An SEO mistake is any action or lack of action that makes it harder for your website to appear in search results. It might be technical (like blocking important pages from indexing), strategic (like targeting the wrong keywords), or structural (like missing title tags, broken internal links, or outdated content).
Most sites struggle with a mix of technical SEO issues, weak content, and missing structure — all of which quietly affect search engine rankings over time. When ignored, SEO problems don’t go away — they build up and turn into bigger SEO pitfalls that slow down growth.
According to WebFX, 50% of marketers say SEO delivers better ROI than any other marketing channel. But that kind of return only happens when your site runs smoothly, loads fast, meets user intent and avoids the biggest SEO mistakes that cost visibility.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the most common SEO mistakes including on-site, off-site, local, and technical SEO issues and show you how to fix them with simple, proven solutions.
What is the SEO Mistake?
An SEO mistake is any action or lack of action that prevents your website from ranking well in search engine results. It can be as obvious as using the wrong keywords, or as hidden as a misconfigured canonical tag that tells Google to ignore your best page. Whether it’s slow site speed, duplicate content, broken links, or poorly written meta descriptions, even small issues can damage your visibility and undo your SEO efforts. The key is knowing what to fix and doing it before your competition does.
SEO isn’t static. Google regularly rolls out updates, shifts how it evaluates content, and raises the bar on what counts as relevant or helpful. That means yesterday’s best practices can quietly become today’s SEO mistakes. Staying on top of algorithm changes, emerging trends, and evolving search behavior is just as important as fixing technical issues.
Rank higher on search engines by designing SEO-optimized landing pages with Landingi!
What Are Common Errors in SEO?
The most common SEO errors are over-optimized keyword usage, duplicated content, unoptimized page speed, missing or generic title tags, broken or shallow internal linking, poor mobile experience, and irrelevant or low-trust backlinks.
Most don’t happen because someone doesn’t “do SEO” — they happen when teams look at SEO as a one-time setup, not a system. Great content buried three clicks deep, landing pages with no internal links, templates that aren’t mobile-friendly, 404s no one’s cleaned up, or JavaScript blocking crawlable elements — these things silently kill search visibility.
And in 2025, Google isn’t just ranking pages — it’s analyzing how your entire site functions as a system. It looks beyond keywords and checks how well you meet the core signals of E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. They’re signals that shape how Google measures relevance, credibility, and overall quality. Every SEO decision — from page speed to content depth to link structure — either strengthens or weakens those signals.
You can see how E-E-A-T ties into them in the graphic below.
What is the Main SEO Mistake Companies Make and How to Avoid It?
Many companies make a critical mistake when it comes to SEO: they pause their collaboration with an SEO specialist or agency, believing it’s better to focus on product development first. The assumption is, “We’ll invest in SEO once the product is good enough, according to us and our customers.”
This is especially common in SaaS companies. But stopping SEO efforts creates a vacuum. Without proper oversight, issues pile up, from technical problems to missed content opportunities. In teams where only copywriters are left handling SEO, no one steps in to guide developers on what’s technically feasible or recommend necessary changes.
There’s also no one to analyze beyond the content itself, to prevent keyword cannibalization, optimize content clusters, or maintain a consistent topical hierarchy. SEO must be viewed holistically. It’s not just about content. It’s not just about technical fixes. And it’s not just about link building. It’s about the strategic coordination of all three.
Handing over SEO responsibility to copywriters alone often leads to visibility drops, traffic losses, and eventually, decreased profitability.
A Real Example
I once joined a SaaS company as their SEO specialist. Before I arrived, they had paused all SEO efforts for over two years. Occasionally, a video editor took care of minor SEO tasks, but nothing strategic or consistent.
Prior to stopping SEO, the company was a recognized topical authority in its niche. But due to high churn, they deprioritized it. As a result, their search visibility and domain authority tanked. It took me more than 12 months to recover what was lost. Why? Because SEO is a long game. And regaining lost trust from Google takes significantly more time than building it in the first place.
Another frequent issue is having the marketing manager handle SEO or coordinate content creation. In competitive sectors like SaaS or e-commerce — especially in English-speaking markets, this rarely works.
Google’s top three results get over 75% of all traffic. When a marketing manager competes against full-time SEO specialists, the odds of winning that traffic are slim. The result? Underwhelming performance, low team morale, and a sense that marketing budgets are being wasted.
This gap exists for one simple reason: specialization. SEO is not a side task, it’s a profession.
How to Find SEO Errors on a Website?
To find SEO errors on a website, use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Screaming Frog to surface issues like broken links, crawl errors, missing metadata, or slow page speed. But tools don’t explain why those issues exist — or how they impact your overall structure.
Go deeper: check how your internal links connect related pages, look at how many clicks it takes to reach important content, and compare what Googlebot sees (raw HTML) with what users see (rendered content). Then ask: does the structure of the site actually match how people search and how crawlers move through it?
5 Common On-Site SEO Mistakes to Avoid With Examples
The most common on-site SEO mistakes include keyword stuffing, missing or poorly optimized title tags, missing image alt text, broken internal links, and outdated content. Each of these directly affects how your pages rank in search engine results — by reducing relevance, weakening crawlability, or leading to poor user experience.
Here are five on-site SEO mistakes to avoid, plus real-life examples and easy wins to fix them.
#1 Keyword Stuffing
Repeating the same keyword over and over won’t boost your rankings — it just signals low-quality content to Google.
Example: A travel blog wants to rank for “best hiking shoes” and repeats it in every paragraph. Not only does it kill the user experience, but it also makes the content unreadable — and Google picks up on it with algorythm called “Panda”.
Solution: Focus on writing for your target audience, not for search engines. Use your target keywords naturally in headlines, intro paragraphs, and meta descriptions, but don’t overdo it. Synonyms and related phrases help search engines understand your content without setting off alarms.
#2 Missing or Poorly Optimized Title Tags
Leaving title tags blank or stuffing them with vague, generic phrases — weakens your page’s ability to stand out in search results.
Example: A software company uses the same title for every feature page: “Our Product | Company Name.” It tells users nothing and gives search engines no reason to prioritize one page over another, and also user won’t click that link. Good click rate in SERP can cause a “navboost” algorythm and boost your article to the top of Google.
Solution: Every page should have a unique, descriptive title that includes your relevant keywords. Keep it under 60 characters, and make it click-worthy. A good title improves both search visibility and click-through rates.
#3 Missing Image Alt Text
Alt text helps search engines “see” your images — and skipping it is one of the most common on-page SEO issues.
Example: An ecommerce site uploads dozens of product images with filenames like IMG_1234.jpg and no alt tags. As a result, their images don’t show up in Google searches, and the pages miss out on extra relevance.
Solution: Add clear, descriptive alt text to every image, using keywords where appropriate — but keep it human. Alt text should explain what’s in the image, not just repeat your main keyword. It also improves accessibility and supports mobile optimization. Even the image links in your website matters, include your keywords in image URLs to help search engines understand the image context.
#4 Broken Internal Links
Internal links should create pathways — not dead ends that confuse crawlers and users alike.
Example: A blog post links to an old case study that was deleted months ago. Now that link leads to a 404 page, confusing both readers and crawlers.
Solution: Regularly audit your site for broken links using tools like Ahrefs. Fix or update them, and use relevant internal links to connect related content. Smart linking improves user behavior metrics and helps search engines crawl your site more effectively.
#5 Outdated Content
Content that’s old, irrelevant, or no longer accurate can hurt your rankings — even if it performed well in the past.
Example: A digital marketing agency has a blog post titled “Newest SEO Trends” that ranks well and gets steady traffic. But when users click on it, they find outdated 2019 advice that no longer applies, which causes frustration and a poor user experience.
Solution: Update or refresh old blog posts regularly. Add new data, examples, or call to actions that reflect current trends. Updating content signals to search engines that your site is active and reliable, which helps maintain or even boost your search rankings.
Boost your brand with a professionally designed landing page tailored to your needs.
5 Common Off-Site SEO Mistakes to Avoid With Examples
The most common off-site SEO mistakes include low-quality backlinks, focusing on link quantity over quality, ignoring social media, over-optimized anchor text, and missing local citations. These issues weaken your domain authority, limit your visibility in search engine results, and make it harder for search engines to assess your credibility.
Here are 5 off-site SEO mistakes to avoid — with real-life examples and practical fixes.
#1 Poor Quality or Spammy Backlinks
Backlinks should boost your credibility — not trigger red flags. If most of your links come from irrelevant or shady websites, Google may see them as manipulation, not merit.
Example: A small business buys a backlink package that promises 1,000 links overnight. Within weeks, their rankings drop — because most of those links came from spammy blog networks and low-quality forums.
Solution: Focus on building high-quality backlinks from niche-relevant sites. Avoid shady link schemes that might look like quick wins but damage your long-term SEO efforts. Use Google Search Console or Ahrefs to identify and disavow toxic backlinks.
#2 Focusing Only on Link Quantity, Not Quality
More links don’t always mean better rankings — especially if they’re weak. A few strong backlinks from trusted sites often outperform dozens of low-value ones.
