Effective search engine optimisation (SEO) is complex, and it is common for websites to be a victim to its many pitfalls. Here are four common mistakes to avoid:

Using cheap SEO services

Many of us receive numerous emails from search engine optimisation businesses offering to get your website to the top of Google for a small fee. Often, these companies use aggressive SEO tactics that go against search engine guidelines. The only high position in Google that your website will reach is for obscure keywords that have little relevance to your business.

It is better to pay more and use a reputable SEO firm, and ask what SEO tactics they use before hiring them.

Considering SEO after the website is live

SEO should be a priority when planning a new website, and not an afterthought when the website is live. In the planning stage of a new website think about high quality content optimized for SEO.

Having too many PDF pages

Though Google can index PDF documents the standard HTML format of web pages contains tags that are easier to optimize for SEO. For example, if an H1 or heading tag contains a keyword, then this will be given more weight than a none-heading occurrence of the keyword. Google cannot analyse PDFs in this way. Either avoid PDF files on your website, or keep them to a minimum.

Excessive use of Flash

Flash content is difficult for search engines to read and analyse for keywords, and it cannot be displayed on an iPad. The advances introduced in HTML5 which all modern browsers can interpret, mean that most of the functions of Flash can now to programme in HTML 5.

The art of search engine optimisation is about what mistakes to avoid, as well as using the best SEO strategies.

Mark