If you don’t stop making mistakes, you’ll not generate even a single view, and probably won’t earn a penny too! Plus, consistently seeing results like these won’t be good for you because they might lead you to give up quickly.
This is the age of information, so you can learn anything about SEO whenever you want. But if you’re not taking the proper steps, the direction you need to take will remain unclear. Sounds brutal? Well, it actually is.
Many content creators and marketers find it difficult to generate organic traffic. For some, even sustaining current search engine rankings has become impossible because they’ve been following the status quo and don’t adapt to the new methods of optimizing a page.
But we’ve got something that your ears will love to hear: search engines deliver the most motivated, targeted site users.
For example, if you sell smartphones and someone lands on your website through the search term ‘best smartphone online,’ you’ll have a big chance of converting this prospect into a customer.
But what if you don’t see anyone even showing up at your website, let alone making a purchase? Well, this may indicate your website isn’t optimized for search engines.
Here are some signs that clearly highlight that your website is in urgent need of a decent SEO makeover.
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1. You’re monitoring the wrong metrics
If you’re stuck in an endless loop where you’re tracking metrics that don’t affect your bottom line significantly, it’s a warning sign.
For example, your Twitter fan base may be in millions – and while it might sound attractive, but does it indicate how much your followers are engaging with your business? Nope.
If you spend too much time boasting about the number of followers you have instead of building good relationships with them, your SEO efforts will be in vain.
Your business should focus on annual, monthly, and even weekly metrics like year-over-year conversions, total ROI, quantity and quality of inbound links, bounce rate, website traffic, and social signals.
If you want to achieve your SEO goals, track and fine-tune these metrics!
Also Read: 2020 SEO: 11 Proven Tactics To Generate Practical Content And Outrank Your Competitors
2. Your website’s behavioral metrics show abnormalities
Open Google Analytics and review the behavioral metrics of your website. Suppose you see visits coming from unusual locations, low average time on the website, less than one page for the session, spam traffic, and high bounce rates.
In that case, there’s something fishy with your SEO strategy.
While Google doesn’t place heavy emphasis on this factor, behavioral metrics tell a lot about your SEO strategy.
3. You’re using ‘thin’ content
You may have kept your content team busy with generating mind-blowing, brilliant content that people will love to read and recommend.
But if a great SEO strategy doesn’t support it, there’s no point putting in so much effort. If the content is your car, SEO is the fuel – without the right amount of SEO, your content won’t go far!
Put down the pen right now and take a look at your website content. Does it help the intended audience? Does it do enough to inspire your target market? If your website content is thin, Google wouldn’t like it.
Plus, stuffing the content with loads of keywords won’t push your website’s ranking up – in fact, it may do more harm than good.
4. Your website isn’t able to convert prospects to customers
Okay, set realistic targets when it comes to converting prospects into customers. Say, if you’re able to convert 6-8% of search engine traffic into customers, you’re doing fine.
Why is the search engine traffic so unique? Because if you’re using the right keywords to target audiences, they will land at your website with the sole intention of buying something.
So, a laser-like focus is essential when you’re targeting your audience!
But, how can you implement a laser-focus SEO strategy if you don’t have an effective measurement scheme? That’s when SEO testing comes into play.
It’s imperative to learn how to run an SEO test to enhance your website’s performance in terms of relevant metrics, such as keyword rankings and conversion activity. This strategy is the best way to target your audience and convert them into customers.
SEO testing also involves setting the right goals for key performance indicators (KPIs). Subsequently, you need to build a hypothesis and define the scope. Use the right measurement tools to collect and analyze data to effectively execute changes and monitor progress.
5. Your website isn’t ranking even for the localized keywords
Regardless of whether you’re doing the digital marketing on your own or executing your SEO through a digital marketing agency, you need to understand which keywords you should target.
There are many keyword tracking tools available (a lot of them for free), so utilize them to identify what keywords work best for your website.
However, suppose Google doesn’t even rank your page for even the localized keywords that relate to your business.
In that case, it’s time to revamp your SEO strategy. Go to a reputable digital marketing agency before your competitors get way too ahead.
A reputable digital marketing agency consists of SEO experts. They have in-depth knowledge, skills, and experience ranking websites for localized keywords using advanced SEO tools. Moreover, working with a digital marketing agency saves you time and helps you learn the best SEO practices from professionals.
6. Your keyword rankings are coming to a halt
If you see your keyword rankings plummeting, you’re probably losing a fair bit of organic traffic. While it’s essential for you to track your keywords, you should also review the position of your primary keywords.
While keyword rankings may fluctuate slightly – and that’s normal, significant drops may hint that your SEO strategy is falling apart.
It’s crucial to run SEO testing to determine what you’re doing wrong and what techniques you’re missing. However, SEO testing isn’t as easy as using measuring tools. You must implement the right strategies aligned with your SEO performance. If you’re unsure how to go about it, take due diligence to research and consult a professional. The faster you act, the quicker you’ll prevent your SEO from suffering.
7. Your website’s organic traffic suddenly drops
If you wake up to this, it’s a sure-fire sign that your SEO strategy needs to change for the better. Huge traffic drops aren’t normal. They just mean your ranking tactics are shoddy. Let a reputable digital marketing agency rescue your business before it goes completely off the rails.
Remember, black hat SEO tactics might rank you higher for the time being, but they’re not worth it.
You have to get rid of every underhanded tactic like doorway pages, link farming with private blog networks, purchasing links, making content in code, spinning content, spamming comments, cloaking, and littering your web content with all sorts of keywords.
If you don’t want it to bite you real hard in the rear, stop these practices!
8. Your website’s organic traffic is dropping but steadily
If that’s the case, visit Google Analytics and compare the results of the past six months. Check the acquisition of your traffic by going to organic search, group it into months or even weeks.
Now, if you see a steady decline in your website’s organic traffic, you’ve got a problem to deal with.
Also Read: Know How to Choose the Right SEO Agency?
Conclusion
Optimizing your website for search engines isn’t a one-time process; it’s an ongoing job. With the SEO industry evolving constantly, your website has to keep up. Sadly, keeping up isn’t so easy, especially if your website has a lot of pages.
But don’t worry; refreshing your SEO strategy will be enough. All you need to do is learn the right skills and partner with the right people, and you’ll be good!