7 Local Search Engine Optimization Mistakes That Must Be Avoided

Optimizing a website for search engines is an integral part of website management. Many small businesses operating in a geographical location are also investing in SEO to popularize their operations among the local target audience. A convenience store chain devised a strategy for search engine optimization in Vancouver in order to increase its sales in the city. It hired a new Vancouver based search engine services company with not much experience. This did not provide the desired results for the enterprise as the SEO agency did not employ best practices while doing its job.

Following is a list of common mistakes that the firm committed which should have been avoided:

1. Stuffing Keywords in The Content

It is common knowledge that the content of a website needs to be optimized for relevant keywords. This does not mean that the terms should be stuffed in each line of the content. Search engines like Google consider this similar to spamming and penalize such interfaces. Mindlessly filling the content with keywords must be avoided at all costs to escape penal action.

2. Getting Links From Irrelevant Websites

Link building is a vital strategy which involves linking a website with other high-ranking interfaces of its category. The SEO services company in Vancouver hired by the convenience store chain owner did not create an external link structure of the website with high-quality interfaces. This resulted in numerous links from irrelevant websites which made Google give a low ranking to the business.

3. Improper Categorization In Google My Business Page

The business owner was also not advised correctly about submitting details to the Google My Business page. This resulted in listing the business under a generic category which again made it difficult for the search engine to understand its nature. The store chain lost a valuable opportunity to appear in local search results which would have definitely increased its sales.

4. Providing Inconsistent NAP Information

NAP stands for name, address and phone number which is provided by an enterprise on its website as well as other virtual avenues. It is necessary that the nature of this information is consistent across platforms such as website, Google My Business page etc. The firm doing search engine optimization in Vancouver did not pay attention to this detail which led to Google not treating the information as credible.

5. Failure To Adopt A Mobile-friendly Approach

Internet traffic is being driven increasingly by mobile devices. People are making sure that their websites are responsive so that they can be displayed perfectly on all screens. The Canadian business’ website was not responsive and even when it appeared in a local search result, smartphone users could not access it properly. Again a valuable opportunity to target potential customers was lost because of an avoidable mistake.

6. No Facility For Generating Customer Reviews

The store chain did not have a feature for generating customer reviews on any of its virtual platforms. People looking for a solution on the internet try to establish the credibility of an option through client feedback. Reviews can play a big role in improving the local SEO capabilities of a business and enterprises must make all efforts to generate customer feedback.

7. Not Optimizing Title Tags And Meta Description

Title tags and meta descriptions are HTML code bits in a website’s header which help search engines get a better understanding of the page. SEO experts know how valuable they are for search results rankings and therefore insist that they must be optimized with relevant keywords. Doing so helps search engine crawlers identify an interface quickly which may result in an improved ranking.

Conclusion

The errors committed by the inexperienced firm providing services for search engine optimization in Vancouver while handling the convenience store chain’s website resulted in a loss of valuable growth opportunities for the business.