Google doesn’t need the start of a new year to roll out changes to their search engine algorithms. In fact, they don’t seem to need any occasion at all, but that doesn’t mean the start of a new year isn’t a good time to evaluate your current SEO strategy and see where you could make changes.
A new year also makes for a very good time to stop making the same old mistakes when it comes to your SEO.
Below are some all-too-common mistakes you should make sure you avoid in 2017.
Ignoring the Importance of Mobile
You may have a general idea that mobile is important, but do you know just how important? Google recently announced their mobile-first indexing strategy at the end of 2016.
Mobile-first indexing speaks to the fact that most Google users are doing so on their mobile device so that the ranking algorithms will look mainly at the content of the mobile version of a site.
The rankings will be based on that mobile content, and some of the recommendations Google outlines for site owners include ensuring primary content and markup is the same across mobile and desktop, and using the robots.txt testing tool to make sure Googlebot can access the mobile version of your site.
Not Updating Your SEO Tools
The world of SEO and best practices is one that’s always evolving, as are the tools that you might use. If it’s been a while since you evaluated your SEO tools such as your WordPress plugins, make 2017 the year you do.
Your tools might not only be outdated, but they might not represent the optimal functionality for SEO as it currently stands.
If you’re not using the best possible SEO tools, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Using Overly Complex Language
If you tend to create content for your website with flowery or overly complex language, not only are readers perhaps going to be turned off but so will search engines. You don’t necessarily have to “dumb down” your content and wording, but you do need to make sure it’s simple enough to be understood by your audience and search engine bots.
Forgetting to Periodically Review Your Keywords
Keyword popularity isn’t static, and your keyword planning and usage shouldn’t be either. It’s important to regularly analyze your SEO and keywords and make sure your strategy is still relevant, and you’re still targeting the right things.
You might find that searches have changed and your content is no longer as relevant as it once was.
Having a Slow Loading Site
As a final note, you should vow in 2017 to make sure your site is going to load quickly and efficiently. Not only is a site that’s slow to load frustrate visitors, but it’s not viewed well in the “eyes” of search engines either.
Google places a high priority on a site’s speed because their ultimate focus is on the best possible user experience. Google offers a PageSpeed Insights Tool that will let you see exactly how your site is performing speed-wise and where improvements can be made.
These are just a few of the common-yet-fixable SEO mistakes you should address as we begin 2017.
