Traditionally speaking, Labor Day marks the end of summer, and for most people, it also means it’s time to put away your “summer whites”.  Everyone knows not to wear white after Labor Day, and it’s time to usher in the fall colors and fashion.  However, as runway and fashion trends change every season, when it comes to SEO, white is always in style.  Especially, when it comes to hats; white-hat that is.

With all the changes in the search engine algorithms, it’s important to realize that rather than change with the seasons like the fashion trends, it’s the tried and true white-hat tactics that will always be rewarded by the likes of Google and the other major search engines.  From white hat link acquisition to on page efforts, blogging, content optimization, and so on, white-hat best practices are always in style.

As everyone gears up for fall and Q3 turns into the rush of the holiday season in Q4, it’s easy to get caught up in ideas to fast-track success.  While quick testing and optimization can have immediate payoff in the instantaneous world of pay-per-click, SEO is an entirely different story.  Due to the nature of how sites are crawled and how updates are reviewed by Google and the other big search engines, strategies for SEO, both on page and off, need to consider the long term goals.  When mapping out where you want to be for the Q4 holiday rush, you should start your optimization as early as Q1 to allow the search engines to crawl your site, review your changes, and update your rankings.  A solid, year-long strategy with white-hat tactics will get you down the runway to the holiday season for success.

Common SEO “fashion faux pas” can range from duplicate home pages to duplicate content.  Not having links from your home page to your core content on your site is almost as bad as pairing zebra with leopard print.  And those pesky 404 errors that can cause issues with the search engines are so last season. Just think of Matt Cutts as the SEO world’s version of Joan Rivers, and really who wants to be called out on obvious faux pas? So please take a moment to check your site for some of the most obvious of SEO mistakes and avoid being caught by the fashion SEO police! 

Need help figuring out where to start?  Below is a list of some great articles and resources that list the most common SEO mistakes that every search engine is checking for.

• The Most Common SEO Mistakes by Raven Tools

• Five Common SEO Mistakes (And Six Good Ideas!) by Google’s Webmaster Blog

  • Even Google cautions you to watch out for passing trends, and to instead, “consider spending less time obsessing about the latest “trick” to boost your rankings and instead focus on the fundamental tasks/efforts that will bring lasting visitors.”

• Top 10 SEO Mistakes Webmasters Make according to Matt Cutts by Amanda DiSilvestro on Socialmeida Today Community Forum

• 6 Common SEO Mistakes On Small Business Websites on AMEX’s Open Form

SEO strategies should always take into consideration the big picture, and keep in mind that anything that promises a quick win in the short term is a risky bet that can lead to ranking decreases and even manual penalties in the long term.  If you’re not sure where to turn, look to a reputable, trusted SEO agency for white-hat help.  And trust assured, dealing with a Google penalty is far worse than being caught in white after Labor Day!