15 Common SEO Mistakes Beginners Make & How to Avoid Them

Last Updated on September 9, 2024 by Jan Barley

Common SEO mistakes beginners make are easily avoided by checking through this list.

SEO (search engine optimisation) needn’t be complicated. Indeed, the simpler you keep it, the better.

Failure to address some of these SEO mistakes beginners make can hurt your search rankings.

Understanding these common SEO mistakes and learning how to fix them is crucial to driving traffic, improving visibility, and ranking higher on SERPs (search engine results pages).

In this guide, we’ll walk you through 15 common SEO mistakes beginners make and provide actionable tips to avoid them.

#1: Ignoring Keyword Research

Beginners often assume they know what their audience is searching for and skip proper keyword research. I get it. SEO tools like Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, and SEMrush help identify high-traffic, relevant keywords that align with search intent but are expensive.

You can use free keyword research tools such as Ubersuggest and Google Keyword Planner. You can also get ideas from Answer the Public.

Without research, you may target irrelevant terms or miss opportunities to rank for valuable keywords.

#2: Keyword Stuffing 

In an attempt to rank for a particular keyword, beginners often overuse it in content unnaturally. Unfortunately, keyword stuffing could incur search engine penalties.

Content should be readable for humans and not written in a way that doesn’t make sense. Google prioritises helpful content that flows naturally and provides value to its users.

Pick a primary keyword and use it around 2-3 times per 1,000 words. Research primary keywords and semantics because adding these to your content helps the bots make sense of your content.

#3: Neglecting Article Title Tags and Meta Descriptions 

Add meta tags – descriptions and title tags – to your content. It makes your content more easily understood by users and search engines.

If these elements aren’t optimised or are missing, search engines might pull random snippets of text to display in search results, reducing the chances of users clicking through to your site.

Ideally, add your primary keyword at the beginning of the title and the meta description.

Example

Primary keyword: smooth-coated dog breeds

Title: 14 Smooth-Coated Dog Breeds That Are Perfect Family Pets

Meta Description: 14 smooth-coated dog breeds that are the perfect pet for all the family. Discover everything about these family-friendly breeds from a dog behaviourist.

Titles should be up to 60 characters, and descriptions should be up to 160 characters.

#4: Not Optimising for Mobile 

With more users browsing on mobile devices, search engines like Google have adopted a mobile-first indexing approach.

Websites that are not mobile-friendly, with tiny text, poor site structure, slow-loading images and complicated navigation, or content that doesn’t resize properly will see drops in search engine rankings, and visitors will likely leave.

#5:  Using Non-Descriptive URLs 

A common beginner’s mistake is creating URLs (slugs) that don’t describe a page’s content (e.g., “www.website.com/page1”).

Descriptive URLs help users and search engines understand the page’s purpose. A well-structured URL should include relevant keywords and be easily readable.

For instance, for the doggy keyword, a suitable URL would be www.website.com/smooth-coated-dog-breeds

#6: Ignoring Local SEO 

For businesses serving a local area, optimising for local search terms is essential.

Beginners often forget about creating or optimising their Google My Business profile, using location-based keywords, or building local citations.

Neglecting local SEO means you could miss out on business from nearby potential customers searching for your services.

#7: Overlooking Site Speed 

Page speed is a crucial ranking factor.

Slow-loading websites frustrate users, increasing bounce rates and reducing dwell time, negatively impacting SEO.

Compressing images, using browser caching, deleting inactive plug-ins and reducing JavaScript and CSS bloat are essential for improving site speed.

#8: Failing to Build Internal Links

Your content needs internal links. It helps search engines to crawl your site effectively and distribute link authority (or PageRank) across your pages.

Beginners often forget to add internal links to posts and pages. That leads to orphaned pages (pages with no links to them), poor site structure, and missed SEO opportunities.

When developing your content strategy, focus on starting with a pillar post with multiple content clusters so you can interlink all of the content.

#9:  Not Optimising Images 

Large image files can hinder your website’s speed.

Beginners often overlook image optimisation by failing to compress image sizes. Avoid using big PNG files. JPEG images are smaller.

Alt text (adding relevant alternative text to an image file) is essential for accessibility and gives search engines more context about the image, which can help with image search rankings.

#10: Lack of Quality Backlinks 

Backlinks from established, high domain authority (DA) websites are a strong ranking signal, but beginners often focus on getting as many backlinks as possible without regard for quality.

Spammy or irrelevant backlinks can lead to Google penalties. Building organic, high-quality links from reputable sources in your niche is essential.

You can check your backlinks and scores with Ubersuggest.

#11: Ignoring User Experience (UX) 

SEO isn’t just about keeping the search engines happy; it’s also about creating a positive user experience.

Websites with confusing navigation, poor design, slow page load times, or excessive ads deter visitors. High bounce rates and low dwell times send negative signals to search engines, impacting rankings.

If you have an in-depth, heavy word-count article, intersperse images throughout the content.

To improve the user experience, have plenty of white space on the page, with no more than 3-4 sentences per paragraph.

#12: Not Updating Aged Content 

Many beginners create content and then leave it untouched.

However, outdated content that no longer reflects current trends, facts, or search intent may drop in rankings over time.

Regularly updating content ensures it remains relevant and aligned with evolving search queries. Additionally, periodically updating content helps with organic ranking.

#13: Not Using Analytics Tools 

SEO is a data-driven process. Without using SEO tools like Google Analytics and Search Console, beginners miss critical insights on how their website performs.

These tools provide data on keyword rankings, traffic sources, user behaviour, and potential issues, helping to refine SEO strategy.

For example, you can see which articles get the most clicks and target your content strategy to provide more of that content and link internally with the high-performing content.

#14: Ignoring Voice Search Optimisation 

As voice assistants like Siri and Alexa are becoming more popular, optimising for voice search becomes crucial.

Voice search queries are longer and more conversational, and beginners often forget to target these long-tail keywords.

Optimising content to answer common questions and using natural language increases the chances of ranking in voice search results.

#15: Overlooking HTTPS Security 

Security is a ranking factor, and websites that don’t use HTTPS encryption are marked as “Not Secure” by browsers like Google Chrome.

An insecure site deters users from trusting your site and can hurt your search engine rankings. Beginners often skip this critical step, leaving their sites vulnerable and less competitive in search results.

Conclusion

By avoiding these basic 15 SEO mistakes, beginners can set themselves up for long-term SEO success.