Common SEO mistakes: Why Google is ghosting you

You’ve poured your heart and soul into a blog, pressed the ‘upload’ button with all the hope in the world, only to be met with radio silence from Google. No hits, no conversions, no engagement. Nothing. 

Google has once again ghosted you, your content, and all you have to say — but why?

Don’t take it personally

Even the best writers can’t escape the judgment of search engines, so don’t be too disheartened if your website content appears to be falling short. 

You’re not a bad writer. You’ve just got yourself caught up in common SEO mistakes that many people make when writing content. The words you use (or don’t use), how you order them, and how you present them all have a huge impact on whether your blog is a hit or a flop. 

That’s really all there is to it. With this in mind, it’s time to learn why it happens and, most importantly, how to stop it from happening. The good news is that most SEO issues are very fixable.

What SEO mistakes are causing the issue?

Here are some of the most common content SEO mistakes that people make. We’ve broken it down clearly so you can see: 

a) What the mistake is

b) The effect it has

c) How to fix it

1. Stuffing keywords

Keyword stuffing is essentially where you take a search term that will help people find your content and shoehorn it into what you’re writing as much as possible — and we’ll be the first to admit that it’s very tempting and easy to do, especially if it’s quite a general keyword. 

Example of keyword stuffing: 

“Looking for a London plumber? We have London plumbers delivering London plumbing services across the London area. Get in touch with our London plumbers today.”

We may have just risked the reach of our blog for that example, so we hope it was helpful!

Why it’s a problem:

Keyword stuffing is one of the oldest SEO mistakes, but it doesn’t seem to stop people! Back in the day, search engines weren’t advanced enough to recognise repetition, so keyword stuffing was used as a bit of a cheat code. 

Nowadays, search engines can easily recognise unnatural repetition and aren’t afraid to penalise black hat SEOs by pushing their content further down the ranks. Plus, it also makes your content sound robotic, inhuman, and not very engaging. 

What to do instead: 

Before writing any piece of content, identify one primary keyword (the most relevant to your topic with the highest search volume) and up to four secondary keywords to target.

• Use your primary keyword as naturally and sparingly as possible. That being said, you should definitely include your primary keyword in your title tag, meta description, H1 heading, and URL.
  

• Mix your content up with synonyms, variations, and other related search terms, such as your secondary keywords.
  

Prioritise a people-first approach before writing to appease search engines. We don’t know how, but Google just knows when you’re trying too hard!

2. Writing for Google, not your audience

If you’re writing purely to please Google, then you’re doing it wrong. Following that rigid, ten-page-long SEO checklist you saw on the internet could actually result in dry, overly complicated content that people just won’t engage with. 

Those top rankings will start to roll in when you master the balance between writing for people and writing for Google.

Why it’s a problem:

Search engines promote people-first content. Ultimately, if your content doesn’t read well, add value, or answer a question clearly, it won’t be pushed by the algorithm to perform well.

What to do instead:

We cannot stress enough how important it is to write genuinely useful content. In a world where anyone can copy and paste from another website, it’s never been more important to nail down your target audience, their search intent, and hit the nail on the head with what you’re saying.

• Write directly to your target audience.

• Offer relatable examples to break down technical terms or complex ideas.

• Keep your copy as natural and easy to follow as possible.

3. Producing thin content

We recently wrote a blog post about how long a blog article should be, so we definitely understand the confusion around ideal word counts for SEO. 

“Thin content” is basically any content that hasn’t been fleshed out enough. Instead, it just skims the surface. For instance, a 300-word blog on a complex topic, like accounting, just isn’t enough to offer useful value to readers.

Why it’s a problem: 

When you upload “thin content”, you’re essentially telling search engines that the information you’re offering isn’t authoritative, helpful, or in-depth enough to be of value to a reader. Naturally, they won’t want to push this type of content to the higher ranking spots on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page).

What to do instead:

If you’re writing about a niche topic and struggling to hit the baseline of 300+ words, try to:

• Prioritise content quality and depth rather than word count.

• Flesh out the piece with data tables, infographics, FAQs, and visuals (ensuring that they’re relevant and useful to the reader).

