It’s your worst nightmare as a small business owner. You finish a long and arduous search for an SEO company you trust, shelling out thousands of dollars per month for 6-12 months…

…and nothing.

In fact, you don’t even hear crickets indicating that at least something is on the horizon. After all that time and money spent, you’re depressed to see no noticeable change in your business and thus no return on your investment.

While a variety of factors can cause this, let’s zero in on those that impact your website, specifically:

1. Choosing the Wrong Keywords

This happens, and it ruins your strategy from the get-go. Perhaps you choose keywords with the wrong searcher intent or go after those with too much competition. To pinpoint the right keywords, you must first research them, analyze the competition, and then re-analyze your keywords accordingly.

You shouldn’t expect a specific ranking for a specific search term after a specific period of time—not even the best SEOs can promise that. But you should notice improved rankings, more traffic, and increased business after 12 months from at least some of your keywords.

2. Not Focusing Enough Time and Attention on Your Website Title and Meta Description

Yes, your title should include your keyword. Yet, first and foremost, it should be written to grab attention. Remember those old newspaper headlines we just mentioned? The ones with highly persuasive copy announcing provocative stories and giving people a reason to buy from the newsboy? It works just like that!

Searchers need a reason to click on your search listing, too. They don’t want to see plain ol’ boring “HVAC Services Dallas, TX.” They want to see what they’ll get from you. For example: “HVAC Services in Dallas to Stay Cool + Comfortable.” After all, everyone wants to stay cool and comfortable in the oppressive Texas heat.

The same process then goes for your meta description, the 3-4 lines of text just below your search listing title. Explain other benefits you offer such as a free quote, affordable repairs, and long warranties, perhaps adding a sentence explaining how exactly you do this to boost your credibility.

Your title and meta description can work as lethal marketing weapons rather than some random text you need to rank.

3. Using Irrelevant Internal Links

You should absolutely link from one of your web pages to another—but never with the intent to boost your SEO. Instead, adopt the mindset that you want to make your website easier and more convenient to use by linking internally and intuitively where it makes the most sense.

Place yourself in your visitors’ shoes, pondering where they might want to link as you create each page. A couple links or so make sense, so don’t go all-out and make all of your pages look like Wikipedia. Your website visitors will notice, realize you’re just doing this to boost your rankings, and then become annoyed and leave. Focus on the user experience first and foremost with internal links, and your rankings will follow.