As an easy tip to close the week, I wanted to give you 3 SEO tactics that many people get too involved with, when in reality they are a waste of time.So don't do this #1: Check your website traffic every day.
Involvement in social media can be a huge waste of time, but spending time in Google Analytics can be as much of a waste of time too. There are tons of features inside the Analytics system, and Google makes it all very pretty and interesting to look at. The problem is that, unless you have an action plan, looking at the number of people visiting your website is a waste of time on a daily basis.
For a small retail jeweler, you probably only need to look at your Analytics once per week. Look for spikes in your visitor numbers and figure out what other advertising you did that week might have caused the spikes.
So don't do this #2: Blogging with intent to reach a keyword density.
I'm mentioning this just in case you've been reading some older SEO training. Once upon a time you needed to use your targeted keyword phrase a specific number of times on each page. There were "keyword density" tools that would tell you if you used the phrase enough, and people typically kept writing until they wrote enough words.
Today Google knows how to run a "keyword density" test as well, and they will penalize your blog if they think you are indeed chasing a specific density.
Instead, all you have to do is write conversationally and use your keywords naturally. Instead of repeating the same phrase, you simply need to use synonyms. If you worry that you might have gone overboard with keyword usage you should simply read your blog out loud. Anything that sounds contrived when read out loud will never stand up to Google's spam filtering.
So don't do this #3: Checking your ranking obsessively.
How does it make you feel when you see your website in the #1 spot on Google? What did you search for when you found yourself at #1? Unfortunately, checking for your own ranking position will create a self perpetuating delusion of success.
It's very difficult to get a true representation of how your website appears in search results. Google has ways to track who you are, and what people on your computer usually like to look at. Since you probably like to look at jewelry, your computer is predisposed at causing your website to appear higher in the ranking.
I realize that might sound like Google is watching what you are doing on your computer, and in fact, they are. As long as you are logged into your Google account (i.e. your Gmail) they are monitoring what you search for, what websites you visit, how long you stay on a website, and the physical location you are in when you are logged into your account. That is to say that they know when you are using your smartphone, when you are using your computer at home, and when you are using the computer in your store.
There are only two inexpensive and feasible ways to look at your ranking. The first way is to use the "incognito mode" in the Google Chrome browser, and the second is to look at the information in Google Webmaster Tools.
Honestly, you should only be checking your ranking out of pure curiosity. The real measurement of how well your website ranks is whether or not your phone is ringing, your contact form is being used, and if you are making money.
