Typically, you aren’t always successful in things the first try, and this is certainly the case for SEO. It is likely that at least some part of your SEO campaign will fail. The worst possible thing to do here is to just give up. When giving up you are completely undoing all the potential positive impacts your campaign has had.
Instead, it is important that you learn and grow. Learn why the campaign failed and work on a way to move past it. One of local SEO companies like SEO Shark says that most of the time the reason for failure will be something that no one could have predicted, and there isn’t much you can do about that. All you can really do is plan and prepare as much as possible.
If you are only just starting out your SEO campaign, or have already experienced failure, this article is important for you to take a look at so you can understand where you’ve gone wrong (or could go wrong) in order to be as prepared as possible.
So take a look at some of the main reasons why an SEO campaign may fail:
1. On Site Problems
Your website will not fix itself, so if you see issues you need to act on it straight away – the problem may be having a bigger impact then you think. One of the biggest things to look for are page not found (404) errors. Too many 404 errors provide a sub par experience to both users and Google.
As well as this, other general site issues to look for would include site speed. The longing your site takes to load the more people will leave and possibly go to one of your competitors – this sends a really bad message to Google that users do not like your site.
Your content is another on site aspect you need to be aware of. Does the content on your site match your chosen keywords? Is your content engaging enough to get users to stay for longer? Does your content encourage users to take an action, like signing up or making a purchase?
2. Not Focusing on the Customer
In SEO it can be very easy to focus on what Google wants and making sure they are happy. While this type of mindset may have worked 10 or so years ago, it won’t anymore. What Google wants is pretty much the same thing as what the customers wants. So you’ll need to be focused on them.
The design and content on your website should be made with the customer in mind. Is your website easy to navigate and the content easy to understand? If you are not customer focused the visitor will see right through you and probably go elsewhere.
3. Campaign the Wrong Size
Whether it is too narrow or too board, it is important to get your campaign the right size. Remember that all businesses are different so something that any business does may not work as well for your business.
It is a good idea to write down your business objectives and goals. Think about how you can use SEO to achieve those goals. This will help to determine the size of your campaign.
You also need to ensure that your campaign is flexible, things change and it is important that your campaign reflects both the internal and external changes. Don’t try to over extend yourself, do as much as you think you are capable of, and remember you can enlist the assistance of an SEO agency if you’re too busy.
4. Haven’t Waited Long Enough
Has your SEO campaign really failed, or have you just not waited long enough? In SEO, results certainly aren’t instant they do take time, so it is important for you to be patient and don’t jump to conclusions when results aren’t instantly shown.
There are many different areas to build up when it comes to SEO, so make sure you’ve given your strategy enough time to grow before cutting it down and trying to rebuild again.
5. Not Conversion Optimised
You may be able to actually get users on to your website, but if you find they aren’t taking the action you’d desire (i.e. signing up or making a purchase), then you may have to take a look at your conversion assets on your site.
For a number of sites your conversion assets would be your content and a call to action button. Is your content optimised enough for users to take action, or is it bland and unpersuasive at best? Your call to action button also needs to be optimised, think about placement, colour and even what the button says.
You should aim to have your button above the fold and always visible whenever a user is on your site. It is also a good idea to test out different colours, fonts and words for your button and see what grabs users the most.
