Seven Deadly SEO Sins

After reading a post over at shoemoney about deadly sins of money-seekers, which was in turn inspired by the seven deadly sins series from the History channel. I decided to take some time today, sit down and come up with a list of seven things I consider to be the deadly sins in our world of SEO.

1. Over Optimization

Trying to insert too many keywords into one page because someone else is doing it and ranking? STOP!!! I’m not sure where or how this started, I’m sure history will date back to the time of spammers for viagra, porn and online gambling. But I see this way too often, especially on sites that try to compete in markets dominated by major players and other established sites. I cannot stress enough that SEO is not overnight success, for most. It takes time and a lot of perseverance.

If you have plenty of SEO things you could do on the site, try spreading them out. Never try to cramp all your wonderful SEO ideas into one huge release. Yes, you can’t wait to increase your traffic, search rankings, adsense clicks, page views, whatever it is. But over optimizing this way can only lead to bad things. And you don’t want bad things from Google, Yahoo or MSN, even AOL

2. Underestimating Content

If anyone tells you they are not in the business of content, don’t give up! It’s a uphill battle for some, but be persistent because it will pay off in the long run. Content, good content, is still core to any successful online business regardless of industry. With search getting more challenging and mood swings from algorithms, besides links (which you cannot control anyways), content is a time-tested component that has the capability to help your site survive any algorithm earthquakes. If you’re a frequent follower of search engine forums, conference, and your Search Idols, you might now realize that while there have been debates on almost every damn thing on SEO, when it comes to content, everyone is in total agreement. I have yet to have someone tell me that content is useless – any volunteers?

3. Redesigning Without Considerations

Back when I was a web developer, there was a school of thought that you had to redesign your website every couple of years to stay fresh and up-to-date. The more I think about it now, the more I go WTF?! There are plenty of sites out there stuck in the Web 1.0 era and even some launched in the Web2.0 era that are very primitive in technology. Using basic layouts and still kicking serious butt in ranking and traffic. One important thing to acknowledge about site redesign is, it’s just a new look. At the core, if your product doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day.  Unless you’re product is so revolutionary that users can’t help but flock to, I highly recommend  erasing the old way of thinking “Build It And They Will Come” mentality.

But, if you choose to redesign your site, then at the minimum make sure that your goals are to improve the following:

• usability
• accessibility
• search engine friendliness
• make the site load faster
• avoid stumbling blocks (may differ from company to company)
• streamlined and coherent

4. Impatience

How often have you consulted a new SEO client that said they were willing to “INVEST” in SEO and willing to wait it out to reap the benefits of free search?? If I get a dollar everytime I hear that, I could have contributed to the TARP funds! Ok, maybe a tad exaggerated, but the point is valid. Yes, SEO is not rocket science and some might even argue SEO is dead, useless, obselete – but that’s another topic. It is understandable for clients to change their minds about SEO, but the people who are most guilty of this sin are SEOs themselves, or so self-proclaimed ones. What gets under my skin are those people who make changes to their site just because they don’t see results in 1-2 weeks. Yes, you could get lucky once in a while, just like in Vegas, but if you think you can get away with it every time, you might want to find another industry to play in. You’re setting yourself up for major disappointments and if you have clients, a major “WTF Consultant ARE YOU!” emails.

5. Not Picking Up On Trends

Not every online trend sticks. 95% are probably fads that will die off over the next year or so. But there are the few diamonds in the rough that deserve attention. If someone told me that social sites could sell for tens of millions of dollars 5 years ago, I’d honestly be laughing at them, and then buying them a beer to call a truce But look at how many sites today have sprung up in the social space, and growing. If you haven’t been able to ride the waves of successful trends last year, it’s not over. You have the opportunity, especially in this economic downtime to come up with strategies to leverage the success of trends like videos, social communities, user-generated content, local search, mobile and personalization this year. It’s never too late – it’s just a matter of when you do it.

6. Following Instead Of Leading

I’m a firm believer that in search, one has to break traditional rules and lead instead of follow. Let’s take examples like Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. Each of these sites entered uncharted territory when they created websites that promoted exclusitivity (at first), user submitted video (99% time sink), and sharing of photos online with strangers. You might say, WAIT A MINUTE, those are not pioneering technologies and you’d be absolutely 100% correct! But to do it in a way that enables and empowers the user to have control and be vulnerable at the same time to public criticsm required some gonads. Do they rank for some of their industry’s key search terms? You betcha!

By leading, is there a possibility to fail? Absolutely! But there’s also the possibility to rock the world! Choose your pill…The sites in my example were leaders in their own rights. How are you planning to be a leader in your space?

7. Measure Once, Cut Twice

No, it’s not a typo. I did mean to say Measure Once, Cut Twice!! If you’re pulling the trigger because you got overly excited over one set of data, STOP NOW! Even in my own career, I’ve caught myself celebrating false victories. If you get results and they look too good to be true, check them again before making any further SEO decisions. After getting a second opinion, making decision gets more comfortable.

Be careful to not get caught in analysis paralysis, as it tends to happen if you measure too many times.

Wrap It Up

I’ve stumbled on all of the above at some point or another – and I hope this will serve as a gentle reminder that as much as we get excited about optimizing sites and achieving that 30% increase in traffic and conversions, there are things we often overlook in our excitement and enthusiasm.

I’m slowly repenting from my “sins” – and unless you’re “the sinless SEO,” maybe you can share some of your faults with us too?