Do you know what is worse than not paying attention to SEO? It’s paying attention to SEO and making all the mistakes that can cost your brand its reputation and rankings.

SEO is not dead. However, SEO mistakes are slowly killing off the brands that make them.

You want your website to rank on search engines.

You want prospects to find you organically.

You want to engage and convert leads.

All of these you can achieve with SEO strategies. But first, you must ensure you are doing it correctly without mistakes—like the smart brands.

The real cost of SEO mistakes

While your brand stands to gain impressive benefits like high visibility from SEO, the cost of doing it wrong can be just as substantial. The cost of SEO mistakes goes beyond a decline in rankings. 

Here are some other impacts poorly done SEO can have on your brand:

• Revenue: SEO mistakes are guaranteed to cost you money for sure. For starters, you’ll likely experience a decline in organic traffic, which translates to reduced sales and conversions. SEO mistakes can also lead to violations of search engine guidelines, which are sometimes costly.
• Opportunity cost: One thing you may never get a chance to regain is the attention of prospects who could have found you organically but for poorly done SEO.
• Reputation: No brand wants to be known for mediocrity. Sadly, it comes with the territory. Poor SEO practices can negatively affect user experience. Consequently, this impacts brand reputation, perception, and trust.
• Time: SEO takes time. It is even more time-consuming to fix errors and mistakes.

Are you making these 4 SEO mistakes?

Kudos! You have taken a bold step to invest in SEO. You have worked out a content and link-building strategy, identified major keywords and keyphrases, made arrangements for on-page and off-page SEO, and whatnot. 

Before you start ticking boxes off your checklist, here are 4 common SEO mistakes to avoid.

1. Keyword stuffing

You think the more your keywords appear in a blog post, the higher your chances of ranking high on the search engines for that keyword. The danger with this kind of thinking is that it can lead you into the black hat SEO tactic called keyword stuffing.

Let’s backtrack a little.

In the early days of SEO, algorithms were relatively simple and relied heavily on keyword density to rank web pages on search engines. This meant that people could manipulate the search rankings by excessively stuffing their content with keywords—whether or not they made sense.

Fast forward to today.

Algorithms have evolved and are more sophisticated. The focus of search engines has shifted to providing valuable and relevant content to meet users’ needs. Keyword stuffing no longer translates to higher ranks. Now, it attracts penalties.

Some penalties you can expect if you keep up keyword stuffing include:

• Lower search rankings.
• Reduced page relevance.
• Complete removal from search engine indexes.

A better way to rank high is by providing value in your content using keywords and phrases that flow naturally in your sentences. 

Write for humans first. 

2. Not optimizing for mobile.

According to Statista, mobile phone users grew to a whopping 7.1 billion in 2021, with a projection of 7.49 billion in 2025. With that number, it’ll be a mistake not to optimize your website for mobile.

Not optimizing your website for mobile is a surefire way to put yourself out of Google’s good books. Since Google introduced its mobile-first indexing in 2018, it has prioritized mobile versions for ranking. So, no mobile optimization, lower ranking. Do you get the picture?

People are constantly on their phones. It’s how they stay connected and consume content. Optimizing your website for different formats except mobile mobile is akin to marginalizing search engine users who browse on mobile devices.

Your best bet is to optimize your content to be accessible in different formats, including mobile.

3. Slow site speed

There is one thing we all hate—every one of us. It’s called WAITING.

If you experience a little delay, you become restless and start tapping your feet, rolling your eyes, and whatnot—like this morning in the long coffee queue.

Do you know why?

Waiting means giving up control of your time. Plus, you hate uncertainty. It makes you anxious. It makes your audience anxious, too.

It makes no difference that you have high-quality, attention-grabbing, jaw-dropping, conversion-driven content. If your website load speed is slow, you’ll piss people off. Chances are, they’ll log out from your website, probably hauling insults at your brand as they do.

That is the last thing you want for your website.

It’s the last thing Google wants for its users, too. Google prioritizes the overall experience of its users and will only show websites that meet its standard requirements, including a fast load speed.

There are several downsides to a slow-loading website:

• Higher bounce rates.
• Lower engagements.
• Lower conversion rates.

These can all damage your ranking and site reputation.

Do you want to improve your rankings?

Then aim for a 1-4 second load time. 

4. Poor content quality

It’s one thing to have a fast-loading website optimized for mobile devices and another to have relevant and high-quality content to keep your audience on your website.

In this content-craving digital age, people gravitate toward value.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Google prioritizes its users’ needs and, as such, will only show relevant content that meets those needs.

Poor and low-quality content equals:

• Reduced time on page.
• High bounce rate.
• Fewer repeat visits.

One of the most important aspects of SEO is content quality. 

You want to focus more on quality than quantity. Remember, content is king. Make sure yours is a good king. 

Step up your SEO game

SEO when done right can be a game-changer for your organic lead generation, content marketing, engagement, and conversions. But to do it right, you must be smart and follow the rules.

By avoiding simple mistakes like keyword stuffing, failing to optimize for mobile, slow site speed, and poor content quality, you increase your chances of pleasing the algo gods.