As an SEO agency Australia you have plenty of competition just like your clients. Therefore mistakes can’t happen.
You, as an agency, will come up against the same scenarios many times as your customers trying to conduct SEO by themselves or hiring an in-house team.
Suppose tried and tested tactics are not working for some reason. In that case, in this article we will focus on five fundamental points you may need to review again and reconcile to ensure you are at least covering the basics before moving on to more intuitive marketing strategies.
Five Common Mistakes You Make as an SEO Agency
1. Not Having a Plan in Place
As we all know, organic SEO is not a quick fix, so the first aspect is to have a clear plan to move forward.
Setting goals and objectives for the customer and yourself must take priority.
Next, you need to assess the competition; you must know what you and your customer is going up against.
Keywords are still key. Even though SEO has morphed and expanded, effective keyword research is your first port of call. Analysing how the competitors are ranking is essential. Then, look at their content and how they use their keywords and judge their performance.
If you don’t cover these basis points, there’s no roadmap, and you are swimming against the tide. You have to have a plan.
2. Wrong Keyword Choices
Choosing the wrong keywords is like starting a car without keys; sure, you may be able to, but it’s not a good idea.
Keywords still form the foundations of all SEO campaigns.
Keywords are often misunderstood for their importance on each web page, not just on the homepage.
Behaviour has changed, and as an agency, you must too! Generic is not always the best way; look for specific keywords based on user behaviour. And please do not judge them on pre-pandemic search results.
Judging your client’s spending is essential as companies with a strong marketing budget during Covid-19 will have cemented themselves on the first page, and you could be hitting a brick wall for your client.
Longer keywords give small or start-up companies a better chance of gaining leads quickly and increasing their bottom line. Therefore, their spending power gives you more ammunition to go after the more sought after keywords.
There are many great keyword reserach tools out there from companies such as:
- Semrush
- Moz
- Ahrefs and more…
Some you will need to pay for, but some you can get for free to get yourself up and running.
3. Metadata – Don’t Leave it Out!
This is right up there regarding basic SEO mistakes, but it is still quite common.
The SERPs use metadata to describe to the user exactly what your customer is all about and what they provide. Therefore it’s vital that it appears immediately and is accurate; otherwise, they look elsewhere.
The page title is a huge ranking factor for Google and other search engines.
To achieve SEO success, you must set your meta stall out, make each web page unique, and use keywords strategically.
You will need to understand the optimal length so your customer’s explanation of their services or products doesn’t get cut off on the results page.
It needs to be seen and packed with a punch. Remember you need that click for your client to help your CTR rate, another significant SEO factor.
4: Forgetting Engaging Content
Content is still king. Yes, and that won’t change anytime soon, especially with Google.
Users now know they have an abundance of options at their fingertips and will be gone instantly if the content doesn’t grab them. Get them into the website and start clicking through internal links and enter the sales funnel.
TIP: Content needs to make your client an authority within their field and showcase their abilities to provide the service or product they are selling – comprehensively.
You will not achieve this with 200 words in the wrong font that bores the user within the first 30-seconds, and they leave the site—adding to your problems by increasing their bounce rate.
Search intent is a crucial algorithm factor that pulls a user towards a web page and then needs to engage and educate simultaneously. If you have a customer in an industry or field, you haven’t worked in before, buy yourself some time, do your research and engage with the client.
TIP: Organic SEO takes time, and you need to build rapport with your client; therefore, be honest and say we will research your industry and the local area and produce reports for you. If we feel confident we can help you achieve a better result, we will take you on. However, I want you (Mr Client) to help us continually with any new information you have within your field. We will subsequently curate excellent content to boost your rankings.
5: Never Overlook User Experience
User experience (UX) is now vital to Google results.
You need to understand on-page SEO and have a proficient web developer/designer at your disposal.
Visual impact is a massive denominator of whether someone will stay on the site. The content kicks in, and your internal links send the user through the sales funnel – Sounds easy, but as we know, it’s not until you get it right.
One handy tool is Google’s core web vitals if you want to ensure you are on the right track.
Your customer’s pain points are:
- Page/load-up Speed
- Site Navigation
- Visual Stability
- On-Site Interaction
All of the above are ranking factors after Google’s recent algorithm updates; get them wrong, and your client’s rankings will be static; or worse!
SUMMARY
As we discussed at the start of this article, it’s about ensuring you have the basics covered. As an SEO agency Australia, you will be able to get to more clever and out-of-the-box marketing later. Getting the basics right will give your customer the confidence to increase spending and allow you to try different ideas, but you have to show results first. Good luck.
