You make a lot of mistakes. That’s part of life.你会犯很多的错误，这是生活的一部份。

　　And SEO is a complex field; there’s a lot to remember, even more to do, and everyone’s stock answer to your questions seems to be, “It depends.”SEO是一个复杂的领域，有很多的事需要记住，还有更多的事需要做，而每个人对你的问题的答案似乎都是“这取决于……”

　　Furthermore, it’s not just the fresh-faced, new-on-the-scene SEOs who are making mistakes. Seasoned veterans and outright experts are doing it, too.此外，并不是只有新手SEO人员才会犯错，老手和资深专家们也会犯错。

　　Here are five well-known mistakes that SEOs make in regards to links and content — and that are costing vital traffic:以下是SEO人员在做链接和内容时常会犯的五大错误，这些错误会牺牲大量的流量。

　　Mistake #1: Building All Links On The Home Page

　　错误一 将所有外链建立在首页

　　It’s tempting to point all your links to your home page. