Even if you’ve struggled to make headway in the past, this doesn’t have to hold you back in the future. Instead, you need to do two things:
- Pinpoint the reasons why your SEO strategy has failed you.
- Adjust your approach to avoid a similar fate in the future.
With all this in mind, we’re going to examine five of the primary reasons for SEO failure. There’s a good chance that one or more of these points will ring true with your business. Let’s get started!
A Lack of Tools
Gone are the days when SEO was nothing more than building low quality links, stuffing keywords, and waiting for your rankings to increase.
In today’s day and age, you need to pay close attention to everything from keyword selection to on-page optimization.
If you need any assistance, now’s the time to learn more about the many SEO tools that can point you in the right direction. With these on your side, it’s much easier to stay on track and realize that your goals are within reach.
If you’ve never used SEO tools in the past, it could be one of the primary reasons for your lack of progress. Fortunately, implementing a few of these in the future is a simple task.
You’re Living in the Past
In the wonderful world of SEO, what worked in the past won’t necessarily produce results in the future.
With search engines constantly updating their algorithms, you must be willing to change with the times.
If you’re SEO strategy is dated, if you’ve neglected to change with the times, you shouldn’t expect to reach your goals related to organic traffic. Even worse, if you continue down this path, it could lead to a sitewide penalty that puts you in a bad spot.
Regardless of what you’ve done in the past, you should dedicate yourself to staying current with the latest updates.
A Focus on the Wrong Keywords
There are many basic building blocks of a sound SEO strategy, starting with keyword selection.
There’s no denying the fact that keyword search volume is almost impossible to accurately measure. Even if you use one of the many tools that are available, such as Google’s Keyword Planner, you’ll never be provided with data that is 100 percent accurate.
Even so, you must do your best to choose keywords that receive a moderate to high level of traffic. This isn’t to say thatlong tail keywords are a bad thing (because this isn’t the case), but remember this: ranking for a keyword that doesn’t get searched will do you no good.
Before you start work on your SEO campaign, do whatever it takes to choose the right primary and secondary keywords. With a focus on monthly search volume and competition, you’ll find yourself on the right path.
The Wrong Approach to Link Building
Go back in time 10 years and link building was easy. From blog comments to forum signatures, there was no shortage of opportunities.
But then something happened. Google began to crack down on sites with a low quality link profile.
This is one of the primary reasons for SEO failure. If you continue to rely on old school methods of link building, you shouldn’t expect to make progress. Furthermore, you should expect your site to be penalized. It’s harsh, but true.
Instead of relying on this approach, it’s time to step up your game. From content marketing to influencer marketing, there are ways to build high quality links that will have a positive impact on your rankings. It may take more time and effort, but that’s what the SEO game is all about in today’s world.
You Gave Up Too Soon
SEO can be frustrating on many different levels, including the fact that it can take many months (or years) to generate positive results.
This may not be fair in your eyes, but it’s how the game is played. If you give up too soon, if you take an impatient approach to search engine optimization, your strategy will continue to fail you.
SEO is all about doing the right things at the right time, over and over again. You can’t publish one high quality blog posttoday, and then forget about this for the next two months.
You can’t secure two links and assume that it’s enough to reach the top of the results for all your target keywords.
Even if you don’t see results as quickly as you would like, it’s best to stay on the straight and narrow. It’s hard to move forward when you don’t know when things will break your way, but there’s no other option.
If you gave up too soon in the past, you never provided your website an opportunity to reach its full potential. Don’t let this ruin your chance of success in the future.
Answer these Questions
At this point, you should have a better idea of why your SEO strategy has failed you in the past. Even if you’re disappointed at your previous performance, there’s always time for change in the future.
In addition to avoiding the above mistakes, take the time to answer these questions:
- Do you have a well rounded strategy that you can rely on, month in and month out?
- Are you using strictly white hat techniques, or do you continue to break the rules and hope for the best?
- What goals do you hope to accomplish through the implementation of a comprehensive SEO strategy?
You now have the information you need to avoid SEO failure and reach all your future goals.
