The search landscape is always evolving and so are SEO strategies because Google doesn’t care if your site ever gets found.

Google is constantly changing their algorithm to help users more easily and more accurately find what they’re looking for.

81% of people between 16 and 64 used a search engine to find a product or service to buy.

This reality makes life difficult for marketers. Keeping up with the search engine algorithm changes and the shifting customer priorities and market conditions, marketers find it challenging to stay on top of successful optimization techniques. It’s difficult to keep pace with the search engines’ continuous algorithm updates and technical site issues.

But the truth is, SEO takes time. Part of effective SEO is not just doing the right things, but having a firm grasp on the most common (and potentially harmful) SEO mistakes. If you can keep technical issues to a minimum, you can give your website a fighting chance to rise up the rankings in search engine results.

Here are a few of the most common SEO mistakes that can hurt your search engine presence and keep visitors from converting into prospects:

1. Choosing the Wrong Keywords

Remember, your SEO strategy is only as good as your target keywords. So, be sure to pay special attention to the keyword research process.

The first step when choosing the right keywords is knowing the user’s intention behind them. Determine not only how you want to position your product but what your potential audience might be searching for—their search intent. This means you need to know your target audience at the most minute and granular level.

Moreover, determine the search volume and keyword difficulty score of the keywords you choose. Ideally, go for keywords with low keyword difficulty but tons of traffic (AKA high search volume).

Trust us when we say that there is gold in long-tail keywords. These are keywords used by smaller, more specific audiences and usually convert exceptionally well. Plus, they’re great for voice searches. These are great opportunities that a lot of marketers avoid because of their small search volume. But ignoring them is a huge mistake.

2. Creating the Wrong Type Of Content

Another common SEO pitfall is creating content that doesn’t resonate with your readers or address their pain points. You can actually have content that looks “right” from an SEO standpoint, but is completely irrelevant when it comes to providing real, credible information.

Don’t:

  • Create low-quality content for the sake of including targeted keywords
  • Stuff your content with exact-match keywords; you could get penalized for this practice
  • Try to fit multiple topics in a single content piece

Your primary goal with content creation should be to create original content that genuinely addresses your target audience’s needs while incorporating the right search terms.

Make sure it follows the principles of E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, and Trust) and is optimized for user intent. To earn your reader’s trust, take advantage of long-form blogs. This blog is a good example of this technique.

3. Not Investing in a Mobile-Friendly Experience

Remember, SEO isn’t just about keywords and content; it’s also about your website’s user experience, particularly on mobile devices.

Google shifted to mobile-first indexing a while ago, so if your website isn’t optimized for mobile users, your ranking on search engines won’t be nearly as high.

The same is the case for slow-loading sites and non-responsive web design. According to Google, with every second that a website user waits around for your site to load and fully format, you lose readers, and your bounce rate increases

Making website responsive

Hire OAK Interactive To Make the Most of Your SEO Spend

As one of the leading digital marketing companies in Houston, Texas, we have years of experience helping businesses improve their on-site organic search rankings with top SEO strategies and relentless execution.

We start by conducting a comprehensive website audit to determine areas of improvement on your site and then use proven SEO practices to target the right audience based upon their search intent.

Get in touch with us to learn more about our wide-ranging SEO services Houston TX.

Our Featured Work & Case Studies

view our work

Our Work & Case Studies

February 2, 2024

Stark Services – “AC in the Attic”

Stark Services was an HVAC – Plumbing company in Dallas, TX and part of Church Services...

February 2, 2024

Sudie’s Catfish House “Cheatin'”

Sudie’s is a family-oriented, family-owned restaurant that offers delicious seafood and homemade Southern dishes. Opened in..

February 2, 2024

TOPS Surgical Specialty Hospital

OAK wrote, produced, and directed a video for TOPS Surgical Specialty Hospital, a physician-owned facility in..

December 27, 2023

TOPS Surgical Specialty Hospital

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

December 27, 2023

Eleven Amp IPA

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

December 27, 2023

HUDEF Pickleball

November 1, 2023

Advertising Agency In Houston, TX

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

November 1, 2023

Advertising Agencies In Houston

OAK is an advertising firm that helps businesses grow by strategically defining your brand and its..

November 1, 2023

Why Brands Need Digital Advertising

Digital advertising has grown from gaining prominence to becoming base-level must-have in any marketing strategy. By..

September 16, 2020

St. Thomas High School

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

September 16, 2020

Houston Physicians’ Hospital

Landing Pages

September 16, 2020

Church Pool Services

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

September 15, 2020

Church Services

Church Services Church Services is a home service company that gives homeowners peace of mind knowing..

