Search engine optimization (SEO) is nothing new. Since the earliest days of online search, marketers and business owners have sought to promote their listings on the Web, navigating the search algorithms to maximize their visibility.

However, SEO is famously complex, and the algorithms themselves are always changing. As such, we still see a lot of errors and self-sabotage, even amongst fairly savvy marketers and business owners.

In the interest of sidestepping these errors, it may be helpful to review some of the most pervasive SEO misunderstandings that loom large in 2023.

SEO Errors We’re Still Seeing in 2023

1) Pages That Have Little or No Text.

We get it: The Internet is an increasingly visual space, and it can be tempting to tell the story of your brand solely through images or videos. The problem is that the search algorithms need text that they can “crawl,” providing some insight into what your page is about and how it should be classified.

Don’t make the error of mostly or totally text-less pages. Instead, make sure you have some good, substantive, written content on each page, complete with judicious keyword use.

2) Keyword-Stuffed Meta Descriptions.

You should definitely take the time to write metadata for each page on your website. This text provides the search algorithms (and search engine users) with a quick synopsis of what the content is about.

However, stuffing your meta descriptions with keywords can be counterproductive. In fact, most SEOs agree that meta keywords matter little, if any. It’s much more important to have a good, thoughtful description than it is to include particular search terms.

3) Omitted Alt Tags.

We mentioned above that too many websites focus on visuals to the detriment of text. Here’s another case-in-point. When including images on any website, it’s important to include alt tags, which provide the search algorithms with some information about what the image is.

This doesn’t have to be a comprehensive description of the images, especially if it’s something as complex as an infographic. You just want to include a high-level summary so that the search algorithms know how to classify that image, particularly for purposes of image search results.

4) URLs That Lack Description.

It’s important to remember that search algorithms place a lot of emphasis on URLs, including slugs. As such, every component of your website address should be descriptive. If we developed a page called encompassagency.com/page1 or encompassagency.com/node32, we’d be forfeiting an important opportunity to provide meaningful, crawlable data to the search algorithms.

If you’re devoting time to creating substantive, descriptive, and keyword-rich content on each page, make sure you’re doing the same for your URLs and slugs.

5) Absence of Backlinks.

So far we’ve been focusing on on-page SEO, but off-page optimization matters, too.

Simply put, the search algorithms will take into account the number of external sites that link to yours (as well as the quality, authority, and relevance of those sites). Getting a high volume of backlinks communicates to the search algorithms that people in your field find your content to be valuable, and thus everyday users might find it valuable, too. Earning natural backlinks through compelling content and smart relationship-building is key for sustainable SEO success.

6) Using HTML Over CSS.

HTML was once considered cutting-edge, but these days, it’s better to develop your website in CSS.

This matters for a number of reasons, not least overall SEO success. When you write your site in HTML, the search algorithms can have a difficult time distinguishing design from content, which can lead to some complications when classifying or categorizing your page.

7) Choosing the Wrong Keywords.

Since the earliest days of SEO, keywords have been paramount. Choosing the right keywords is part art and part science, and if your website isn’t ranking or generating traffic, it could be that you haven’t found the right balance.

Here’s a good diagnostic: If you have a website that’s populated with great content, and if you have a lot of relevant and authoritative backlinks, but you still aren’t generating rankings… well, that likely means you’ve picked bad keywords. Try to recalibrate using keywords that are just a little bit less competitive.

A Smart Approach to SEO

SEO is an important consideration for marketers and small business owners everywhere. As you seek SEO success, we recommend finding a website design company that incorporates ranking concerns into every stage of the website construction. That’s our approach here at enCOMPASS. For us, SEO isn’t an afterthought, but a primary goal that’s built into every step of our process. In other words, we make websites that are well-optimized from the ground up.

We’d love to tell you more. To discuss SEO strategies, reach out to our team at enCOMPASS Agency directly.