It’s spooky season, and while ghosts, ghouls, and goblins are out in full force, there’s something even scarier haunting small and medium-sized businesses: SEO mistakes. These chilling missteps can sabotage your visibility in search results, scare off potential customers, and leave your competitors laughing all the way to the (candy) bank.
5 SEO Mistakes Small Businesses Still Make
Don’t let your website become an online ghost town. Here are five frightening SEO mistakes you’ll want to avoid before they come back to haunt you.
1. Keyword Stuffing – The Monster Mash Up
In the early days of SEO, cramming the same keywords into every sentence might have boosted your ranking. Today, it’s a major red flag. Keyword stuffing not only creates a poor user experience but can also trigger penalties from search engines.
Instead of summoning the keyword demon, focus on writing naturally and using relevant variations of your keywords. A few well placed terms in your headers, paragraphs, and metadata can go a long way without sounding like a broken spellbook.
2. Broken Links – The Haunted Trail
Few things are creepier than clicking a link and landing on a 404 error page. Broken links hurt your user experience and signal to search engines that your site is poorly maintained.
Regularly scan your site for dead links and fix or redirect them to relevant, live content. This ensures your site doesn’t resemble a cobweb covered mansion no one wants to explore.
3. Duplicate Content – The Evil Twin
Publishing identical or near identical content across multiple pages confuses search engines and dilutes your rankings. Whether it’s from copying product descriptions, blog content, or service pages, duplicate content is one of the most common (and spooky!) SEO mistakes.
Every page on your site should offer unique value. Write original content that reflects your brand voice and answers specific customer questions. When it comes to Google and other search engines, originality is a treat, not a trick.
4. Neglecting Headline and Meta Description Best Practices – The Invisible Cloak
What’s worse than being buried on page two of search results? Being invisible altogether. Weak or missing title tags and meta descriptions mean your pages might never show up where they should.
Craft compelling headlines (under 60 characters) that include your target keywords, and write clear, engaging meta descriptions that entice users to click (under 160 characters). These elements don’t just boost visibility, they’re your first impression in search results, so make them count.
5. Ignoring Image Alt Text – The Missing Piece
Many SMBs skip alt text when uploading images, but that’s a chilling oversight. Alt text helps search engines understand what your images are about, improving accessibility and supporting SEO.
Every image should have descriptive, keyword relevant alt text. Not only does this support organic visibility, but it also ensures your site is inclusive for users with visual impairments. Don’t let your images vanish into the SEO void.
Don’t Let SEO Mistakes Haunt Your Business
These SEO mistakes may be terrifying, but the good news is, they’re fixable. With a little awareness (and some digital garlic), you can protect your website from creeping down the rankings and start climbing toward the top.
Need help slaying your SEO demons? Contact Water Bear Marketing for a free advertising consultation for all your marketing needs, including SEO, OrganicSearch, content creation, and more. We’ll help you scare up more traffic, and more customers, this Halloween and beyond.
