SEO is becoming more complicated and goes far beyond getting a green signal on your SEO dashboard. Google has developed several methods over the years to understand whether a piece of content is of high quality or not, irrespective of the “length”.

If you are trying to write content that ranks on Google SERP in 2020, you should avoid these on-page SEO mistakes.

#1 Ignoring Keyword Research

If you want to get more traffic, keyword research should be your first priority. Before you start to jump into your post editor, you should make sure that you have the chance to rank for a keyword.

When I first created my blog (with low authority), I was able to rank my first 3 content pieces for their target keywords.

How did I do that?

I targeted long-tail keywords with low difficulty.

If I had done the opposite, my post would probably have been buried on the last page of Google SERP.

A good rule of thumb for a long-tail keyword: contains 4+ words.

In order to find good keywords here are two ways to go about this.

The first method involves when you have a base keyword in mind. For example, when I enter “Jogging shoes” into a Google search box, I get these suggestions:

Now, I have some potential keywords. These keywords with more phrases are “more specific and easier to rank for”.

You can also use “Keywords Everywhere Chrome Extension” to get more search keywords.

You can also check “Google People Also Search” or “Google Related Keywords”.

The second method is to check the keywords your competitors are currently ranking for. This method is most especially useful when you find your competitors with good traffic with “not-too-high” domain authority.

• Enter their URL into one of those research tool (SEMRush, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest)
• Go to the Keywords session.
• Export their keywords and check the difficulty (with the tool and Google SERP analysis)

Next, you want to check the difficulty of the keyword.

No matter the quality of the content you are about to write, you can’t just rank for some keywords if your authority is too low compared to the authority of the blogs in Google SERP for that keyword. That is why I always check Google SERP for my target keyword. To do this, you can also enable Moz Bar Google Chrome extension. It will show you the metrics of the websites on Google SERP immediately that you search.

Doing this you can avoid wasting time writing content that you won’t rank for.

#2 Ignoring Search Intent

What answer is the searcher looking for exactly? That is one question you should have in mind before you start writing at all.

There are four types of contents based on search intent:

• Navigational
• Informational
• Transactional and;
• Commercial 

When you are able to figure out WHY a searcher entered a particular search query into Google search box, you will be able to provide the most relevant content that provides the answer. 

Take for example, if you are optimizing for the keyword: “how to study for an exam”. It is expected that your post should contain tips that will help your readers study for an exam, right?

If you end up writing detailed quality content that explains “WHY your readers should study for an exam”, you have just failed to identify the search intent. That approach will NOT give you the ranking you want to get.

So, before you start writing, put yourself in the searcher’s shoes and try to find out what EXACTLY they are looking for.

#3 Not Properly Optimizing Title Tags

Your title is the first thing your readers will see. In fact, Moz ranked title tag as the second most important On-page SEO ranking factor (only behind the content of the page).

Below are some very good ways to optimize your title tag:

• Shorter is better
• Use Power keywords
• Make it compelling
• Use your keyword in a natural way
• Add a year (if possible)

Takeaway: A simple tweak in your title can give you higher Click-Through-Rate (CTR) in Google SERP than what you should originally get.

If you are in the 6th position, a well-optimized title tag will give you more clicks. Eventually, Google will move your results high in the ranking.

#4 Writing Shallow Content

Content remains KING in SEO even in 2020. In fact, content is still ranked as the “Most important SEO ranking factor”.

Research by Backlinko.com has shown that longer contents tend to perform better in Google SERP.

So, next time you want to write content for your blog, make sure to write a detailed, in-depth content that will answer the questions of your readers.

#5 Focusing on Quantity Over Quality

While most quality content is long and in-depth, NOT all long content is “quality content”. Do not focus on the quantity of the content, ignoring the quality. It will hurt your blog. Your users won’t continue to read your “long content” if it does not provide any value. You are even unlikely to get a share or comment. 

The worst part?

It will increase your bounce rate and send bad user signals to Google. Focus more on the value your content is providing even if it means it will be shorter. 