Example: A SaaS company earns 200 backlinks from irrelevant directories but still ranks lower than a competitor with just five high-authority mentions from respected digital marketing blogs.
Solution: Prioritize quality over quantity. Partner with reputable publishers, contribute guest posts, or create content worth linking to. Strong, relevant links support your search visibility and improve overall search engine optimization.
#3 Ignoring Social Media Engagement
While social media isn’t a direct ranking factor, it plays a major role in amplifying your content’s reach and boosting user engagement.
Example: A blog post is published with great content and optimized meta descriptions, but no one promotes it on Twitter or LinkedIn. Without visibility, it doesn’t get shared — or linked to.
Solution: Share every blog post across your social platforms. Engage with your audience to increase brand mentions and backlinks. Higher engagement drives traffic, improves user behavior metrics, and indirectly influences search results.
#4 Over-Optimized Anchor Text
Using exact-match anchor text for every backlink looks unnatural to Google — and can lead to penalties.
Example: A local real estate firm tries to rank for “apartments in Phoenix” by stuffing that exact phrase into every backlink. Google sees it as unnatural and pushes the page down in search engine results.
Solution: Mix up your anchor text with branded, generic, and natural phrases. Let search engines understand your content without forcing it. A healthy anchor text profile supports your SEO success without risking a manual action.
#5 Lack of Local Citations
Missing or inconsistent business listings across the web can limit your visibility in local search results — even if your site is well-optimized.
Example: A dental practice ranks poorly in Google Maps despite having great on-page content. Turns out, they’re missing from key local directories and have inconsistent NAP info across platforms.
Solution: List your business on platforms like Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps, industry-specific directories, and local chamber websites. Make sure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) is consistent across all listings — even small mismatches can cause confusion.
5 Common Technical SEO Mistakes to Avoid With Examples
The most common technical SEO mistakes include lack of mobile optimization, slow page speed, duplicate content, indexing and crawling issues, and incorrect use of canonical tags. These problems can block search engines from properly understanding your site — or prevent your pages from showing up in search engine results at all.
Here are five technical SEO mistakes to watch out for — plus examples and simple ways to fix them.
#1 Lack of Mobile Optimization
If your site doesn’t work well on a phone, you’re not just frustrating users — you’re hurting your visibility too.
Example: A blog loads perfectly on a desktop, but on mobile, the text is microscopic, menus are broken, and users have to zoom in just to read a sentence.
Solution: Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. Use a responsive layout that adjusts to any screen size. Keep text large enough to read (at least 16px), make buttons big and spaced out, and keep important info (like opening hours or booking links) front and center. Test it on your own phone — if it annoys you, it annoys your visitors.
#2 Slow Page Speed
A slow website is one of the fastest ways to lose potential customers. People expect pages to load in 2–3 seconds — anything longer feels broken.
Example: A pet grooming salon has high-res images of cute dogs… but each one is 5MB. The site takes forever to load. By the time it’s up, users have already booked with a competitor.
Solution: Compress your images before uploading, remove anything you don’t need (hello, outdated pop-ups!), and enable browser caching. Check your site with PageSpeed Insights — and start by fixing anything marked in red, like unused JavaScript, unminified CSS, or large image files.
#3 Duplicate Content
Copy-pasting content across multiple pages — even if you just change the city name — can tank your chances of ranking locally.
Example: A roofing company serving four cities uses the same “About Us” text on every location page. Google sees it as a copycat, not local authority.
Solution: Make each location page unique. Mention nearby landmarks, share local testimonials, tweak your value prop based on area needs. If it feels like a human wrote it for that specific city, you’re on the right track.
Boost your search rankings— optimize your landing page SEO with Landingi!
#4 Incorrect Indexing and Crawling Issues
If Google can’t crawl your site properly, it won’t index your pages, which means you won’t show up in SERP(Search Engine Result Page).
Example: A company launches a new blog section but forgets to send its sitemap to Google Search Console. Worse yet, a line in robots.txt blocks the blog folder, resulting in nothing getting indexed.
Solution: Set up and regularly check Google Search Console. Use the “URL Inspection” tool to test individual pages and monitor the “Pages” in indexation report to spot issues fast. Keep your sitemap updated and submitted, and prevent accidently blocking content you actually want to rank.
#5 Improper Use of Canonical Tags
Canonical tags are supposed to tell Google which version of a page is the “main” one, but get them wrong, and you can tank your own visibility.
Example: An online store adds the same canonical tag to every product variant, all pointing to the parent category page. Google ignores the variants completely, even though each one targets different search terms.
Solution: Use self-referencing canonical tags on unique pages to show Google they should be indexed individually. Only point canonicals to another page if the content is nearly identical and meant to consolidate rankings. Double-check your tags using browser tools like “SEO Toolbar by Ahrefs” or view the page source directly.
