We audit a lot of small business websites, and the same mistakes appear again and again. None of them require a big budget to fix — most just require knowing they exist. Here are the ten we see most often.
1. Duplicate title tags everywhere
If five pages share the title “Home” or “Services”, Google has five identical candidates and no idea which to rank. Every page needs a unique, descriptive title — see meta tags explained.
2. Ignoring mobile users
Well over half of local searches happen on phones. Google indexes the mobile version of your site first. If buttons are tiny, text needs pinching, or the menu breaks on a small screen, you are losing rankings and customers simultaneously.
3. Slow, oversized images
The single most common speed killer. Our image optimization guide fixes it in an afternoon.
4. One page trying to rank for everything
A homepage cannot rank for “web design”, “SEO”, “logo design” and “hosting” at once. One page, one topic. Spread services across dedicated pages as described in website structure for SEO.
5. Keyword stuffing
“We offer SEO friendly website design SEO services SEO London SEO Kent…” reads terribly and can trigger a spam penalty. Write naturally; mention locations and services where they genuinely belong.
6. No internal links
Pages that link nowhere and are linked from nowhere drift into obscurity. Read our internal linking strategies.
7. Broken redirects after a redesign
Changed your URLs? Without 301 redirects, every ranking and bookmark the old pages earned evaporates. Always map old URLs to new before launch.
8. Hiding contact details
For local SEO, your name, address and phone number should be visible, consistent and marked up with LocalBusiness schema. Burying them on an image Google cannot read helps nobody.
9. Set-and-forget mentality
SEO compounds. A site that publishes a useful guide every month will overtake a static site every time. Start with our 90-day plan for new websites.
10. Paying for “guaranteed #1 rankings”
Nobody can guarantee a position on Google. Anyone who does is selling snake oil — or tactics that will get you penalised. Honest SEO is process, not promises.
Avoid these ten and you are already ahead of most of your local competitors.
Want a professional eye? Our checklist audit catches all of these and more — get a free quote.
