We have all made seo mistakes, so ill start with a question! Are you really optimising your website for search engines—or just squandering your chances and winding up invisible?
Seo Mistakes: SEO (search engine optimisation) often sounds like arcane wizardry: black-hat tricks, mysterious algorithms and the promise of page one. But as the founder of Tic Creative and someone steeped in web design and digital strategy, I’ll say this: you don’t need magic—just discipline, strategy and a refusal to make the dumb mistakes everyone else does. Each time you “hope” for Google to pick up your pages, rather than making sure you’ve got the fundamentals in place, you risk wasting time, budget and credibility.
In 2025 the landscape has shifted: mobile-first indexing, AI‐driven search results, voice search, generative answer engines and rapidly changing user habits mean that the SEO playbook you used two years ago might be costing you traffic now. According to recent audits, many businesses still mess up the same fundamentals: duplicate content, sloppy metadata, mobile neglect, weak internal linking, keyword cannibalisation.
In this article I’ll walk you through how not to screw up SEO: the mistakes you should absolutely avoid (so your clients or your site actually get found), how to fix them, and how to build a robust SEO foundation that keeps working as algorithms evolve. Whether you’re designing websites for clients or building your own brand, treat this as your checklist for avoiding the SEO traps that trip most people up.
Why SEO still matters
Before we dig into the pitfalls, let’s remind ourselves: ranking organically remains one of the most cost-effective ways to attract clients, leads and traffic. Unlike paid ads, today’s organic visibility can compound over months and years. Good SEO means better-qualified visitors, more trust, more conversions and less dependency on volatile ad budgets. For a web design / content business like Tic Creative, showing clients that you know how to “get found” is an essential part of your credibility.
However—because so many sites still only focus on traffic volume rather than relevance and user intent—you’ll find plenty of high-traffic websites that get hardly any conversions. That’s the sign of SEO gone wrong. The good thing: fix the fundamentals, align with user search intent, and you’ll punch above your weight.
The big traps you must avoid
Here are the high-impact mistake categories where most people screw up. We’ll examine each one, why it matters, and how to fix it.
Keyword & content mistakes
Neglecting search intent
Even if you place the “right keyword”, if the content doesn’t match why someone’s searching, you’ll underperform. For example, someone searching “how much does a 20ft shipping container cost UK” expects a price breakdown, not a generic marketing page. Skipping this kills relevance and user satisfaction, which search engines pick up on.
Fix: Map your keywords to user intent categories (informational, transactional, navigational). Ensure the content delivers what searchers are looking for—fast—rather than burying it after a fluff intro.
Keyword stuffing, cannibalisation & overlap
Old-school SEO used to “stuff” keywords everywhere. That doesn’t work anymore. Actually, multiple pages targeting the same keyword confuse search engines and dilute ranking potential.
Fix: Assign one primary keyword/topic per page. Use related and long-tail keywords naturally. Ensure your pages complement rather than compete with each other.
Thin, duplicate or low-value content
A 300-word page with minimal value will struggle. Duplicate content—whether across pages or sites—weakens your authority.
Fix: Invest in content that adds value, depth and unique insight. Combine with good UX, visuals and user engagement signals. Consolidate duplicate or overlapping pages.
Vague headlines & header misuse
Poor headlines confuse readers and search engines alike. Using header tags incorrectly (e.g., H1 used multiple times, or headings with no relevance) drags down your structure.
Fix: Use one H1 per page, clear sub-headings (H2, H3) that map your content structure. Ensure headings describe the content of the section and include keywords naturally.
On-page & meta-data mistakes
Missing or bad meta titles & descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are one of the strongest signals for search engines and users. Mistakes here include missing tags, duplicates or tags that are poorly written.
Fix: Each page must have a unique title (approx 50-60 characters) and meta description (150-160 characters) that clearly summarises the page and entices a user to click. Include your main keyword.
Poor URL structure & slug issues
Confusing URL slugs (like example.com/page-671?id=5) are off-putting for both users and search engines.
Fix: Use clean, descriptive URLs: example.com/seo-mistakes. Keep them short, readable, and aligned with the page topic and keyword.
Neglecting image optimisation
Large image files, missing alt text, non-descriptive filenames—these are all amateur mistakes.
Fix: Compress images, use WebP where possible, add meaningful alt text (describe what the image is, include relevant keywords where natural), and name image files descriptively (seo-mistakes.jpg rather than IMG_1234.jpg).
Technical & performance mistakes
Slow page speed & poor performance
If your site takes too long to load, users leave—and search engines take note. Pagespeed is now a key ranking factor (Core Web Vitals).
Fix: Audit your site (use Google PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse), optimise caching, minimise CSS/JS, compress images, reduce server response time.
Mobile-friendliness failure
With mobile-first indexing, if your site isn’t responsive, you’re fighting with one hand tied behind your back.
Fix: Ensure your site works seamlessly on mobile (menus, buttons, text size, images). Test via Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and monitor mobile UX.
Crawlability & indexation problems
If search engines can’t reach or understand your pages, they won’t rank. Crawl errors, incorrect robots.txt, missing XML sitemaps, broken redirects—all very real problems.
Fix: Use Search Console / Bing Webmaster Tools to identify crawl errors. Keep your sitemap updated. Fix broken links and redirect chains. Make sure important pages are indexable.
Schema markup & rich-results neglect
Structured data helps search engines understand your pages and can trigger rich results which catch more attention. Many still ignore this.
