Reason #1: You’re ignoring social media.

Small business owners have mixed emotions when it comes to social media. Some wholeheartedly embrace it while others look at it as a waste of time and money. But if you fall into the group that is likely to eschew social media, you may be missing out on opportunities to connect and engage with your target audience. According to Google, social media platforms don’t have a direct impact on search engine ranking, but they do crawl those platforms just like they do for brand websites. Additionally, active and well optimized company social media accounts can and will show in search engines.

How to avoid it. Gain an understanding of if your target audience uses social media, and if so, which sites they use. Then invest in developing a presence on the platform or platforms where you’re most likely to find your target audience. Focus your efforts on providing meaningful engagement on a smaller number of social media channels rather than wearing yourself thin across every available social channel. Also make sure your social profiles are fully filled out an accurate so you can drive traffic to your sites.

Reason #2: Your SEO agency is using yesterday’s strategies.

Things like keyword stuffing, directory listings and even guest article posts not only don’t pack the SEO punch that they used to-doing them today may actually harm your search ranking results. That means if you’re working with an SEO firm that isn’t keeping up with the latest search engine changes; you may be spending money actively bringing down your online brand.

How to avoid it. So if you’re not a SEO marketer by trade, how do you know which search strategies are valid and which aren’t? You don’t. That’s why it’s so important to work only with reputable search engine firms with a proven track record of recent successes. Choose a SEO firm that does a good job of communicating the types of things they will do that will help boost your rankings, and that is willing to let you talk to client references about their experiences. Avoid firms that are unclear when describing their offerings, or that aren’t willing to share references with you.

Source: INC