#6 Content that is Not Properly Structured

You can have the best content in the world. If your content Is not properly structured, your users will still hate it. Therefore, your content structure is another important thing you should focus on.

Check out this guide on how to structure content properly to learn more.

Use Headings Properly

Use of headings to structure your content will help your users to understand your content better. Although the keyword in heading does not provide a direct SEO advantage as it used to be in 2000, Google still uses heading tags in SEO. Here’s what Google’s John Muller said about headings:
“We do use headings when it comes to search. But we use them to understand the content on the pages.”

Use a Table of Content

Table of content is a very good visual that will immediately help your readers to understand the structure of your content. It will provide a good and fast navigation system through the content of your blog.

The best part?

It also helps Google to understand your content better. If you have a knowledge of HTML and CSS, you can easily create a table of content for your blog content in 10 minutes. If not, you can use the Table of content plugins.

#7 Writing Content that is Not Compelling

You know what? If you are reading this paragraph, it means this content is compelling enough for you. If not, trust me, you would have bounced away by now.

How can you write more compelling content?

Avoid a long introduction

The purpose of your first line is to make people read the second line. If you lose your readers in your first 3 paragraphs, you lose them forever. Make your introduction as short as possible. Short paragraphs perform better than long paragraphs. Next time you are writing, avoid boring your readers with those unnecessarily long introductions.

Hook your readers

The best way to keep your readers is to hook them. There are several ways to do this. First, promise to give them something they REALLY want. Here’s a good example:

Another way to hook your users is to show the results. This method WORKS so well that A LOT of sale landing pages page uses this. Nothing is more promising than seeing people getting results I want to get too. In fact, Neil Patel uses this method A LOT in his blog post.

Use shorter paragraphs

Look at the content below. Which one would you rather read?

And;

Definitely the second one, right? Short paragraphs are better and easier to read.

Avoid big words

Here’s a simple truth, big words DO NOT WORK! In fact, if you are trying to impress your readers with big words, you are getting it ALL WRONG.

#8 Not Using Internal Linking Properly

Finally, you’ve written some high-quality, well-structured and compelling content. Another mistake would be to not link to/from it properly.

Internal links will increase the Page authority of your copy especially when they are coming from pages with higher authority on your blog. If you are not using it properly, you are missing out.

#9 Keyword Stuffing

Do you still add chunks of UNNECESSARY keywords to your blog post in order to try to fool Google ranking? Then, you are making a very BIG mistake! Stop forcing keywords into unnatural positions. In fact, doing this can land you a Google penalty.

This is where QUALITY content comes into play. When you write in-depth quality content that answers the questions of your potential readers, LSI keywords will naturally come into their right places in your content. In fact, using LSI rather than keyword will help Google understand how in-depth your content is. That way, Google will rank you higher on SERP for your main keyword and the related ones.

#10 Unoptimized Images (size, dimension, alt text)

While images are very good when included in your content, they can be dangerous if not properly optimized.

First of all, using unscaled and uncompressed images can seriously slow down your blog pages (which is very bad for SEO). Also, if you are not properly using the Image ALT text, you are missing out on the SEO benefits of images. When Google bots crawl your pages, they cannot see images the way you see them. By adding an appropriate ALT text that describes the image, Google bots will be able to understand your images then.

Take away: Make sure you scale your images to the proper size before upload, compress it properly (to reduce the size and improve page speed). Finally, make sure you add a descriptive ALT text to the image so that Google bots will understand your images better

#11 Bad URL Structures

Shorter and cleaner URLs have been shown to perform better than longer URLs (all other things being equal). Avoid using URLs that are too long and containing unnecessary stop words, numbers or dates. Instead of using “YOUR-URL/how-to-do-content-marketing-in-2020”, use a cleaner URL structure like “YOUR-URL/content-marketing”.

#12 Not Checking Broken Links

Broken links can hurt your website in at least two ways. According to Google’s guidelines, “Always check for broken links, they can frustrate your users”.

Since Google’s aim is to provide the best user experience, broken links can affect your SEO. First, when you have broken links, Google will de-index that page with the 404 error. Also, Google bots will crawl your website less often (and affects your ranking). In fact, it is said that all pages linking to the broken page will also be affected.

