SEO is one of the most important types of marketing today. Land it, and you will find yourself more visible to customers, getting more traffic and those all-important conversions in no time. Make too many mistakes, and you may find yourself languishing on page 23 with little to no hope of ever being seen by an actual person.

There are many mistakes that you can make with your SEO as a small business. Read on to discover the worst one and how to avoid it for your company…

What is SEO?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is where you work to improve your ranking within search engine results. For any business to succeed, they need to be visible, and that means ideally being on the first page of results. The further down you are, the less likely the potential customer is to see you and select your page.

How you go about raising your ranking involves all kinds of steps and methods from keyword research to page speed to quality content. Serious mistakes can be brutally penalised by search engine algorithms, so if you want to improve your SEO you should really try and avoid them.

What is the single biggest mistake that small businesses make?

It is difficult to define the one biggest mistake. Any error that leads Google or other search engines to mark you down is a big one, and one that you can ill afford as a small business. Some companies write too much for search engines over people. 

Others create poor content or use bad links that reflect poorly on them.

Arguably the biggest mistake, however, is in the misuse of keywords, which can be done in several ways:

Failing to use long-tail keywords

The first and most simple mistake that small businesses make is to use short-tail keywords. This is where you simply use the main keyword like running shoes, for example, instead of getting more specific. As a small business, you need to beat out the competition and not get lost in popular searches like this.

Long-tail keywords take the root keyword and then add on more to make it far more specific. For instance you could opt for red running shoes to improve posture. That would really narrow down your search results and leave you in prime position to be seen.

Ignoring search intent in favour of search volume

Similarly, by narrowing down your focus like this with more specific and relevant keywords, you will reach a smaller number of more targeted customers. Many small businesses make the mistake of thinking that a lower search volume means they will make less money but that is simply not true.

By looking at search intent with your keywords, you can ensure that while you may only select keywords that are searched a few times a month, those few are likely to lead to a sale.

Ignoring local SEO for popular keywords

Local SEO involves once again tailoring your keywords to the area that you are in to narrow down your searches and appear to those that truly want or need your services. Specifying that you are the best company to work on  SEO in Dubai, for example, would make you stand out from just an SEO company.

Getting your keywords right is so important for your SEO. That’s why so many businesses opt to work with an experienced SEO marketing company to find the specific keywords that will help them stand out. Don’t get lost in the competition with bigger businesses. Find your niche and see how targeted keywords can generate conversions in no time.