Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving search engine rankings of a website. SEO techniques properly employed will greatly improve the ranking and placement of websites in search engines. The search rankings are decided in an automated method based on content of the site, its coding, link popularity and other SEO factors.
There are some common mistakes while doing Search Engine Optimization that may result in fall in search rankings. Important points to avoid are:
Improperly designed websites: If websites are designed shoddily and is beset with problems like high loading time, large graphics that take time to load, it will affect their rankings. Many use graphics and other scripts for aesthetic reason but this backfires in SEO. Make your image in pieces, so it will take less time than a single image. Also use low resolution files when high resolution graphics are not required.
Poor Content- Content is the single biggest factor in securing good rankings.
Clarity and lucidity of content is essential for search engine spiders and directory users. If your content is badly written, or not relevant or not updated, it will not be search engine friendly or user friendly. Well targeted, clearly written content is the key to high search engine rankings. You can use targeted keywords and phrases for Search Engine Optimization. Absence of targeted keywords can mar the fortunes of your site . The choice of keywords placed in the Meta keyword tag must be logically related to your content. Instead of generic keywords, they must be highly targeted to your specific product or business. Copying content: Do not copy content from other sites. It will result in your messages being considered as spamming and will result in penalty or low ranking of your site. Search engine Algorithms have become smarter and check for content misuse..
Misusing Meta Tags: Absence of Meta tags or misguided Meta tags can lead to improper listing or ranking of your site. Make sure you place Meta Tags on all pages of your website. For SEO, the most important tags are Meta Keyword and Meta Description apart from Title tag and H1 Tag.
Lack of site map: If you have a website with several pages, lack of a sitemap may leave the user tired of browsing and searching for information. Sitemap helps web crawlers in indexing websites. It helps provide the entire structure of website in one page and eases the process of searching for information. Site map enables robots to go directly to the page instead of searching for links. This helps in SEO.
Page cloaking, websites that contain elements just for search engines are known as cloaking sites. Very often cloaking is used to alter content on the site to mislead search engines to give it higher listing. Cloaking invites penalty which damages your ranking and your business.
Over optimization - When the marketing team puts over emphasis on rankings, it is termed as over optimization. When you stuff your site with keywords, it results in over optimization penalty. Try making your site user friendly rather than Search engine friendly.
Absence of links - Your website has to have clear links from page to page, other wise the user finds it difficult to search for information.
In all, the Search Engine Optimization process will succeed only with proper optimizing techniques and we must avoid all deceptive methods.
Important Points to Avoid While Doing Search Engine Optimization