Starting Business

Maintaining a Search Engine Optimization campaign is just like running a circus. You have to be aware of all the search engine algorithm factors in play and be able to balance everything all at the same time.

Many search engine optimization providers lead you to believe that they can do it all. Most of the time they can’t. The succeeding list is a compilation of the pitfalls in the SEO marketing industry, and how you can avoid them.

1. It’s all about the homepage.

It is true that the homepage is usually the “standard bearer” of your company’s SEO campaign since it is where you want your primary keyword ranking to lead. However, it does not follow that you can forget about the quality of the rest of the site. This flaw is usually observable in sites which are entirely Flash-based since they are typically considered as one page by the search engines. It may also be observed in sites whose SEO providers have focused their link-building efforts mainly on the main page. The best long term SEO strategy will always be that which builds a number of landing pages all throughout the site, with each page concentrating on a certain key word or phrase variation. Every landing page must then be linked to one another as well as to the homepage.

2. Sticking to a single keyword.

Head keywords, or those which are generally used by most business within a specific industry, have remained irresistible to many SEO providers. These words may be those which are revealed to generate the biggest search volumes after the SEO team conducts their keyword research. Chances are, your competitors are also focusing all their SEO effort and resources in fighting over those keywords.

It has been shown that most of a site’s organic search traffic comes from more specific keywords as compared to the more generic, and famous, ones. This does not mean however that you should spend hours adding relevant keywords to your site’s pages. It simply means that you need to plan your site’s structure more intelligently and allocate existing content to relevant categories.

3. Focusing on onsite SEO

Optimizing your site in order to make it accessible and more “friendly” to search engines is certainly a crucial part of search engine marketing, yet onsite optimization is not the only factor at play.

Most of the time, what makes the site stand out is the effort put on link building or the off-page part of the equation. Search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing analyze the quality and quantity of the site’s links in ranking the webpage according to a certain keyword or phrase. Onsite optimization alone will generate a good effect on your page ranking, only if your site already has a lot of backlink authority, as is the case with top brand names. But for those who are still in the process of improving their campaign, efforts should be made on link building.

4. Forgetting the foundations

In relation to onsite vs offsite optimization, you should always, always remember the basics. Throwing all efforts on link building without ensuring that the onsite factors are in order is futile.

Search engine algorithms are basically concerned with two things: website relevance (ie Keyword targeting) and importance (back links). You need both parts to be balanced to ensure high page rankings, greater site traffic and profit.

About the Author

Nathalie Smith recommends you to visit www.cjpartners.com for more information about Search Engine Optimization