true if you are running a number of similar websites. Google don’t like your trying to monopolise their rankings, so don’t give them explicit evidence to your own skulduggery, they won’t reward you for it.

Don’t Try to Hide Anything Online

If you’re hosting domains left right and centre, or including content on a site that you’ve tried to slip under the radar (i.e. white text), you’re asking for trouble. Unless you have different business interests, you are better to focus on promoting one site and not a plethora. If you have numerous businesses, keep the websites independent, constantly cross-linking to one another could get alarm bells ringing in the search engine spiders’ robotic brains.