The four biggest mistakes of search engine optimization

ONLINE MARKETING Search engine optimizers often promise a better ranking on Google. Nevertheless, they regularly make serious mistakes. The following article highlights the four biggest mistakes and contains tips on how to do things better.FROM MATEO MEIER* AND CHRISTIAN WILD**"Search engine" is the magic word of digital marketing in the 21st century. With search engine optimization (SEO), companies can gain visibility on the World Wide Web. But what do companies gain from a high ranking in the Google results list? Quite simply, they usually generate significantly more sales because people are creatures of habit and almost always prefer the top-ranked companies when making their choices. However, there are certain risks with SEO, which often lead to the company website being penalized and eliminated from the Google index for a longer period of time. Here are the four biggest mistakes and practical tips for improvement:1. too frequent keywordsMany specialists create texts exclusively for search engines. They think that the more frequently a keyword is mentioned, the more likely the text is to be found. Unfortunately, this results in the word "golf" or "dream figure" appearing five times in a single sentence, for example. This approach is not only a horror for linguists ... How many times should writers ideally mention and repeat a keyword in a text? The corresponding reference number is called keyword density. It sets the number of words in a text in relation to the number of keywords, whereby a percentage is always sought. Matt Cutts, head of Google's webspam team, emphasizes, however, that there is no specific, always valid percentage figure that can be used as a guide; the text simply has to be organic. However, it can be deduced from experience that text with a keyword density of ten percent or more is generally regarded as spam.Tips:- If the texts come across like robots, the intended effect will not work, as Google has to understand the texts. Therefore, write the texts for the readers and not for the search engine - Create added value for the readers by providing unique content - Ideally, have the articles written by people with journalistic knowledge.2. sneak top positions with link buyingGoogle works like people; the only difference is that recommendations are not made from word of mouth, but digitally. The more recommendations are generated in the form of links, the higher the ranking. For this reason, many website operators buy referral links from link farms. In the past, booking 100 "directory submissions", i.e. links from link farms, resulted in a rapid ranking improvement within weeks. Today, however, Google considers such behavior to be a violation of its guidelines and penalizes the website in question, which can have a negative impact on the ranking for years. The task of a reputable agency today is often to remove links that have a rather negative effect.Tip:- Don't buy links, but always deliver high-quality content. If a website is an experience for the reader, it will also rank well.3. wrong keyword selectionThe choice of keywords is also crucial: for example, the website of an inn for which only the short-tale keyword "hotel" has been selected will practically not be found on the Internet. The much more specific long-tale keywords "4-star hotel Zurich" or "wellness hotel Basel" are more suitable here. As a company operating on the Internet, you should also always keep an open perspective in terms of terminology: For example, if you sell butter, you should also include the word "Anke", which is sometimes used in Swiss dialect, or the term "Margarine", which is frequently used in Germany, as keywords.Tips:- Use long-tail keywords - Ask yourself what you would enter online if you were looking for a specific location or a specific product. If in doubt, it is better to use several terms; not just technical terms, but always descriptive terms as well.- Find niches that you are practically working on alone and define suitable keywords accordingly.- Contact an agency that uses analysis tools to thoroughly research suitable keywords in advance.4. separation of PR and search engine optimizationMany PR agencies are only familiar with their core business and leave search engines out of the equation. However, it has long been clear that online PR is enormously helpful when it comes to SEO. Firstly, readers enjoy new, informative articles, leave comments and share the content. And secondly, search engines rate these reports positively, which can lead to a better ranking in the long term.Tip:- Place meaningful articles on online portals and in social media. These increase awareness, are up-to-date and link to your own website.