S-E-Oh, No! Common SEO Mistakes You're Likely Making

Most small businesses can't hope to thrive in an inundated online market without help from SEO marketing. Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to get your business noticed from a simple Google search. Also known as organic marketing, SEO strives to get your business to the top of search engines through great web content, precise keyword targeting, and other tools to optimize your site. After all, an estimated 70% of the links a web user clicks on is organic.

Whether you've been utilizing SEO strategies for years or are just starting out, the state of SEO is always changing. Unfortunately, most businesses don't realize that they could be making some critical errors as they try to implement an SEO strategy in 2020. Here are some of the top fumbles your business might be making -- and how an experienced SEO strategist can help.

The need for speed

As technology has advanced, our computers have only gotten faster. Unfortunately, that also means that our patience has decreased. In fact, most people will abandon a site if it fails to load in less than three seconds. This might seem dramatic, but from the point of a consumer, a slow site suggests that there are other issues with the company.

Online users want webpages to load quickly and efficiently. They also want sites that are optimized for mobile use since a growing number of people are searching for businesses from their phones and tablets. If your business has neglected to speed up your site and make it available for multiple platforms, you could be missing out on business.

The need for speed is essential if you want to gain new customers and hold onto your old ones. This means that all of your pages should load quickly, especially those pertaining to online sales. If a user has to wait for their online cart to load for 10 seconds, they might change their mind on the final purchase. Talk to an SEO specialist in order to boost your site's speed and improve its navigation.

Neglecting photos

Photos, infographics, and images are essential in creating an engaging site. A recent study by SEMrush, however, notes that up to 45% of sites are missing alt tags on images while 10% of these sites also have broken images on their site.

It might seem small in the grand scheme of things, but broken images don't look good in the eyes of Google or your customers. Images are vital for crafting shareable content. On top of that, alt tags are essential for targeting important keywords for your site. Images are necessary to running a successful site, but the smallest oversight might damage your page's integrity.

Forgetting about social media

Search engine optimization focuses primarily on the search engine. However, social media is an ever-growing phenomenon that businesses cannot ignore in their marketing strategy.

Users love following their favorite businesses on social media to keep up with news and more. During the rash of COVID-19, many businesses have forgotten to update followers regarding their business' changing hours and/or shifts in service. If you're not keeping up-to-date with your followers, you're underutilizing social media marketing. SEO specialists recommend sharing your latest blog posts online, responding to customer queries in comments, and even starting contests on social media sites for giveaways. Whatever you can do to stir up customer engagement is key.

SEO marketing isn't easy for everyone to grasp. When you're looking for a Minneapolis SEO company, choose Front Man Marketing to get you results.