Fix: Use schema.org markup where relevant—articles, FAQs, local business, products. It doesn’t guarantee rich snippets, but gives you a better chance.
Link & authority mistakes
Poor internal linking
Internal links help users and spiders navigate your site. Without them, valuable pages can live in isolation.
Fix: Create a logical linking structure, use descriptive anchor text, link from older content to new posts, ensure no orphan pages.
Low-quality backlinks or bought links
Backlinks remain hugely important for ranking—but quality matters. Buying links or accepting spammy links carries risk.
Fix: Focus on earning links via high-quality content, outreach, guest posting (relevant & ethical). Monitor your backlink profile regularly.
Neglecting local / niche authority
For smaller/local businesses (like many clients you design for) overlooking local SEO or niche authority is a missed opportunity.
Fix: Optimise your Google Business Profile, ensure consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) citations, target local keywords, gather genuine reviews.
How to build a resilient SEO process
It’s not enough to “fix mistakes once” and assume you’re done. SEO is ongoing. Here’s how to embed good practice.
Audit regularly
Use tools (Search Console, Screaming Frog, Site Audit from SEMrush/Ahrefs) to run monthly/quarterly audits: crawl errors, duplicate content, broken links, page speed issues. If you detect issues early they cost far less to fix.
Plan content with intent and relevance
For Tic Creative (and your clients), map content to the buyer journey: research → comparison → decision. Ensure each piece aligns with searcher intent, and use internal linking to guide users through the journey.
Monitor results & refine
Traffic alone isn’t enough. Monitor keyword positions, bounce rates, time on page, conversion events. If something isn’t performing, don’t just pump out more content—improve the content you already have.
Stay ahead of the algorithm
In 2025 we’re not just optimising for classic search results. With generative engines and AI-assisted search growing, optimisation must evolve. For example, structured data and content designed to be used in answers or voice snippets matter more.
Think user first—not search engine
If you design or build websites for clients, always emphasise user experience: clarity, speed, mobile usability, accessible content. A great website that users like also tends to rank better. A clever site that users don’t like? That simply won’t hold up.
Case Study – Avoiding the SEO blow-up for a web design client
Here’s a real-world scenario (fictionalised for clarity) from Tic Creative’s workflow that shows how the mistakes we discussed can derail a project—and how we fixed them.
Background
A mid-sized B2B service firm approached us: they’d invested in a new website six months ago, hired an agency to “do SEO”, yet traffic was flat and nothing had changed in Google rankings. The site had some glaring issues: one large “Services” page listing everything (branding, web design, SEO, social media), poor meta titles, bulky images, slow load times and mobile layout that was messy.
Mistakes identified
- One page trying to target multiple services meant no clear keyword focus → keyword overlap/cannibalisation.
- Meta titles defaulted to “Home | Company Name” or generic “Services” → very weak.
- Large, uncompressed images meant mobile load times over 6 seconds → high bounce.
- Internal linking was minimal – users reached the site, but had no path through to deeper service pages.
- Backlink profile included some directory links from low-value sites, and the site hadn’t bothered pursuing quality links.
- Mobile menu was slow and confusing → poor mobile UX and likely a mobile-first indexing penalty.
Our approach
We pulled together a strategic fix plan:
- We created dedicated pages for each core service (web design, SEO consultancy, branding), with unique keywords and metadata.
- We rewrote meta titles and descriptions: each unique, clearly describing the page and including the primary keyword.
- Re-optimised all images: compressed, converted to WebP where appropriate, descriptive filenames and alt text.
- Audit and fix technical: page load reduced from 6+ seconds to under 2 seconds, mobile usability improved, responsive layout cleaned up.
- Internal linking: placed clear, contextual links between blog posts, service pages and case studies, making sure the path for both users and crawlers was logical.
- Backlink clean-up and outreach: we disavowed low-value links, created high-value guest posts and content partnerships within the client’s industry niche.
- Monitoring & reporting: monthly reports tracked keyword positions, visitor engagement and conversions—not just traffic numbers.
Result
Within three months, the site started to climb for target keywords, bounce rate dropped by 27%, mobile sessions increased by ~40% and lead enquiries via organic search rose by 33%. The client got visible return from their investment and had a much stronger platform for ongoing growth.
“Fixing the fundamentals unlocked the climb. Once the site was structured properly and usable, Google started paying attention again.”
Featured quote
“If you build your SEO on quick tricks rather than solid foundations, you’re stacking bricks on sand. Make it strong first—then scale.”
Final thoughts & actionable checklist
If you want to not screw up SEO, focus on these fundamentals:
- Ensure each page has clear intent and delivers accordingly.
- Use unique titles, proper heading structure, descriptive URLs.
- Optimise for speed, mobile and usability.
- Audit crawlability, internal linking and indexation.
- Build links ethically and monitor your profile.
- Make content valuable, not just present.
- Stay up to date with how search is evolving (AI, voice, generative).
- Track meaningful metrics, refine rather than publish more for the sake of it.
- For your clients (and for Tic Creative), make these practices part of the workflow—not an “add-on”.
Treat SEO like the structure of a house, not the decorations: if the foundations, framework and plumbing (site speed, architecture, content hierarchy) aren’t right, no amount of flashy design or clever copy will hold it up. And as someone who builds websites for clients, you owe them that structural integrity.
CTA
Need help auditing your website for hidden SEO mistakes or building a rock-solid optimisation strategy for your business (or your clients)? Get in touch with Tic Creative and we’ll make sure the foundation is built on bedrock, not quicksand.