• Combine smaller blog topics into a bigger blog, such as an in-depth guide.

4. Duplicating content

Duplicating content occurs on many different levels. The difficulty is, it’s not always clear-cut plagiarism, which can definitely catch a few writers out. 

For instance, if you’re writing a blog about your business services, you may turn to your homepage for inspiration. You already have the content there, so why not just reuse it in your blog?

Why it’s a problem:

When you duplicate content, search engines don’t know which page to rank in the SERP, especially if both pages are on a similar topic or use the same keywords.

Ultimately, this can result in the search engine diluting both pages’ visibility due to something known as “keyword cannibalisation”. It sounds a bit dramatic, but it’s definitely worth being aware of.

What to do instead:

We know it can be easy to fall into the trap of duplicate content. Here are a few ways to stay on the good side of search engines instead:

• Focus on repurposing your content as a video, infographic, or social media post.

• Always prioritise creating fresh, original content with a new angle.

5. Missing the point

All keywords come with a search intent — and this is important to consider when writing any piece of content for a website. When you ignore search intent, you risk not meeting your target audience’s need, and this need is exactly why they click on your page in the first place.

Examples of search intent:

• Informational: The reader wants to gain knowledge or an answer to a question. E.g. “What does a plumber do?”
  

• Navigational: The reader wants to be directed to a specific website or brand. E.g. “Plumbing services in London”
  

• Transactional: The reader is ready to take action, whether that be to buy a product, sign up for a course, or enquire about a service. E.g. “Emergency plumber in London”.
  

• Commercial investigation: The reader needs persuasion and reassurance — they’re weighing up their options before buying. E.g. “Why choose a local plumber vs a national plumbing company?”.

Why it’s a problem:

Misaligned content is one of the most important SEO mistakes to avoid, because it has the potential to drive users away before they finish your first sentence. 

This can also result in high bounce rates (when users leave your site quickly after clicking), which signals to search engines that people aren’t finding your content useful.

What to do instead:

The ultimate goal of any SEO writer is to give the reader exactly what they’re looking for and more. Here’s how to do it:

• When conducting keyword research, search the keyword for yourself and see what types of content appear in the top spots. This is always a good indicator — is it an in-depth guide, quick checklist, or product page?

• Plan your content around search intent.

6. Neglecting your metadata

Meta titles and descriptions (also known as metadata) are the little snippets you see on the search results page. 

They give your target audience a sneaky first impression of what they’ll find if they click through to your website. With this in mind, it’s important to make them catchy, compelling, clear, and relevant. 

Example of bad metadata:

• Meta title: Home | Our Website

• Meta description: Our website about our services. Click to learn more.

Example of good metadata:

• Meta title: Content & Copywriting Services | The Content Coven

• Meta description: Need a hand with web copy, blogs, or product descriptions? Let The Content Coven support you with captivating copywriting services.

Why it’s a problem:

Search engines can tell when you haven’t put care and attention into your metadata — and so can your target audience. 

Weak metadata without any keyword inclusions isn’t likely to rank high in the SERP, as it doesn’t tell Google what your page is about or offer value to your target audience. 

What to do instead:

Level-up your metadata game with these simple tips and techniques:

• Write keyword-rich meta titles that are 50–60 characters long. Does your content do what it says on the tin?
  

• Treat your meta description like a mini advert for your page and keep it under 160 characters long.
  

• Never duplicate metadata across pages to avoid cannibalisation (like we mentioned earlier!).
  

• Use handy online tools like this metadata length checker to stay within the recommended character limit.

7. Forgetting to add subheadings

The human eye loves structure — and so do search engines. If you’re posting pages with walls of text and no subheadings or formatting in sight, you could be doing your website and content a disservice.

Why it’s a problem:

There’s a reason why no one reads through terms and conditions. It’s because they’re long, boring, and intimidating. Publishing huge blocks of content can give the same effect, ultimately overwhelming readers and forcing them to click away from your page and onto someone else’s.

This can lead to high bounce rates, which you now know are a big negative signal for search engines. They’re essentially huge red flags to Google saying, “This page is no good! Send it to the bottom”.

