If you’re an ambitious business owner or marketing lead in an SME, chances are you’ve dabbled in SEO—or at least thought about it. But here’s the thing: SEO isn’t just about throwing a few keywords on your site and hoping for the best.
In fact, most businesses we speak to are making the same handful of SEO mistakes without even realising. So in this post, we’re cutting through the noise and unpacking the five most common SEO pitfalls—and how to avoid them.
Whether you’ve got an in-house team or partner with an agency like us, this guide will help you spot what might be holding you back.
1. Ignoring Google Business Profile (GBP)
The mistake:
Not claiming your Google Business Profile, not updating it, or leaving it to gather dust with outdated info.
Why it matters:
Your Google Business Profile is the frontline of your local search presence. It’s what pops up when someone searches for your business name or services in your area. It’s also where potential customers can read your reviews, click on your website, get directions, or phone you directly.
By not claiming, or rarely updating it, you are sending signals to Google (and your next customer) that you’re not active or untrustworthy.
What to do instead:
- Claim and verify your profile if you haven’t already.
- Keep your contact info, opening hours, and service areas up to date.
- Regularly add photos, posts, and reply to reviews.
It’s free visibility—don’t waste it.
2. Targeting the Wrong Keywords
The mistake:
Focusing on high-volume, competitive terms or ones that don’t match your audience’s intent.
Why it matters:
Getting found online is great, but only if the right people are finding you. Ranking for vague or irrelevant keywords won’t bring in leads—it’ll just inflate your bounce rate. If you are trying to rank for too competitive terms, you are fighting the big boys – competing with national companies with huge budgets.
What to do instead:
- Think like your customer. What would they actually search for?
- Use long-tail, location-specific terms like “mini skip hire company in Rugby”.
- Focus on intent: are they looking for information, a service, or to buy?
3. Publishing Thin or Generic Content
The mistake:
Writing for search engines, not humans. Or worse—publishing content that’s too short, copied, or vague.
Why it matters:
Google loves useful, original content. So do your customers.
What to do instead:
- Create content that answers real questions your audience has.
- Be specific. Share your expertise, give examples, and go deeper than your competitors.
- Include internal links, clear headings, and a natural writing style (no keyword stuffing).
4. Not Optimising for Mobile
The mistake:
A desktop-first design that loads slowly or breaks on smaller screens.
Why it matters:
Over 60% of all searches now happen on mobile. If your site’s clunky or slow on a phone, you’re losing business, and people will click away… fast.
Google also now uses mobile-first indexing, which means your mobile site is the first version it scans when deciding how to rank you.
What to do instead:
- Test your site regularly on mobile devices.
- Use responsive design and compress images.
- Prioritise page speed—tools like PageSpeed Insights can help.
5. Skipping Technical SEO Basics
The mistake:
Overlooking things like broken links, missing meta descriptions, duplicate content, or no structured data.
Why it matters:
Even the best content won’t rank if your site is hard for search engines to crawl. If your technical foundations aren’t solid, search engines can struggle to understand your website. Simple as that.
What to do instead:
- Run regular audits using tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Screaming Frog.
- Fix crawl errors, redirect broken pages, and make sure each page has unique metadata.
- Add schema where relevant to help search engines understand your content.
Final Thoughts
SEO doesn’t have to be complicated—but it does need to be consistent, strategic, and focused on the right things.
Avoiding these common mistakes is a great starting point. If you’re already investing time and money into your marketing, make sure your website and local presence are working with you, not against you.
Want to know how your current SEO stacks up? We’re real people who work in real time—get in touch on 01788 288 800 for a quick, honest review of where you stand.
Posted in Advice, Digital Marketing, Local SEO, SEO