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5 Reasons Your SEO Campaign is Failing

In case you haven’t already heard, you need to implement SEO into your digital marketing strategy. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a great tool to increase web traffic to your website and, in turn, increase sales; however, it’s a very robust process.

If you’ve made the smart decision to work on improving your website’s SEO, but you’re not seeing any results in the way of increased traffic, leads, or sales, then it’s time to take a look at the reasons why your SEO campaign is failing. In truth, there could be a number of reasons your SEO tactics are failing, but here’s a list of the most common SEO mistakes:

1. You’re impatient.

SEO results won’t happen overnight. You should always be as realistic as possible with your expectations when implementing a new SEO strategy because results can take 3-6 months to take effect. SEO is a long-term strategy and is best if thought of as a marathon, not a sprint.

2. You have poor inbound links.

Building a link structure within your site is important, but links should be natural, organic, and relevant. One bad backlink probably won’t kill your rankings, but the more spammy, manipulative links that search engines find on your website, the more your site will be penalized. Learn more about backlink best practices.

3. You’re lacking quality content.

Quality over quantity is the key when it comes to content marketing for SEO purposes. Better yet, however, is quality AND quantity! Search engines are smart, and they know when you’re filling your website with unoriginal, generic, hastily-written — and irrelevant — content, just to have something posted. For your website to be seen as a valuable and highly ranking resource, it’s imperative to make sure you’re creating and posting useful and original content that’s relevant to your business. Videos, well-researched blog posts, and infographics are great places to start.

4. You’re focusing on the wrong keywords.

Sometimes, the keywords you want to rank for and the keywords you’re actually ranking for don’t match up. Additionally, you could be pursuing the wrong keywords for the purpose of your website. Do some keyword research to ensure you’re pursuing the least competitive, most brand-specific keywords possible. Brush up on your keywords knowledge with our blogs:

A Primer on Using Keywords for SEO

SEO Basics: Using Keywords

Keywords — Are They Obsolete?

5. You thought you could DIY SEO.

At its essence, SEO sounds simple: make sure your website ranks as highly as possible on search engine result pages; however, that’s a lot easier said than done. SEO is a full-time job, just like running your business, so trying to do both is hard and usually ineffective. You must be all-in when it comes to SEO, so trying to multitask usually won’t cut it.

Need Help with Your SEO Strategy?

Smarter Searches is dedicated to ensuring our clients are on the right page when it comes to search results. We understand that SEO can be confusing and overwhelming, but we offer a range of different packages that reflect a balance of relevance and authority for your website. Learn more about how our SEO strategies can work for you by requesting a proposal.