What to do instead:

Make scary walls of text a thing of the past by:

• Using H2 and H3 headings to act as visual guides throughout your content.
  

• Keeping your paragraphs to 2–4 sentences long as a rough guide (use your judgement depending on sentence length).
  

• Keeping sections within subheadings to a maximum of 300 words.
  

Using bullet points to break down complex points or technical information into an easy-to-process format.

8. Not adding internal links

Think of your website as a map, your individual website pages as different places, and internal links as the routes that link them all together into one big picture. If you’re writing pages but not linking out to other pages on your website, then you could be leaving that page isolated in its own metaphorical bubble, which is no good for SEO!

Why it’s a problem:

Without internal linking, it’s almost impossible for search engines to understand how your site operates and how the different pages link together, which can result in low visibility, low engagement, and low traction.

What to do instead:

Luckily, internal linking is one of the easiest quick SEO wins:

• Try to include 3–5 relevant internal links on each page or post.

• Use descriptive anchor text (the words you “attach” the link to) wherever possible, e.g. “Find out more about our services” instead of “Click here”.
  

Why isn't my blog ranking? (Even though I'm sure I've appeased the SEO gods)

Now, what happens if you're convinced you've avoided those pesky SEO mistakes but your blog still isn't ranking? Here are a few factors that don’t directly relate to on-page SEO (but they are certainly connected). They could be what's holding your website back...

Your website isn’t deemed trustworthy

It’s no reflection on you, but Google needs a little time to warm up to websites. If your site is new or has very few high-quality backlinks, search engines will be wary. In this situation, patience is key. 

You may be wondering how much time it takes for a blog to rank. Unfortunately, this is the classic ‘it depends’ answer we copywriters and SEO fiends seem to love so much! 

As a ballpark figure for newer domains, however, you may find it takes 6-12 months to start gaining traction. For established sites, it might take a couple of weeks or months to see an improvement.

You haven’t shared it elsewhere

You’ve written your blog to reach people and to bring them valuable insights or information. It’s tempting to hope that it will magically appear on search engines and find its way to the right readers. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t quite the case. To start ranking, your blog will usually need a little helping hand in the right direction.

The more people engage with, link to, and share your blog, the more Google starts to see your site as an authority in the field. With this in mind, sharing blogs on your social media profiles, in email newsletters, and across other channels can help kickstart the traction. 

Once the algorithm gets going, you’re likely to see a boost in your blog article’s (and overall website’s) ranking.

Your website isn’t mobile-friendly

Many of us now consume more content through our phones than our laptops. So if your site isn’t optimised for mobile browsing, you could be losing out on valuable visits and engagement. It’s important to check your website settings to make sure it loads nicely on mobile devices.

That’s not all — Google prioritises mobile-first indexing, which means it tends to crawl a site with a smartphone agent to index and rank a page. If it can’t easily access your blog on a mobile device, it’s less likely to put it at the top of the SERPs.

Poor technical performance

Mobile-first design is one factor, but you also want to make sure your site loads quickly across the board. 

Slow load times can put readers off, so your site needs to be speedy, stable, and responsive. It’s worth checking your Core Web Vitals to see if there are any improvements you can make.

A lack of E-E-A-T

Successful content, be it a blog article or landing page, needs to follow E-E-A-T guidelines in order to rank well. 

• Experience: Your first-hand experience of the topic.

• Expertise: Your knowledge of the subject.

• Authoritativeness: How much search engines recognise your website as a leading voice in the field.

• Trustworthiness: How accurate and reliable Google deems the content on your site to be.

There are some straightforward ways to increase your content’s E-E-A-T across the board. For instance, making sure there’s an author bio on your blog post and a ‘meet the team’ page on your site, and linking to reliable, high-ranking sources can indicate credibility.

These highlight that you are, in fact, a real human being who has a genuine understanding of what you’re talking about, and that you do your research to make sure any copy you present is as accurate and helpful as possible. 

(P.S. This is also what can distinguish quality professional copywriters! They will take the time to get to know you and your business, and will conduct thorough research on the topic to ensure it all aligns and hits those all-important E-E-A-T markers.)