Article Source Credits:

Author: Soneye Saheed
Soneye Saheed is the founder of TechProfet.com, a tech blog focused on providing valuable content, strategies, and tips on Blogging and SEO, and affiliate marketing. He is a passionate blogger and SEO enthusiast. For more information about the author please click here.

Article Source: succeedasyourownboss.com
This is one of the leading resource blog publishing sites. The content is published by Melinda F. Emerson. She is known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America's leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. Her small business advice is widely read and reaches more than three million entrepreneurs each week online.

Originally Posted on: April 21, 2020

81% of retail shoppers conduct online research before buying
Source: GE Capital Retail Bank! 

It’s never been more important for small businesses to have a well-designed, informative website.

To make a lasting impression on potential customers, here’s 10 essentials for your small business website:

1. We Love Our Mobile Devices - Your website must be mobile-friendly.

77% of shoppers use a mobile device to search for products.
source: Salsify

There are more people on the planet who own a mobile phone than a toothbrush. With this reality it is a safe bet that customers are likely accessing your website from a mobile device. A responsive website ensures a smooth, easily-navigable experience and happier customers. 

Google cares deeply that your website is mobile-friendly. If it’s not, your website will be bumped down the search results pages, potentially landing behind your competitors’ responsive websites. 

2. Tell Them What You Are All About -  People are visiting your website to learn more about what your business offers.

Once on a company's homepage, 86% of visitors want to see information about that company's products/services. (Source: KoMarketing)

Design each webpage from your customer’s perspective: Give them the info they need to make an informed decision about your product/service.
Make sure important content is easy to find on your small business website.

3.  Make It Easy To Connect -  It should be as clear as possible how and where to get in touch with your business. 

The business phone number should be visible on the homepage. Once on a company's homepage, 

51% of people think "thorough contact information" is the most important element missing from many company websites. (Source: KoMarketing)

44% of website visitors will leave a company's website if there's no contact information or phone number. (Source: KoMarketing)

Enable Click to Call 

88% of consumers, searching for a local business using mobile devices end up calling or visiting the business within 24 hours (Google Mobile Movement Study)

Another convenience favoured by many is live chat support. Learn more about why it’s awesome here.

A Contact Us page: a feedback form, the business street address, driving directions (if applicable), or even a link to your FAQ section. 

4. The Simplier The Better. The more “visually complex” a website is, the less likely it is to be seen as “usable”. 

39% of people will stop engaging with a website if images won’t load or take too long to load. (Source: Adobe)

All elements (words, images, videos, links) on the homepage should have a distinct and meaningful purpose.

Avoid clutter, small/hard to read fonts, and complex layouts. 
Include clean lines, intuitive navigation, simple font style and colour schemes throughout the entire small business website. 

5. What Are People Saying About Your Business? As the digital age’s word-of-mouth, online reviews are a simple, yet effective way to increase traffic, sales, and build credibility.

82% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, including 93% of people aged 35-54. [Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey]

According to experts, review signals make up 15% of Google's local pack ranking factors. [Source: Moz, Local Search Ranking Factors Survey]

Include a few customer testimonials/reviews on your website. Including reviews on your website allows searchers to see the business as more trustworthy, turns searchers into buyers, and assists in boosting your local search rankings.

Add a review widget like Yotpo or Trustpilot so customers can leave a review directly on your website.

6. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Showcase your products and services with quality images. Use high-resolution images to highlight your products and/or services

Better quality images create a more enjoyable user experience.

If you are struggling with getting great images, many local community colleges have Photography and Videography as a part of their curriculum. Reach out the Program Lead to see if there are any students who are looking to get some ‘real world’ work for their portfolio. You can get some great images done affordably and help a student gain valuable experience.

7.  It’s Important That Your Business can be Found. Search Engine Optimization is a guiding principle when building a website for your business. 

SEO comprises several factors working together to build your website’s visibility in search engine results.

Some factors include: website content, mobile-friendliness, website quality (speed to load pages, duplicate pages, broken links, etc), website architecture, user generated content such as reviews  and geophysical location

SEO dramatically affects how many people (potential customers!) can find your website in the internet maze.

Even if you aren’t building your own website or implementing the SEO strategy, it can be extremely helpful if you understand what SEO can and cannot do for your business. 

8.  Get Them to Take Action -  Include visual focal points on your website that invites your customers to act.

Common examples of Call to Action are “Buy Now” or “Signup Here” or “Enter your email”. 

Draw customers’ attention to your offer with colours, images, or typefaces. 

For example, a bright pink “Start Your Free Trial” button against a neutral background will immediately catch the eye.

9. Monitor Load Time. How quickly (or slowly) the content on your website loads is crucial to maintaining visitors’ interest. 

Bear in mind that many of your customers and prospects will view your website from the mobile device so it should load quickly and be easy to navigate.

39% of people will stop engaging with a website if images won’t load or take too long to load. (Source: Adobe)

Page load speed affects SEO - search engines rank ‘heavy’ pages lower than pages that ‘light’ and load quickly.Images, videos, or text that takes too long to load can cause frustration causing them to leave never to return.

10. Social Media is About Engagement. Make it easy for anyone visiting your social media pages to get to your website. Add your website to all your social media profiles, business cards and other marketing materials

Resist the temptation to fill you social channels with your latest promotion and/or product offering. The social channels reward those who post engaging content that entertains, educates or provides a point of view and punishes those who only seek to promote. Use these channels to demonstrate your expertise in your business through the use of video, images and content.

This content should entice  customers and prospects back to your website to consume the content,  providing them an opportunity to learn about your business in a less intrusive fashion than traditional marketing.

11. BONUS POINT - It is About to Get Personal - Making meaningful connections across digital and physical channels is the new expectation.

The ability to deliver a consistent customer experience provides both short and long term benefits. Seek to personalize all experiences to reinforce familiarity and build brand loyalty. Consider how you can replicate or enhance an in store experience with your customers through the digital channels.

80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Expectations for the customer experience have never been higher — to acquire new customers, businesses need to meet them. (source: Salesforce).

At Webware, we have helped thousands of small businesses to take advantage of the opportunity presented by having a great mobile responsive website and digital support channels.

With Webware, you’re never on your own. Our team is with you every step of the way. We work to understand your business goals and execute the strategy that’s designed to meet them.Webware’s all-in-one digital marketing solution gets your business found, generates leads, increases customer engagement, builds your reputation and creates value for your business.

Book a Growth Session with one of our Digital Marketing Specialists to learn how you can get digital marketing working for your small business today.

When you have to balance your personal and professional life - you miss out on opportunities to present your brand in the best light possible.

Small and medium-sized businesses most often opt to stick to their in-house staff rather than seeking a professional digital marketing consultant.

They believe that learning digital marketing is a better use of their budget than hiring experts who have had repeated success.

However, given the complexities of the digital world, a digital marketing consultant will navigate the internet in a way that makes the most sense for your business.

Apart from technical expertise…

A digital consultant knows the process of providing value to consumers.

With tools and resources, they understand your business goals, evaluate your existing marketing, assess the competitive landscape and set well-defined methods that expand your customer base and increase your chance of success.

While there are several reasons you should hire a digital marketing consultant, picking the right one can be an overwhelming task.

It seems like there is an overwhelming amount of individuals and marketing agencies out there these days, that are ever-ready to help. However, not every company suits your business needs.

Here are the top five things to look for in a digital marketing consultant:

1. Knowledge of pain points of small and medium businesses.

Most businesses and startups have to deal with countless pain points on a daily basis. A digital marketing consultant should have an idea of the pain points of your business. An effective digital partner can identify solutions that can improve the customers’ experience, free up the business owner's time, and increase the bottom line.

2. Marketing experience.

Digital marketing consultants today are skilled in diverse fields of marketing and business; SEO, social media, email, content, mobile marketing and so on. Marketers with deep work experience can create more effective strategies that will not only engage existing customers but attract new ones.

