Forbes: Five SEO mistakes you're making right now

[The Buzz]

You're all making SEO mistakes, according to Forbes. Buzzy removed "stupid" from the headline because, well, that's just not very nice. But hey, Forbes usually has some useful articles about SEO, so we figured we'd give you guys a heads up that this is out here.

What other STUPID mistakes do you see people making when it comes to SEO?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysonde...ing-right-now/

[Fortune Palace]

Fantastic to read an article about stupid SEO mistakes that recommends Guest Blogging for SEO - and then links to a step-by-step guide from 2013!

Irony?

[sweetbet]

Thank you for the post. The article has a link to "The Definitive Guide to SEO in 2014" which is very useful.

[edgarf76]

It's a good article but most people say the same thing over and over again, with the exception of the few true experts like Barry Schwartz, mm ext

[RacingJim]

Point 5 is the main thing to take away from that one.

[iGamingWriter]

I can see a few things there that I'm guilty of, though nothing I wasn't already aware of. I did make a HUGE mistake in outsourcing to a ****** SEO firm early on that ultimately ended up costing me money to get rid of the links they built. There are some lingering residuals from that mistake. Lesson learned - never outsource anything that's really important. If the person doing the job doesn't have a stake in your success they will half ass it.

I also don't make enough use of text formatting.

[MrBinaryAff]

Good simple guide, I am still not very good at 1st. Can track the change, but how much it develops revenue for me.

And come on, don't try to be economic when buying links or paying SEO company, all you get is bad service. You get what you pay for.

[ocreditor]

Crappy Link Building

... LOL !

I like the use of the word "Crappy" in this contexts, most of the site owners are missing big time in this field.

[sampendleton]

Honestly, I don't find it informative. I mean, this isn't new. I'm sure a lot of people (in SEO) are already aware of these stuffs. I expect something more from Forbes but it is still a good reference and a reminder though.

[ocreditor]

Honestly, I don't find it informative. I mean, this isn't new. I'm sure a lot of people (in SEO) are already aware of these stuffs. I expect something more from Forbes but it is still a good reference and a reminder though.

Well its true ! but I guess they are targeting also SEO newbies

[harrisrando]

One of the most generic articles about SEO But they are not SEO oriented so...it makes sense

[gamblingbitcoin]

The most important is a good domain name with type-in traffic.

[ocreditor]

The most important is a good domain name with type-in traffic.

Very important indeed but still its only a start !

[Paul Becker]

thepogg i'm also guilty of outsourcing linkbuilding tasks to a SEO firm. It wasn't a good idea either because, like you, I ended up having to remove them all. Luckily I was aware so I didn't let it go on for too long. The Forbes article is already stuff that, if you're a SEO, you'll know but because it's a thankless task it acts a good reminder if you're tempted to resort back to old techniques which google will penguin slap you for . Lesson learnt.

[iGamingWriter]

thepogg i'm also guilty of outsourcing linkbuilding tasks to a SEO firm. It wasn't a good idea either because, like you, I ended up having to remove them all.

The problem sometimes exists when you've made this mistake, you've identified the ****** links you need rid of, but the sites holding the links are non-responsive even for the offer of money. You're stuck with the results and it sucks....

[webanalysissolutions]

The most important thing I could recommend about SEO - don't chase your tail, don't try keep ahead of what you think Google will be doing next. Just stick to good principles of creating useful websites and you will succeed. How many websites have been destroyed by chasing short term measures to get themselves up the rankings? We've never really focused on SEO yet we have two of the largest football tipster sites on the web.

Even Google say something similar to the above message - just create good websites, changing content, and useful stuff etc etc. If you black hat, or even attempt to do stuff slightly black hat, you'll get caught out eventually. Think of it from Google's perspective - they're trying to index the most useful sites out there to create a profitable business, so by stuffing a page with a load of keywords or white text on white background or something like that, they're not going to like you for temporarily upsetting their algorithms.

In general just believe that Google is probably more clever than you are in the long run and you're not going to out-do them.

[BeckyCA]

This is a great thread, I love to hear what is top of mind when it comes to SEO! Just in case you are not aware, every Monday SEO Expert Nick Garner has been doing a weekly 1 min "SEO Tip of the Week" video + a more detailed written component for us - I encourage you to take a look to see if you can pick up something new. The tips cover things like:

-Trust factors
-Xenu
-Thematic Consistency
-Keyword Density
-Buzzstream
-Google Disavow
-Timing your rankings
-Ubersuggest & SEMrush

If you have any topics in particular that you would like covered, please let me know and I will ask him to dedicate a Tip to you.

Becky

[MrBinaryAff]

Thanks Becky, Nick is really helpful. I know him personally as he is an expert in that field.

[ocreditor]

The most important thing I could recommend about SEO - don't chase your tail, don't try keep ahead of what you think Google will be doing next. Just stick to good principles of creating useful websites and you will succeed....

100% correct !

[xecutable]

I have to agree with the above posts, nothing new and hell if there has to be a major stupid mistake listed (not new either) would be people focusing on quantity. Quantity of traffic, quantity of published material, quantity of backlinks, quantity of partners etc etc. When was the last time someone asked you "Hey what's the quality of your traffic" rather than "How much traffic do you get per month". Sounds familiar?