5 Common Local SEO Mistakes to Avoid With Examples
The most common local SEO mistakes include an incomplete Google Business Profile, ignoring reviews, missing location-specific pages, no social media engagement, and not using local keywords.
According to Google, businesses with complete and accurate listings are 2.7 times more likely to be considered reputable by consumers. That trust starts with visibility — and if your local SEO is off, you’re harder to find and easier to skip.
Here are five local SEO mistakes to avoid, with examples and simple ways to fix them.
#1 Not Optimizing Google Business Profile
If your Google Business Profile is half-empty, outdated, or worse — missing altogether — you’re basically handing customers over to competitors.
Example: A bakery in Austin, TX might show up as “Temporarily Closed” just because no one updated the hours. Meanwhile, the shop across the street is raking in the lunch crowd.
Solution: Fill it out, keep it fresh, and treat it like a storefront window. Add photos, answer questions, list your services — and never leave those “holiday hours” blank.
#2 Ignoring Customer Reviews
Ignoring reviews doesn’t just hurt your reputation — it can tank your local visibility, too.
Example: Two barbershops in Miami offer the same services. One has 120 glowing reviews with thoughtful replies from the owner. The other? A sad count of three reviews from 2019 and zero responses. Guess which one shows up first in Google Maps?
Solution: Encourage reviews after every service, and always respond — especially to the negative ones. It shows you’re present, engaged, and actually care about your customers’ experience. Google notices, and so do people.
#3 Missing Location-Specific Pages
Trying to rank in multiple cities without dedicated pages is like trying to win a race with one shoe — possible, but awkward and way less effective.
Example: A home cleaning service operates in Chicago, Evanston, and Naperville but only has one generic “Our Services” page. Result? Google can’t confidently connect the dots between their website and those locations.
Solution: Create a separate, well-optimized page for each location you serve. Mention the city name naturally in headings, meta titles, and copy. Add local testimonials, maps, and references to nearby landmarks for extra authenticity.
#4 Ignoring Social Media Engagement
Social media is the digital version of word-of-mouth — and if you’re silent, you’re invisible.
Example: A new pizza place in Portland posts mouthwatering photos but never replies to comments or tags. Meanwhile, their competitor down the street is chatting with followers daily, running polls, and resharing customer posts. Who’s getting more buzz? Easy answer.
Solution: Engage. Like, reply, reshare. Stay active on platforms where your local audience hangs out. It strengthens community ties and sends trust signals to both users and search engines.
#5 Not Targeting Local Keywords
Skipping local keywords is like putting up a billboard with no location — lots of effort, zero direction.
Example: A dentist website has great content but tries to rank for “best dentist” instead of “best family dentist in Akron.” With zero local cues, they’re buried under national players with massive SEO budgets.
Solution: Do your keyword homework. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to find realistic, geo-specific search terms. Add them to your H1s, meta titles, image alt text, and throughout the content — but keep it natural. You’re writing for people, not robots.
Attract more local customers by building your local landing page with Landingi!
How Do SEO Errors Affect Rankings and Traffic?
SEO errors directly impact how Google crawls, indexes, and ranks your site, which means they affect both your visibility and traffic. Depending on the type of issue, the effect can be gradual (like diluted internal linking) or immediate (like broken redirects or URL structure changes).
In the screenshot above, you can see a clear drop in clicks and impressions right after a URL structure change on April 27, 2024.
Traffic loss was caused by a developer’s error during the implementation of a custom feature for category pages. Previously, all pages were served under the /blog/ directory. The new implementation intended to serve pages under directories like /seo/, reflecting the main WordPress category.
However, due to a misconfiguration, two versions of each page were created, one under /blog/ and another under /seo/. Both versions were live simultaneously and included canonical tags pointing to the newly generated page, causing duplication issues.
This duplication disrupted Google’s historical data and satisfaction signals to previus URL’s. Even when canonical tags or redirects are applied, rankings can drop if the destination URLs do not carry any historical performance data. According to Google Search Central documentation, ranking signals are URL-specific and tied to long-term engagement and satisfaction metrics.
Traffic gradually recovered after we reverted to the original URLs and implemented proper 301 redirects. This allowed Google to reassociate the pages with their historical data, restoring rankings and stabilizing search visibility.
But that’s not the rule, that’s the exception. In many cases, changing URL paths leads to a long or even permanent loss of rankings. Many SEO errors work in the background, slowly breaking relevance, structure, or trust.
What Are the Common Errors in SEO in WordPress?
The most common errors in WordPress include poor URL structure, duplicate content, blocked indexing, missing SEO plugins, and unoptimized images and each of these issues can quietly sabotage your search visibility.
Using unclear URLs like /?p=123 gives search engines zero context and confuses users. Duplicate content, often caused by multiple category pages showing the same blog post, can confuse search engines even further. And if you forget to uncheck the “Discourage search engines from indexing” box in Settings > Reading, your site might not appear in search results at all. Without an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, you’re also missing out on easy wins like custom meta descriptions, keyword targeting, and schema markup. Finally, images uploaded with generic names and no alt text slow down your site and offer no SEO value.
Solution: structure your URLs with keywords, set canonical tags, update your site’s visibility settings, install a solid SEO plugin, and always add alt text and compress your images. Small changes, big impact.
Improve your SEO and attract more visitors— build your landing page with Landingi!
What Are the Common Errors in Shopify’s SEO?
The common errors in Shopify’s SEO include skipping keyword research, underusing meta tags, repeating content, mismanaging links, and not tracking performance — and each one can quietly hurt your visibility in search engine results.
Guessing your target keywords instead of using real data leads to weak alignment with search intent. Missing or generic meta titles and descriptions mean your pages won’t stand out in search — even if they rank. Duplicate content, especially from copy-pasted product descriptions, can confuse Google and dilute your rankings. Poorly structured internal links leave your important pages disconnected, while neglecting high-quality external links limits your site’s credibility. And if you’re not using tools like Google Search Console or Google Analytics, you’re missing key insights into how your pages are actually performing.
Solution: research keywords properly, write strong metadata, improve linking strategies, create unique content, and regularly review your SEO metrics. Shopify gives you the tools — you just need to use them right.
What Are the Common Errors in SEO in Ecommerce?
The common errors in SEO in ecommerce are duplicate product descriptions, poor site structure, lack of mobile optimization, low site speed, and unoptimized metadata.
Many stores copy and paste product info from manufacturers, which leads to thin or duplicate content that doesn’t rank. Disorganized navigation and inconsistent URL structures make it harder for search engines to crawl your site. If pages aren’t optimized for mobile or take too long to load, users drop off — and so does your search visibility. Missing or generic title tags and meta descriptions lower your chances of getting clicks from search engine results.
Solution: write unique product content, structure your site clearly with clean URLs, optimize for mobile devices, improve page speed, and make sure every product and category page has strong, keyword-focused metadata.
What Are the Most Popular SEO Issues on Landing Pages?
The most popular SEO issues on landing pages include low-quality content, poor user experience, missing title tags, slow load times, weak internal linking, and lack of mobile optimization.
Many landing pages fall into the trap of being visually attractive but light on real content. Without enough copy that reflects real search intent and uses relevant keywords, search engines can’t understand the page — let alone rank it. And if your layout isn’t intuitive or loads slowly, users bounce, and your search rankings suffer.
Solution: generate relevant content, test different copy or layouts through A/B testing, and add contextual internal links between related pages to improve crawlability and content depth. For teams managing large volumes of content, programmatic landing pages and centralized control over sections or meta settings help maintain structure, speed, and consistency — all essential for solid landing page SEO.
Optimize your landing page for search engines. Start with Landingi today!
What Are the Most Popular SEO Issues With Programmatic SEO?
The most popular SEO issues with programmatic SEO include slow load times, missing internal links, duplicate content, poor search intent alignment, thin content, and lack of structured data.
Programmatic SEO is powerful — it lets you scale thousands of landing pages or blog posts quickly. But when not handled carefully, it often leads to templated, surface-level content that doesn’t fully match user intent or reflect real search behavior. In 2025, search engines are smarter and stricter than ever: they recognize repetition, expect fast-loading pages, and reward sites that create high-quality, unique content at scale.
Solution: use canonical tags to handle duplicate content, align every page with clear search intent, implement strong internal linking, optimize page performance, and leverage structured data to improve how your content appears in search engine results.
Get more traffic with SEO-optimized landing pages—build yours with Landingi for free!
Improve SEO Performance by Optimizing Your Landing Pages with Landingi
Sometimes, all it takes is a slow page, a broken internal link, or a mistimed URL change to lose rankings, traffic, and the trust signals you’ve spent months building. Since landing pages are the most conversion-focused, they’re also the most sensitive to SEO missteps.
With Landingi, you can structure landing pages the right way from the start. Set metadata, edit alt text, manage heading hierarchy, and build fully responsive pages in an intuitive visual editor. Use A/B testing to refine content and layouts based on real user behavior. And if you’re working at scale, programmatic landing pages let you launch and manage dozens of variants with consistent SEO structure. Try it now!