3. Focus on the client industry.

Make sure the professional you hire has sufficient knowledge in your area of expertise. If you are searching for a firm to create brand awareness on your mortgage brokerage, consider a digital consultant who has specialized in providing marketing solutions for the mortgage industry.

4. Latest marketing trends.

With new tools and evolving social media platforms, it is crucial for digital marketing consultants to stay on top of the most recent technologies and trends to know how it will affect and serve your small and medium business. Your digital partner should know and be ready to implement the most valuable marketing strategies to positively affect your bottom line.

5. Accessible platform.

The most effective way to manage your small and medium business' digital needs is to have everything in one place.

Does your digital partner enable you to manage your email marketing, blog, website, online store, social media accounts, and customer communication - in one place? As a business owner, hopping from platform to platform is not an effective use of your time.

If you are looking for a complete all-in-one digital marketing solution, just chat with us in the chat box on this page or Book a Growth Session with one of our Digital Marketing Experts! Our platform enables small and medium businesses access to an all-in-one digital marketing solution that provides expertise, tools and support to create an easy to manage online presence allowing you to focus on making money, and what you do best - running your business.

Charles Gwira - Author, Speaker, and Prophet offers leadership, personal development coaching services to clients across Brampton, Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Oakville. To help him reach a wider audience, we launched his new website - www.charlesgwira.com

We wish Charles Gwira the very best of success.

Lost Note Productions is a video production company based in Washington, D.C. & Baltimore, MD. They specialize in narrative short films & commercial media productions. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week - www.lostnoteproductions.com

We wish the team at Lost Note Productions the best of success.

Dream Green Landscaping offers lawn mowing and lawn maintenance services across Toronto, North York, and Scarborough, ON. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website -  www.dreamgreenlandscaping.ca

We wish the Landscape Technicians at Dream Green Landscaping the very best of success.

Tyler B Photography offers engagement, family, senior, maternity, newborn, lifestyle, and modeling photography services to clients across Aurora and the surrounding areas. To help her reach a wider audience, we launched her new website - www.tylerbphotography.com

We wish Tyler the very best of success.

TJL Floor and Garage Door Inc offers flooring, cabinet, garage door installation services to clients across Richmond, Vancouver, Burnaby, and the surrounding areas. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week - www.tjlfloor.ca

We wish the team at TJL Floor and Garage Door Inc the very best of success.

Phase II Auto Detailing provides car detailing, ceramic coating & car wash services to clients across Langley, Surrey, Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam, and Vancouver. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website - www.phaseiiautodetailing.ca

We wish the team at  Phase II Auto Detailing the best of success.

CSI Security is a security system company serving clients across Kanata, Stittsville, Manotick, Orléans, Gloucester, Ottawa. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week -  www.csisecurity.ca

We wish the team at CSI Security the very best of success.

MUNTIN Professional Services Inc. offers home inspection, and architectural design across North York, Scarborough, Toronto, Vaughan. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week - www.muntinpro.com

We wish the team at  MUNTIN Professional Services Inc. the best of success.

Monette Express offers commercial, residential long distance, and international moving services to clients across Montréal, Québec. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website - www.monetteexpress.com

We wish the team at  Monette Express the very best of success.

Watts Communications Inc. offers corporate video production, audio production, content distribution & corporate photography services to clients across Milwaukee. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week - www.wattscom.com

We wish the team at Watts Communications Inc. the best of success.

Loney Plumbing Inc. offers plumbing services to clients across Kelowna, West Kelowna, Vernon, and the surrounding areas. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website - www.loneyplumbingkelowna.com

We wish the team at Loney Plumbing Inc. the very best of success in their endeavors.

Drone Giant is an aerial imaging company offering photography and videography services across Thunder Bay, ON.  To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their website - www.dronegiant.ca

We wish the team at Drone Giant the best of success!

Arkana Education provides services to students and adult learners to achieve their high school credits and a diploma in Toronto, Ontario. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their website - www.arkanaeducation.com

We wish the team at Arkana Education the very best of success!