The rest of your website has low-quality content

If your shiny superstar of an optimised blog is nestled between web pages filled with keyword stuffing, irrelevant content, and poorly written copy, unfortunately, it won’t be able to shine. 

Search engines look for context, and they take your whole site into account when deciding where to place your pages on the SERPs. 

This is why it’s so important to have a holistic approach to your web copy, making sure every element, from the homepage to the contact page, is the best it can be. 

Your blog has been ‘no-indexed’

As we all know, technology isn’t foolproof, and human errors can occur, too! Simple factors like not ticking the ‘index page’ box on your blog settings can mean that it won’t appear on SERPs. 

(The phrasing will differ depending on your CMS. As an example, on Wix, you might see “Let search engines index this page”.

The keyword competition is too high

Keywords and search terms are an essential part of SEO content writing. They help the right audience members find your page, and give search engines a clear indication of what the content is about. 

Broad or vague keywords, however, can be very difficult to rank for because so many other websites are optimised for them. Handy tools like Ahrefs and Semrush can give an idea of how competitive certain keywords are, showing whether it’s likely to be easy or challenging to rank for them. 

Your best bet is to find longer, more specific, and/or more niche keywords (better known as long-tail keywords). Targeting these will help you reach the people who are searching for those phrases and avoid getting lost in the noise of the hefty competition. 

As an example, rather than targeting “scented candles” with a high search volume but a ‘medium’ difficulty rating according to Ahrefs, you might want to consider more specific terms. 

Phrases like “scented candles gift set” and “large scented candles” may have lower search volumes, but they are more achievable and more likely to reach visitors who are interested in your products. If you want to attract customers from nearby, you might also want to consider local SEO keywords.

Learn more: Do keywords really make a difference to your web copy?

9. Your blog page is orphaned or hard to find

The best business websites have a lovely, clear architecture. Visitors can easily hop from one page to another to find the information they want, like a super informative map for users. If your site layout is convoluted, it makes it much trickier for both search engines and visitors to find content. 

Likewise, ‘orphaned’ pages drift about on their own with no bridge to connect them to the rest of your site. 

A blog post is orphaned if there are no other pages linking to it. Making sure your website is easy to navigate and there’s plenty of internal linking to connect it all together can create a better user experience and give Google that vital context it craves.

How many blog posts should you publish per week to see a ranking improvement?

We hate to be repetitive, but… it depends! There’s no clear-cut answer on how many blog posts you should publish to see a boost in SERP rankings because there are so many factors influencing how search engines find and value your content.

That said, Google does appreciate regular content, so posting blog articles weekly (rather than an influx of five at once and then nothing for six months) is a good step. Why? Regular posts allow search engines to crawl and index new content more efficiently. 

At the same time, remember that it’s a case of quality over quantity. There’s no point churning out five blogs a week if they are rushed, include thin content, and don’t offer the reader helpful information.

If you find yourself struggling to find the time to create new blogs, it might be worth speaking with professional copywriters who offer blog writing services. They can take the task off your hands to keep your website ticking over and climbing the SERPs while you focus on the parts of your business you love most.

Tried everything? Contact The Content Coven

Content SEO is a bit like casting the right spell. You have to blend strategy, structure, and storytelling together into one. When you achieve this blend, you won’t be ghosted for much longer…

If you’ve worked your way through all the fixes and are yet to see a change in ranking position and engagement, let us know, and we’ll be happy to see how we can help you with our copywriting services.

As professional copywriters who work with a variety of businesses in different industries, we also recognise the importance of balancing SEO and brand tone of voice so that your content genuinely reflects you, all while giving Google what it’s after. 

We offer flexible blog writing services tailored to your needs. Whether you want a batch of articles prepared in one go so you can schedule them over the next few months, or you want regular, ongoing blogs, we’re here to help. 

Feel free to take a look at some of our previous work and check out our copywriting services and pricing. If you think we might be the perfect fit, we’d love to have a chat, so go ahead and send us a message or email hello@thecontent.coven.co.uk. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible!