4 Big SEO Content Mistakes SMBs Don’t Know They’re Making
As a content-focused SEO strategist, I see a lot of SMB websites that are struggling to gain traction in Google. While each site has its own unique challenges, there are a few common denominators I see that are holding these businesses back.
I covered a lot of the reasons why SEO content often fails to rank in my recent blog post, "Google may be penalizing your SEO content. Here's how to fix it." For this article, I want to highlight four other lesser-known mistakes I see SMBs making that they may not be aware are hurting them.
Mistake #1: Targeting Keywords That Don’t Have Volume
It’s not uncommon for me to investigate a client’s website and find that they are regularly posting blog content, and that content appears to be written with SEO best practices in mind. But when I investigate what appears to be the target keyword a little more, I find a glaring issue – there’s not actually any traffic for this keyword.
Obviously, if you’re going to write content, you should target a keyword people are actually searching. Unfortunately, I find that a lot of businesses simply come up with keywords that they think their customers are searching for without doing further research.
No matter how confident you are in a keyword, always double-check it. SEMrush is a good tool for this, as it can tell you not only whether the keyword gets traffic but also what related keywords you might include and whether the competition is low enough for this keyword that you can actually get it.
Remember: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it … the same is true of blog posts written for keywords that have no audience.
Mistake #2: Overly Promotional Content
Yes, you are in the business of selling things, but you cannot be too eager to push your brand and your product line with SEO content. The purpose of SEO content is to woo your potential customers. They’re not looking to buy, they’re just trying to answer a question.
So what is your SEO content accomplishing if it’s not actively selling your products? Here’s a short list:
Educate and Inform: Focus on providing answers and insights related to your industry or products.
Address Pain Points: Identify common issues or questions your potential customers have and offer solutions.
Build Brand Authority: Position your brand as a knowledgeable and trustworthy source in your industry.
Gently Integrate Products: Where relevant, subtly mention your products as part of the broader topic.
Offer Value Beyond Products: Include helpful tips, industry news, or educational content that enriches the reader's understanding.
Encourage Further Engagement: Instead of a hard sell, encourage readers to explore related content, sign up for newsletters, or download free resources.
The bottom line is, don’t overload the intro or the body of your content with reminders of your product offering – it hurts the user experience and your chances of ranking for your desired keyword. Have you noticed I haven’t mentioned my company or what we do once in this article yet? You’ll have to skip to the bottom for that!
The secret to crafting successful SEO content is to provide genuine value to the reader. This means offering insightful, informative, and engaging content that addresses the reader's pain points or interests while subtly integrating your products or services as a solution.
By striking this delicate balance, you can not only enhance user engagement but also build trust and credibility with your audience, which are crucial for long-term business success.
Mistake #3: Inadequate Content Quality
Simply targeting a keyword and writing a blog post isn’t enough. The internet is packed with content, so yours has to stand out – even for a low-competition keyword.
I’ve talked before about Google’s recent change to algorithms that favor businesses like yours, and the need for “information gain” in your content. That means the content must include insights and info that can’t be found anywhere else on the web, which is something you can provide as an expert in your industry (and don’t sell yourself short, you are an expert who knows more than 99.9% of people about your industry).
But it’s not enough to simply throw in an anecdote or a tidbit and call it a day. You’ve got to investigate the pieces out there that are currently ranking for this keyword and kick their tails.
You want that keyword. To get it, you’ll have to fight for it. So create your battle plan:
Pick the top 3 articles for that keyword and start building an outline.
Make sure your outline covers every single thing that all three of those articles covered.
Add a couple more sections that will make your article unique (but do not add filler content).
Create infographics and maybe even embed a video if it makes sense.
Build an absolutely stunning piece of content that a reader who stumbled across it would absolutely love.
This not only helps your SEO, it also boosts the user experience and leads to more conversions. So resist the urge to just bang out an easy blog post — put some big-time effort into it and get big-time rewards.
Mistake #4: Underlying Website Issues
Unfortunately, even the best content can’t help websites with deep structural issues. These will need to be addressed before you attempt a large-scale SEO content campaign.
Poor site structure, for instance, can make it difficult for search engines to crawl and index your site effectively, which in turn affects your content's visibility. Other critical issues include low site authority, slow loading speeds, and a lack of mobile optimization.
Low site authority means your website doesn't have enough credible backlinks or is not recognized as a trusted source in your field.
Slow loading speeds can increase bounce rates, as users tend to leave websites that don't load quickly.
In today's mobile-first world, having a website that isn't optimized for mobile devices is a major drawback, as a significant portion of internet traffic comes from mobile users.
Addressing these deeper technical aspects of your website is crucial in laying a solid foundation for your content to perform well in search engine rankings.
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