7 SEO Mistakes Every Newbie Makes – How to Fix Them

Global market size of SEO industry is increasing day by day. In 2024, it was USD 74.82 billion and is predicted USD 84.94 billion in 2025. Many people just start their career in SEO or doing SEO for their small businesses.

If you are newbie in SEO industry and learning SEO strategies and techniques, you are growing gradually. But here are 7 SEO mistakes you’ll definitely do.

Neglecting search intent, keyword stuffing, overlooking technical SEO, ignoring Meta tags, lack of internal linking, publishing low quality content, and neglecting analytics and monitoring.  You have to handle all these before you do.

SEO Reforms, an SEO agency will guide you about all these SEO mistakes and how to fix. Let’s explore all these one by one!

1. Neglecting Search Intent

Search intent is a purpose or reason of a user search on search engine. It is also known as, audience intent and query intent. In simple words, it is a purpose or reason behind the user query in search bar.

Most of the beginners neglect search intent and just follow the keyword. It might be possible, you are targeting right keywords, but if you are not creating content; user actually looking for, you are ignoring search intent. Google and other search engines won’t rank you on top position.

For example, if someone searches for “best DSLR camera” they are looking for reviews and comparisons between different DSLR cameras. They are not searching a product page, it’s an informational intent. If your web page is trying to sell, it’s not matching the user intent.

From the below image, when we search “best DSLR camera” in a specific location “New York”, the first organic search is “The 5 Best DSLR Cameras – spring 2025” written by RTINGS. They are comparing top 5 DSLR cameras.

Google ranked them on this specific user query according to the search intent.

How to Fix it:

• Google your targeting keyword and study the top ranking pages.
• Learn from these top ranked pages; are they blogs, videos or product pages?
• Compare your content with top ranked content, if its information, your content should be informational.
• Match your content type, what user expect from the search results.
• Add clear call to action according to the intent, buy now, download guide or learn more.

2. Keyword Stuffing

The second blunder is keyword stuffing. You’ve seen pages where content creator use same keyword many times, even more than 20 times.

It is keyword stuffing and looks web page is doing spam and feel robotic.

Google and other search engines has evolved. They focus on semantic search and understand the context. It is better to focus on natural flow instead of keyword stuffing.

How to Fix it?

• Instead of keyword stuffing, user few time naturally.
• You can include LSI keywords, which is “latent semantic indexing”, also known as related terms. For ‘SEO’ you should use Google algorithm, organic traffic and ranking.
• Focus on your content readability. If it was not written naturally or human it won’t rank well.
• Content should be valuable for user.

3. Overlooking Technical SEO

Technical SEO is an important factor of ranking. If your website has high quality content but it is slow and hard to navigate.

You can’t rank on Google. Moreover, you should setup Google Search Console and Google Analytics, it also included in technical factors.

That’s why technical SEO is necessary to rank high.

Further, don’t neglect site speed, mobile responsiveness and secure connections.

How to Fix it

• Test your website on Google PageSpeed insights
• Make sure it’s mobile friendly and responsive.
• Compress each image and reduce the script bloat.
• Enable caching also boost your site speed.
• Use HTTPS, this will secure your site.

4. Ignoring Meta Tags

Newbies ignore Meta tags; title and description of a web page and blog. If you write optimized Meta tags and use for your web page. It is a good signal to Google.

Most of the time Google ignore Meta tags and rewrite according to the search intent and context. But it doesn’t mean you can ignore them.

Optimizing each and everything will provide Google a structured data. This is a small effort but it will increase your click through rate in Google search results.

Keep in mind, if your Meta titles and description are boring user will scroll past. Always optimize them.

How to Fix it

• Write a unique and engaging title with your primary keyword.
• Keep all the titles under 60 characters to avoid cut-off in search results.
• You Meta description should be mini ad. Keep it concise and optimized.
• Make sure each Meta title and description unique, don’t duplicate!

5. Lack of Internal Linking

Internal linking is connecting different pages and blogs within the same domain. These links help to navigate within the domain and give relationship signal to Google.

Every newbie do this mistake and forget internal links. It is very important and provide ranking power to different pages. By doing this, actually you are distributing link equity. 

If your pages are not connected, Google won’t find them in search results and did not provide priority.

How to Fix it

• When you post a new blog and create new page, link it with 1-2 older blogs or pages.
• Use descriptive anchor text; instead of linking “click here” you can use “learn on-page SEO”.
• Always create a silo structure, groping same category content is easier for user to read as well as for bots to navigate.

6. Publishing Low-Quality Content

Publish low quality content can be harmful for site’s reputation and SEO efforts. You can eventually lost your potential traffic, leads, visibility and revenue.

Newbies content writer do mistakes and write low quality content. This one mistake hurts the most. Thins, copied and lack of value content won’t rank in Google.

Google did not rank these web pages. So, always write high quality relevant content that provides value to the audience.

How to Fix It:

• Cover each topic in depth with facts, visuals and examples.
• Add your experience and voice, this will create originality.
• Updated previously published content to keep it fresh.
• Use tools like Surfer SEO to compare your content with top ranked web pages.
• Hire a professional content writer to avoid all these hurdles.

7. Neglecting Analytics and Monitoring

Many beginners did not integrate Google Analytics and Google Search Console, it means you are not tracking your results. 

SEO is a long game, if you are not measuring your performance and keyword tracking; flying blind. It will prevent you to identify SEO opportunities and spotting SEO issues.  

Use Google Analytics dashboard to analysis your monthly performance, here is dashboard visuals. 

How to Fix It:

• Always setup Google Analytics and Google Search Console
• Track your performance; traffic, average session time, bounce rate, and most visited pages.
• Analyze each keyword and track which keyword is bringing traffic.
• Use the collected data to improve your titles, content and know what’s working.

Conclusion

These 7 SEO mistakes are common in newbies, by following you can avoid these traps. By doing this you’ll be ahead of 90% of SEO beginners. Keep in mind SEO is not about hacks, it’s a strategy, learning and consistency that work for you.

Let us know which mistake you have done before and you have been guilt of?  To get a free SEO guide, send us an email.

SEO Reforms is a leading marketing agency and providing SEO services since 2018. For more leaning you can join us on our social platforms.