5 Common SEO Mistakes That Are Killing Your Website Traffic

Getting your website to rank on Google isn’t just about having great content. You also need to avoid the common SEO mistakes that silently sabotage your website, costing you rankings, traffic, and sales. Even small technical or content missteps can have a big impact on overall website performance.

If you’ve noticed a sudden drop in search traffic or aren’t getting the results you expect, you may be making one of the top five most common SEO mistakes.

In this guide, we’ll cover five common SEO mistakes and how to fix them.

At CertiPro, we’re experts in all things related to eCommerce, including SEO. Contact us today to drive traffic and sales to your website with a personalized SEO strategy tailored to suit the needs of your business.

Key Takeaways

• Use keywords that align with what users are actually searching for since choosing the wrong keywords can attract the wrong audience or no audience
• Neglecting On-Page SEO like title tags, meta descriptions, and internal linking can lead to lower visibility and missed ranking opportunities.
• Search algorithms prioritize longer, high-quality content that’s useful to users
• Search algorithms prioritize websites that provide a good user experience, including fast-loading pages and responsive websites
• SEO problems that hurt traffic include poor mobile responsiveness, neglecting On-Page SEO, and neglecting the technical side of SEO
• Using good SEO tools is the only way to create a good, data-driven SEO strategy

Table of Contents

1. Ignoring Technical SEO Fundamentals
2. Targeting the Wrong Keywords
3. Publishing Thin or Duplicate Content
4. Not Using On-Page SEO Best Practices
5. Failing to Monitor and Adapt SEO
6. Choosing the Best SEO Strategy for Your Business
7. Contact Us
8. Common SEO Mistakes FAQs

Ignoring Technical SEO Fundamentals

The first common mistake is ignoring the technical side of SEO and website performance. In the early days of the internet, search engine rankings were determined in large part by the number of times keywords were mentioned on the page. This led website owners to stuff pages with relevant keywords, or even to pull tricks like repeatedly writing in the keyword at the bottom of the page in a color that matched the website background.

Keywords are still an important part of SEO, as we’ll see when we cover the second common SEO mistake. But search engine algorithms have moved beyond keywords to focus on website performance, which is impacted by technical SEO.

The most common technical SEO mistakes include:

• Slow page speed
• Broken internal links
• Improper use of header tags (H1, H2, etc.)
• Mobile responsiveness problems
• Crawl errors or blocked resources

All of these issues negatively affect the user experience and make it more difficult for web crawlers to crawl your webpages and understand your content.

How to Fix Technical SEO Issues

We typically recommend that our clients use a variety of tools—including Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and Screaming Frog—to first identify and then correct technical SEO issues. You may be able to fix some of these issues without a developer, but others will likely require technical expertise.

We also recommend that our clients perform regular site audits, which help them proactively identify and fix issues before they become major problems.

Targeting the Wrong Keywords

As we previously covered, keywords are still a critical part of SEO. It’s important to identify the right keywords to target for each page, include a mix of popular keywords, and make sure your pages aren’t competing against one another.

We typically recommend that our clients use tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush to do keyword research and identify what terms their potential clients are searching for online. We’ve found that keywords often aren’t what clients expect, or that they discover new keywords to target.

When choosing keywords, it’s important to evaluate how competitive they are. Some keywords are very competitive, and it may not be realistic for your new or smaller site to try to compete with the heavy hitters on these very competitive or valuable keywords. There are often other similar keywords you can target that may get less traffic but are easier to rank for.

As an example, the keyword “insurance broker” is highly competitive and difficult to rank for. However, terms like “insurance broker vs. agent” or “licensed insurance agent [State]” may be easier to rank for and still bring valuable traffic to your website.

Common keyword issues include:

• Overoptimizing web pages
• Targeting jargon-heavy or brand-specific terms nobody searches for
• Ignoring long-tail keywords, or specific multi-word phrases that have lower search volume but higher intent
• Prioritizing the wrong keywords
• Creating pages that use the same keywords, and thus compete against one another

How to Fix Keyword Issues

We usually recommend that our clients use a variety of free and paid keyword research tools, including Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, AnswerThePublic, SEMrush, or Ahrefs. You should focus on high-intent, relevant keywords that are reasonably competitive, but not so competitive as to prevent your content from ranking.

Publishing Thin or Duplicate Content

Popular search engines including Google and Bing reward original and engaging content that’s helpful to users. They’re also prioritizing longer pages with more in-depth content. That means that if you’re putting out lots of thin, repetitive, or duplicate pages, they won’t rank well on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Common content issues include:

• Multiple pages with duplicate or similar descriptions
• Copying content from other websites
• Pages with less than 300 words
• Pages that don’t provide useful content for readers

How to Fix Content Issues

We recommend that our clients perform a site audit to identify duplicate content, low-quality content, and non-performing pages. Pages should be expanded or consolidated as necessary, with a focus on creating value for users by answering questions, solving problems, and offering valuable insight.

Tools like SEMrush can help you identify duplicate page descriptions, while Google Analytics shows which pages are underperforming in terms of traffic.

Not Using On-Page SEO Best Practices

On-Page SEO or On-Site SEO involves optimizing individual web pages to improve their search rankings. It includes both content and technical SEO. Skipping On-Page SEO is a great way to ensure that your pages won’t rank, no matter how good they are.

Common On-Page SEO mistakes include:

• Missing or unoptimized meta titles and descriptions
• Missing or unclear heading and title tags
• Not adding alt text to images
• Skipping internal linking opportunities

How to Fix On-Page SEO Issues

We recommend that our clients do a site audit and ensure that every page has a clear title tag, meta description, and properly structured headings. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can help you identify and correct On-Page SEO issues.

Failing to Monitor and Adapt SEO

Websites are never truly complete, and ongoing SEO is essential to website performance. Search algorithms are constantly evolving, competition changes, and strategies that worked six months ago may not work today.

What failing to monitor and adjust SEO looks like:

• Never checking Google Analytics or Google Search Console
• Ignoring traffic drops or ranking changes
• Not updating old content

How to Fix SEO Monitoring Issues

We recommend that our clients track their website performance regularly using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. A good ongoing SEO strategy involves performing regular site audits, updating outdated content, testing new keyword strategies, and making improvements based on data.

Choosing the Best SEO Strategy for Your Business

You’ve built a beautiful website with great functionality. You might be wondering, “what’s next?” or “how can I get more traffic?” The answer to that is in building and following a good SEO strategy, including regularly updating content, using On-Page SEO, and making sure that your website is configured correctly.

For a busy business owner, that can be a lot to manage. Lots of companies hire SEO consultants to help them manage their websites and execute their SEO strategy. However, that comes with risks, too. It’s easy for companies to set themselves up as SEO consultants online without having a deep understanding of current SEO strategies. We’ve also come across SEO consultants who focus entirely on keywords and ignore the technical side of SEO.

When you go with us, you have the assurance of knowing that you’re going with a partner that has deep expertise in the technology and eCommerce space. We don’t just optimize websites—we also design them, build them, and integrate them with Sage ERP software.

eCommerce lies at the heart of almost everything we do, and we’ll create a customized SEO plan designed to meet the needs of your business. Contact us to grow traffic and increase sales today.

Contact Us

Common SEO Mistakes FAQs

What are the top SEO errors to avoid?

The top SEO errors to avoid include neglecting technical SEO, targeting the wrong keywords, and not creating a mobile-optimized website.

What are the most common SEO mistakes that hurt website traffic?

Some of the most common SEO mistakes include ignoring keyword intent, having poor on-page optimization, neglecting technical SEO, and not using internal links.

How do I know if my website is making SEO mistakes?

We recommend using tools like Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Screaming Frog to identify technical errors and content issues.

Can fixing SEO mistakes really improve my traffic?

Improving SEO or fixing SEO mistakes can improve your rankings and user engagement. Even fixing a few key issues like improving page speed or optimizing meta tags can lead to noticeable improvements.

What are the most common SEO mistakes?

The most common reasons your website isn’t ranking include targeting the wrong keywords, neglecting technical SEO, and putting out poor-quality content that isn’t engaging for users.

What is keyword intent?

Keyword intent is the intention behind why a person is searching for that specific term. Not all keywords will be equally useful for your business. Some users might be looking to buy, while others are simply looking for information.

Why is keyword intent so important in SEO?

Keyword intent is important for SEO because you need to make sure you’re bringing the right people to your website. You want someone who’s ready to buy, not a college student doing research for a class.

There are four main types of keyword intent:

1. Informational Intent – These people are looking for information.
2. Navigational Intent – These people are looking for a specific brand or website.
3. Transactional Intent – These people are ready to buy or sign up.
4. Commercial Investigation – These people are comparing options before they make a decision.

For your business, transactional intent users are the most valuable because they’re ready to convert. But your website should have a mix of keywords targeting all four types of user intent because some of those other users might convert as well.

Is mobile-friendliness really a ranking factor?

Popular search engines like Google use mobile-first indexing, which means that non-responsive sites don’t rank as well. This makes mobile-friendliness an important part of good SEO.

How do I fix SEO issues on my website?

We recommend that you start by identifying the SEO issues using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush. Then, take whatever issues you identified using those tools and correct them. Some of the fixes may require programming expertise.

How often should I review my website for SEO issues?

We recommend that our clients perform an SEO audit every quarter. However, if you’re running a campaign or actively publishing content, we recommend doing a monthly audit.

What are the best beginner SEO tips?

Our best beginner SEO tips are to start by researching SEO and learning about current SEO strategies. We also recommend paying attention to technical SEO, as it’s an area that is often neglected.

Why my website traffic is dropping?

Your website traffic could be dropping for a variety of reasons, including shifts in your competitors’ SEO strategies, changes to Google’s search algorithms, and errors on your website. We recommend using tools including Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMrush, and more to identify why your traffic is falling.

How to fix SEO issues?

We recommend using SEO tools to identify SEO issues and underperforming pages and then fix the issues you’ve identified. We also recommend doing quarterly SEO audits to ensure that your website continues driving traffic and sales.

Why is my SEO not working?

Your SEO might not be working for a variety of reasons. You could be targeting the wrong keywords, your website could have technical issues that are killing your rankings, or you could be following the wrong SEO strategy.

What kills SEO performance?

The fastest ways to tank your SEO performance are to neglect technical SEO, neglect On-Page SEO, and to create low-value content.

Does poor SEO affect website traffic?

Having a poorly optimized website or neglecting SEO best practices harms website traffic and lowers sales.

What tools can I use to fix SEO mistakes?

We recommend that our clients start with free tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, PageSpeed Insights, and Screaming Frog (free version). Paid SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz offer deeper insights and are a great choice for larger companies with more extensive SEO needs.