September 15, 2020

Saturn Retailers of Houston

The Houston-Area Saturn Retailers were unhappy with the national advertising agency’s approach to the Saturn brands..

September 15, 2020

David Taylor Cadillac

 RADIO

September 13, 2019

No Label Oktoberfest Beer Can Design

No Label Brewing has been an OAK client since 2015. During that time, we’ve designed some..

September 10, 2019

Lovett Dental

Lovett Dental helps patients get the smile they want and need by providing everything from teeth..

September 10, 2019

Monterey’s Little Mexico TV

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 26, 2019

David Taylor GMC

David Taylor GMC had been in Houston since 1975 and had enjoyed a prestigious reputation with..

July 25, 2019

Karrus Force Protection

Karrus Force Protection was looking to use cutting-edge technology to attract tradeshow attendees to Force Protection’s..

July 25, 2019

Hebel

THE PROJECT To strengthen and expand Hebel’s reputation among architects, developers and builders in the United..

July 25, 2019

Messina Hof

Messina Hof was looking for a way to target a younger demographic to their annual Harvest..

July 25, 2019

Texas Tamale

This is one of 2 ads we created for the Texas Tamale Company. These ads ran..

July 25, 2019

Shephard Park

Shepherd Park is another restaurant and bar owned and operated by Houston restauranteur, Ken Bridge. Creative..

July 25, 2019

Witchcraft

Witchcraft Tavern & Provision Co. is a new addition to the Houston Heights food scene. With..

July 25, 2019

Spirit of Texas

Spirit of Texas is an independent rum distillery based in Pflugerville, TX. They dedicate a massive..

July 25, 2019

Off Label Brewing Co

THE PROJECT No Label Brew Co, a long-time client, came to us with the idea for..

July 25, 2019

Houston Methodist

Developed automation emails for the office of Continued Medical Education for Houston Methodist Hospital for seminar/course..

July 25, 2019

Axis Pipe and Tube

Coming Soon.

July 25, 2019

The El

Website and Branding

July 25, 2019

Summer Sandia

When Texian Brewing Co. approached us to launch their new Bomber limited series with Summer Sandia...

July 25, 2019

No Label Brewing Co.

No Label Brewing Co.

July 25, 2019

See Tim Sell

Challenge: The quirkiness of a home-brew stick figure logo had brought Houston Area real estate company,..

July 25, 2019

Disney Magic Run Bogota

Their Goal Growing the audience Disney Magic Run needed to reach a local audience of fans..

July 25, 2019

Katy Market Day

Coming Soon.

July 25, 2019

Zaza Real Estate

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Pink’s Pizza

After years of the very dynamic Pinks site, Pinks Pizza asked for OAK for redesign. To..

July 25, 2019

Coras Concept

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Liberty

The first bomber bottle commissioned by Texian Brewing was for the Liberty IPA. The sister ship..

July 25, 2019

Santa’s Little Weiner

Annual Christmas card! Santa’s Little Weiner won an American Advertising Federation award in 2015.

July 25, 2019

EMS

EMS USA inc. a fast growing pipeline care company, came to us for a fresher look..

July 25, 2019

Dan Tasset

We brought Dan Tasset’s web identity up to date with the use of a simple, clean..

July 25, 2019

Lady Lazarus

Houston-based screen printer, Lady Lazarus reached out to OAK for a website to help showcase their..

July 25, 2019

Oktoberfest 2016 Campaign

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Ellsworth Plastic Surgery

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Hit King Brew Series

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Hit King Baseball Academy

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Pacesetter Personnel Services

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Brown Plastic Surgery

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Perpetual Peace and Nightmare 4 pack

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 25, 2019

Pinks Pizza Relaunch

C L I E N T Pinks Pizza is a Houston-based Pizzaria that’s been serving pizza..

July 22, 2019

GILLEY’S RUB

Gilley’s food line started with a product that’s a natural extension of their light, food-friendly Texas..

July 22, 2019

TEXIAN BREWING CANS

Texian Brewing Company is proud of their Texas heritage. Founded and brewing in Richmond, Texas (southwest..

July 22, 2019

NO LABEL 5TH ANNIVERSARY

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 15, 2019

DON JALAPENO AND WHAT THE HATCH

What the Hatch and Don Jalapeno stem from the same family with the only difference being..

July 15, 2019

RICE VILLAGE SCULPTURE INSTALLATION

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..

July 15, 2019

BLACK WIT-O IPA PACKAGING

We have worked closely with a wide variety of industries helping them boost their online presence..