I’ve been writing SEO content for small businesses for a couple of months now, and I keep seeing the same mistakes over and over.
The frustrating part? Most of them are easy to fix. Like, really easy. But they cost businesses traffic, customers, and money because nobody takes the time to address them.
Here’s what I’ve noticed and how to fix it without needing a developer or spending money on tools.
Writing Content Nobody Searches For
This was my biggest mistake when I started.
I’d write blog posts about topics I thought were interesting or important. Then I’d publish them and wait for traffic. Nothing happened.
Turns out, nobody was searching for those topics. I was creating content in a vacuum.
While working at DigiBrandi in Tampere, I came across a business that had 20 blog posts on their site. Good writing, helpful information, zero traffic. When I checked the topics against actual search volume, none of them aligned with what people were looking for.
We didn’t delete those posts. We just started creating new content based on what people actually searched for in their market. Within two months, their blog traffic increased by 300%.
The fix: Before writing any content, check if people are searching for that topic. Use free tools like Ubersuggest, Google Keyword Planner, or just Google’s autocomplete. Type in your topic and see what suggestions come up. Those suggestions are real searches.
If nobody’s searching for your topic, either adjust the angle or write about something else.
Ignoring Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Your title tag is what shows up as the blue link in Google search results. Your meta description is the text below it.
These matter way more than most small businesses realize.
I’ve seen websites where every page has the title “Home” or “About Us” or just the company name. That tells Google (and searchers) nothing about what’s on the page.
One business I looked at had five different service pages, all with the title “Services.” Google has no idea which page is about which service. Searchers have no reason to click because they don’t know what they’ll get.
The fix: Every page needs a unique, descriptive title tag. Include your main keyword and make it clear what the page is about.
Instead of “Services,” use “Website Design Services in Tampere” or “Professional SEO Services for Small Businesses.” Tell people what they’re getting.
Meta descriptions don’t directly affect rankings, but they affect whether people click your result. Write a clear, compelling description that includes your keyword and explains what’s on the page.
This takes maybe five minutes per page and can significantly improve your click-through rate.
Writing for Google Instead of People
I see this constantly in SEO content, and I’ve been guilty of it myself.
You write a sentence like “Our SEO services provide SEO solutions for businesses needing SEO help with SEO optimization.”
That’s keyword stuffing, and it’s awful to read. Google’s smart enough now to recognize this and it actually hurts you.
I was editing content for a service page recently, and the keyword appeared 15 times in 300 words. It was unreadable. Nobody would hire a company based on that writing.
The fix: Write naturally. Explain your service or topic in a way that makes sense to a real person. Include your keyword a few times where it fits naturally, but focus on being clear and helpful.
Read your content out loud. If it sounds weird or robotic, rewrite it.
Google understands context now. You don’t need to repeat the exact keyword constantly. Use variations and related terms. If your keyword is “digital marketing,” you can also say “online marketing,” “internet marketing,” or just “marketing” depending on context.
Not Using Headers Properly
Headers (H1, H2, H3 tags) organize your content and help Google understand what your page is about.
A lot of small business websites don’t use them at all. The whole page is just one long block of text. Or they use headers randomly without any structure.
I worked on a blog post that was 1,500 words with no headers except the title. It was hard to read and Google had no idea how the content was structured.
The fix: Every page should have one H1 tag, usually your main title. Then use H2 tags for main sections and H3 tags for subsections under those.
Think of it like an outline. Your H1 is the main topic. H2s are the main points. H3s are the details under each point.
This makes your content easier to read and helps search engines understand your page structure. It’s also better for accessibility, which matters more in 2025 than ever.
Creating Thin Content
Thin content is a page with barely any information on it. Like a service page with three sentences, or a blog post that’s 200 words.
Google wants to show comprehensive, helpful content. If your page doesn’t provide real value, it won’t rank well.
I’ve seen service pages that just say “We offer web design services. Contact us for a quote.” That’s it. No explanation of what they do, no examples, no details about their process. Nothing.
Compare that to a service page that explains what’s included, shows examples, answers common questions, and provides real information. Which one do you think ranks better?
The fix: Aim for at least 300-500 words on service pages and 800-1,500 words for blog posts. Not just filler words, but actual useful information.
Answer questions your customers actually ask. Explain your process. Provide examples. Give people a reason to read your content.
Quality matters more than quantity, but you need enough content to be thorough.
Forgetting About Mobile Users
Most searches happen on mobile now. If your website doesn’t work well on phones, you’re losing traffic and rankings.
I check websites on my phone all the time, and so many of them are broken on mobile. Text too small to read. Buttons too tiny to click. Pages that load slowly. Menus that don’t work.
Google uses mobile-first indexing now. That means it looks at the mobile version of your site first when deciding rankings. If your mobile site is bad, your rankings will be too.
The fix: Test your website on your phone. Actually use it like a customer would. Can you read everything? Do the buttons work? Does it load quickly?
