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We are uncovering the simple, unexpected SEO mistakes that even savvy business owners are making—the ones that are quietly hurting your rankings and keeping you invisible online.
We see these common SEO mistakes a lot when we work with new clients. Their website is beautiful, but it isn’t earning the right (or any) traffic. So, we often fix these points for clients so they get the SEO results they want!
Let’s make sure your website isn’t making these mistakes and accidentally discouraging Google from sending new clients your way.
#1: Your Homepage Doesn’t Clearly Say What You Do
Google AND your audience need clarity—if your homepage is vague or filled with fluff, you’re missing keyword opportunities. Sprinkle your target keyword naturally throughout your homepage. The copy should be simple and direct on your homepage. You can link to other pages with more details but for now, just give someone the basics of what they need to know about you.
These are some homepage design tips that will make sure your audience and search engines understand who you are:
- Put your logo in your main navigation bar
- Pick a simple menu style
- Play with patterns
- Have strong CTAs throughout your home page
- Add engaging elements like pop-ups and banners
- Include brand photography
- Make your copy skimmable
Get the full homepage design checklist!
#2: You Aren’t Making Your SEO Titles Click-Worthy Enough
Do your SEO titles make someone want to choose your website over the millions of other search results? While yes they should include keywords, SEO titles should also entice a reader to click.
Write them like a paid ad. Paid ads are super engaging and make people want to take advantage of an offer.
Ask ChatGPT for some powerful, scroll-stopping SEO titles. Get creative with your SEO titles!
#3: You’re Blogging… But Forgetting to Update Old Posts
Google favors fresh, updated content—so that post you wrote in 2021? It might be dragging down your rankings if it’s outdated. Every quarter, refresh at least 2-3 old posts.
Here are some ways you can refresh old blogs:
- Update old stats or data you reference (the data itself and the reference link)
- Check for broken links and fix them
- Add new brand images
- Add new best practices or tips
- Add new internal links
#4: You’re Not Using Internal Links
Speaking of internal links… Google relies on links to understand your website’s structure. If you’re not linking between your own pages, you’re missing an easy opportunity to boost SEO.
Add relevant links to other resources where it makes sense, of course! Think of this as taking someone on a journey through your website. After reading a blog, what do they want to learn about next?
After reading this blog, you might want to know more about 3 Easy SEO Tricks To Better Rankings — Quicker (see what we did there? 😉)
Adding internal links boosts the user experience and helps Google figure out your website. It will discover one page, see that you link to something else on it, and follow that link. It keeps doing that until it reaches dead ends. So keep linking internally to as much as you can! But only where it makes sense!
#5: You’re Missing FAQ Opportunities
Not only can your contact page and service pages have FAQs, but so can blogs! We focus too much on creating content we want to share instead of content our audience is actively searching for.
Add a short FAQ in your blogs to cover those questions you didn’t talk about in the blog content but are still relevant to the topic. You might even show up as a featured snippet in search results with those quick, short answers 👀
Pick one of these SEO mistakes to fix!
Now what?? We have a challenge for you: Pick and fix one of these SEO mistakes this week!
Whether it’s adding internal links, refreshing an old post, or tweaking your homepage copy— pick one. We are often paralyzed by allll the things we need to do that we never get started.
SEO isn’t a race—it’s not even a marathon… because marathons end. It’s like your health routine. You always keep working on and tweaking it as your business grows, but it should never completely stop.
Wanna dig into this a bit more?
Today—Monday, March 17th at noon CST—we’re hosting a FREE live webinar where we’re breaking down 5 ways to gain visibility and get found online. But if you’re listening to this after the fact, don’t worry—the replay is ready and waiting for you!
✨ This isn’t just another info session—we’re sharing real, actionable strategies we use in our own business and with our clients to drive more traffic, leads, and growth. And if you’re catching this in time, there’s still a chance to join us live and get your biggest visibility questions answered in our Q&A!
🎯 So don’t miss out—go watch the replay or save your seat now!
If you liked today’s episode on The Duo On Air Marketing Podcast, don’t forget to leave us a review & subscribe!
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Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen are Minnesota-based marketing experts, educators, and co-founders of boutique marketing agency Duo Collective, which specializes in SEO, social media strategy, and branding for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. To learn more about Duo Collective, or to inquire about working with our team, head over to www.duocollective.com.
To inquire about being a guest on Duo On Air, please fill out this application form.
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