A Comprehensive Guide for
Effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Audit for Businesses
Meta Tags: Title & Description
Meta tags are a critical component of SEO as they inform search engines about the content of your website. Simultaneously, they provide users with a brief snapshot of your site’s content in search results. An effective meta tag includes relevant keywords for search engine algorithms and presents a compelling description to encourage users to click through to your site.
RED FLAGS TO BE AWARE OF
Duplicate Meta Tags:
Search engines value unique content that extends to your meta tags. Search engines might view those pages as duplicates if you have the same title and description tags across multiple pages. Duplicate meta tags dilute the value of each page and may lead to a lower overall ranking for your site. Each page should have a unique title and description that accurately reflect the content of that page.
Overstuffing Keywords:
While it’s important to include relevant keywords in your meta tags, overstuffing them with keywords can do more harm than good. This is seen as a manipulative tactic by search engines and can result in a penalty, leading to a drop in your website’s rankings. An effective meta tag balances incorporating keywords and providing a clear, compelling description of the page’s content.
Exceeding Character Limits:
The title tag should ideally be between 50-60 characters, and the meta description tag should be around 155. If these limits are exceeded, the tags may get truncated in the search results, which means users won’t see your entire message. If the tags are too short, you might not fully leverage the space to include keywords and compelling copy. It’s important to optimize the length of these tags to maximize visibility and click-through rates.
Periodic Creation of Content Assets or Long-form/Skyscraper Content:
Creating and linking high-quality content assets is a powerful SEO strategy designed to keep your website competitive and rank for competitive keywords. In certain scenarios where content links might not be required, the focus shifts to creating in-depth, long-form, or skyscraper content assets. Our team of specialized SEO copywriters is equipped to deliver on both these fronts.
RED FLAGS TO BE AWARE OF
Poor Quality Content:
While content volume is important, quality is paramount. Search engines prioritize high-quality, relevant content in their rankings. If you’re creating content solely for the sake of having more and not ensuring that it’s of good quality, well-structured, and relevant to your audience, this can negatively impact your SEO. Furthermore, poor-quality content can damage your brand’s reputation and deter potential customers.
Lack of Regular Updates:
It’s not enough to create content assets or long-form content once and then forget about them. The digital landscape changes rapidly, and thus the relevancy of certain topics. The content could lose relevance and effectiveness if it isn’t regularly reviewed and updated. This could mean a drop in rankings, reduced traffic, and fewer conversions.
Failure to Promote Content:
Creating stellar content is just the first part of the process. If that content isn’t properly promoted to reach your target audience, all your efforts might be unsuccessful. This includes outreach for backlinks, social media promotion, email marketing, and more. If your content is not being adequately promoted, it won’t have the reach it needs to make an impact.
Ongoing Monthly Traffic & Goal Reporting:
While driving traffic to your site is crucial, the ultimate success of your SEO strategy lies in targeting keywords that convert visitors into customers. We set up specific goals – form submissions, product purchases, calls to a given number, etc., and monitor the progress of your campaign based on the achievement of these goals.
RED FLAGS TO BE AWARE OF
Lack of Customized Goals:
While there are standard goals that most businesses aim for (like form submissions or product purchases), it’s important to understand that every business is unique. If your SEO strategy doesn’t consider your business’s specific needs and objectives, you may not be optimizing your site to its full potential. For instance, if your business benefits from phone consultations, calls to a given number could be a critical goal for your SEO strategy.
Not Tracking the Right Metrics:
Traffic is an important metric, but it’s not the only one that matters. High traffic volumes don’t always translate into higher conversions. Suppose your SEO campaign solely focuses on driving traffic without considering other metrics such as conversion rate, bounce rate, and user behavior. In that case, you might not be effectively achieving your goals. It’s important to track various metrics to understand your SEO performance comprehensively.
Ignoring the User Journey:
When analyzing conversions, it’s critical to consider the entire user journey. This involves tracking how users arrive at your site, the pages they visit, their actions, and whether they convert. If you’re only focusing on the end goal (the conversion) and ignoring the steps that lead to it, you could miss valuable insights into potential barriers or opportunities within your site.
SEO Campaign Base Checklist:
Our initial SEO campaign involves link building, copy adding, and keyword research, among other tasks, typically over a span of two months. Upon completion of this foundational phase, the focus shifts to progressive monthly optimization to maintain and improve the effectiveness of your SEO strategy. This comprehensive approach to SEO ensures that your business remains at the forefront of search engine rankings, ultimately driving more traffic and increasing conversions.
RED FLAGS TO BE AWARE OF
Ignoring User Experience (UX):
While link building, keyword research, and content creation are critical, an SEO strategy that doesn’t consider the user experience could fall short. Website speed, mobile-friendliness, easy navigation, and high-quality content contribute to a positive user experience. If users struggle to navigate your site or find value in your content, they are likely to leave quickly, increasing your bounce rate and potentially harming your search engine rankings.
Using Outdated or Black-Hat SEO Techniques:
SEO is a continuously evolving field, and strategies that were effective a few years ago may not only be obsolete now, but they could harm your SEO. Practices such as keyword stuffing, invisible text, or link farming are now penalized by search engines. It’s important to stay updated with the latest SEO best practices and avoid any tactics that might be seen as manipulative.
Lack of Consistent Monitoring and Optimization:
While the initial setup of an SEO campaign is a substantial task, consistent monitoring, and ongoing optimization are equally important. If you’re not regularly checking the performance of your keywords, evaluating your backlink profile, or reviewing your site’s performance metrics, you could miss critical insights or potential issues. SEO isn’t a “set it and forget it” process; it requires continuous attention and adjustment.
By recognizing and avoiding these red flags, you can build and manage an SEO campaign that drives significant, lasting results for your business.
Contact RLC Media today and let us help you create a winning SEO strategy