Google has a free Mobile-Friendly Test tool. Just search for it and enter your website URL. It’ll tell you if there are issues.
Most modern website platforms make mobile optimization pretty automatic, but you still need to check and make sure everything works properly.
Not Optimizing Images
Images make content better, but they can also slow down your site if you’re not careful.
I see small businesses uploading huge image files straight from their camera. Like 5MB files for a simple photo on their homepage. That makes pages load slowly, which hurts both user experience and search rankings.
Plus, images need alt text. That’s the text that describes the image for people using screen readers and for Google to understand what the image shows.
The fix: Resize and compress images before uploading them. A photo for your website doesn’t need to be 4000×3000 pixels. 1200×800 is usually plenty.
Use free tools like TinyPNG or built-in compression in your website platform.
Add descriptive alt text to every image. Not just “image1” but actually describe what’s in the image. “Team meeting in Tampere office” is better than “photo.”
This helps with accessibility and gives you another chance to include relevant keywords naturally.
Writing Without a Clear Purpose
Every piece of content should have a purpose. Are you trying to rank for a specific keyword? Answer a common question? Explain a service? Generate leads?
I’ve written content before where I had no clear goal. Just “write a blog post about social media.” Those posts usually turn out unfocused and don’t perform well.
Now I start every piece by asking: What’s the point of this? What should someone know or do after reading it?
The fix: Before writing, decide on your goal. Are you targeting a specific keyword? Then research it properly and make sure your content thoroughly covers that topic.
Are you trying to convert visitors into customers? Then include clear calls to action and explain the value of your service.
Are you answering questions? Then actually answer them completely, don’t just dance around the topic.
Having a clear purpose makes better content and better results.
Neglecting Local Content
If you’re a local business, local content matters.
A business serving only Tampere doesn’t need to rank nationally. They need to rank in Tampere. But their content often doesn’t reflect that.
I see websites that could be located anywhere. No mention of their city, no local examples, no connection to their community. That’s a missed opportunity.
The fix: Mention your location naturally in your content. Not stuffed awkwardly, just where it makes sense.
“We’ve been serving businesses in Tampere for 10 years” is natural. So is “Our team understands the unique challenges of the Finnish market.”
Create content about local topics when relevant. A blog post about “Digital Marketing Trends in Finland” or “How Tampere Businesses Can Improve Their Online Presence” targets your actual market.
Use local keywords. “SEO Tampere” instead of just “SEO” if you’re targeting that market.
Not Updating Old Content
Content gets outdated. Statistics change. Information becomes old. Links break.
Small businesses often publish content and forget about it. They never go back to update or improve it.
I found a blog post on a client’s site about “Digital Marketing Trends 2022.” It was 2024. That post was doing more harm than good at that point.
The fix: Set a reminder to review your content every six months. Update statistics, refresh examples, add new information.
If a post is ranking okay but not great, improving it is often easier than creating new content. Add more detail, update outdated sections, improve the formatting.
Google likes fresh, updated content. Adding an “Updated January 2025” note at the top shows the content is current.
Forgetting About Internal Links
Internal links are links from one page on your site to another page on your site.
They help visitors navigate your website and help Google understand how your pages relate to each other. But small business websites often have no internal linking strategy at all.
I wrote a blog post about SEO services and realized we never linked to the actual SEO services page from it. That’s a missed opportunity.
The fix: When you mention a topic you’ve written about elsewhere on your site, link to it.
Writing about website design tips? Link to your website design service page.
Writing about social media marketing? Link to related blog posts or your social media services.
This keeps people on your site longer and helps distribute page authority across your website.
Not Having Clear Calls to Action
Your content brings people to your site. Great. But then what?
A lot of small business content just ends. No next step, no call to action, nothing telling the visitor what to do next.
I’ve read helpful blog posts that end with “Thanks for reading!” and that’s it. The visitor learned something and left. No conversion, no contact, no relationship built.
The fix: Every piece of content should have a clear next step.
For blog posts, that might be “Want help with your SEO? Contact us for a free consultation” or “Download our free guide to website optimization.”
For service pages, it’s “Ready to get started? Request a quote” or “Schedule a free discovery call.”
Make it easy for people to take the next step with you.
The Pattern I Keep Seeing
Most of these mistakes come down to one thing: creating content without thinking about the person who’ll read it or what they need.
Small businesses often create content because they think they should, not because they have a clear goal or audience in mind.
The businesses that do well with content are the ones that ask: What does my customer need to know? How are they searching for it? What would actually help them?
Then they create content that answers those questions clearly, optimize it properly for search, and make it easy to read and act on.
That’s it. No secrets, no complicated strategies. Just helpful content, properly optimized, with a clear purpose.
These mistakes are common, but they’re also fixable. You don’t need an expensive agency or developer to fix most of them. You just need to know what to look for and take the time to do it right.
Start with one. Pick the mistake you’re most guilty of and fix it across your site. Then move to the next one.
Your traffic and conversions will thank you.