Alex Lowry Digital is a commercial photographer & videographer specializing in sports, lifestyle, editorial, and portrait photography & videography serving clients across the USA. To help him reach a wider audience, we launched his new website - www.alexlowrydigital.com

We wish Alex Lowry Digital the best of success!

The Passion Of Home Staging provides home staging services, colour consultation, occupied home staging, vacant home staging across Oakville, Brampton, Mississauga. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week - www.thepassionofhomestaging.com

We wish the team at  The Passion Of Home Staging the very best of success!

M & E Spotless Cleaning Services offers commercial and residential cleaning services to clients across Mount Vernon, North Bronx, and Westchester County, and New York. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week - www.mandespotlesscleaning.com

We wish the team at  M & E Spotless Cleaning Services the best of success!

Skyview International is a marketing firm offering entry-level marketing jobs across Texas. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website - www.skyviewintinc.com

We wish the team at Skyview International the very best of success!

Altman Studios is a music recording studio offering songwriting, music production & video editing services to clients across Oakley, San Francisco & San Jose, CA. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website - altmanstudios.com

We wish the team at Altman Studios the best of success in their endeavors!

Colin Phillips, CPA Professional Corporation, is a tax and accounting firm in Toronto providing tax planning, payroll processing & bookkeeping services. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week - www.colinphillipscpa.ca

We wish the team at Colin Phillips, CPA Professional Corporation the very best of success!

In recent memory, the world has never experienced a singular event with such a far-reaching impact on social, economic, and political systems as the current COVID-19 pandemic. It seems like literally overnight, our personal and professional lives have been turned upside down through the adoption of measures to try and slow down the spread of this disease.

With uncertainty as to how long these measures will remain in place, many organizations have had to adapt to ensure the long-term viability of their businesses. 

Webware is no exception. At Webware, our foremost concern was for the health and welfare of our most important asset - our employees. The organization was early to adopt social distancing measures and mandated our entire workforce to vacate our offices on two different continents. Within 48 hours, our ‘work from home’ strategy was deployed, and the organization was set up and operational. In all fairness, this effort was made easier as Webware is digital and this has been a core tenet of the organization since its inception.

This new mode of operation has illuminated new opportunities that previously Webware did not explore until our hand was forced to adapt. Now that we understand that our people can productively work remotely, our organization is no longer bound to geographic boundaries to source great talent.

And similar to the speed in which the organization pivoted to move to a ‘work from home’ strategy, we are going to extend this function and begin to reach out to the global talent pool. Inside of a week, our internal team has established online video training and playbooks that will enable us to on-board and ramp up self-starters from around the world. Webware is growing, and we are looking for great new team members.

What we are looking for:

Self-starter individuals who understand how to hustle and get stuff done. We’re looking for those rare individuals who are driven and want to be a part of a positive dynamic culture helping small businesses throughout North America with their digital marketing. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication and relational skills, an entrepreneurial spirit and strong, persuasive closing abilities. Sales experience is a plus, but not required. Primary responsibilities include marketing business-to-business digital marketing solutions.

What we provide:

All of our team members receive extensive training and access to support of the leadership team via defined processes and apps.

What’s in it for you?

On the job training is an eight-step system that produces more entrepreneurs than any other system. You will be exposed to unparalleled opportunities to make money and to grow personally and professionally. Interact with top-performers on a daily basis learning from the best. A performance-based compensation that is commensurate with your ability to deliver. An organization that moves at the ‘new’ speed of business, constantly adapting to meet the real-world needs in real-time.

If working for a progressive organization where your success is only limited by your desire to learn, execute, adapt, and deliver - we want to hear from you. Send us a cover letter and your resumé to work@webware.io.

A.D.A Audio Plus is a security camera installation company in North York, Toronto. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website last week - www.adaudioplus.com

We wish the team at A.D.A Audio Plus the best of success!

Westgroup Financial Management Inc. offers wealth management services to clients across South Surrey, Vancouver, Coquitlam, Burnaby, Langley & Chilliwack. To help them reach a wider audience, we launched their new website - www.westgroupfinancial.com

We wish the team at  Westgroup Financial Management Inc. the best of success!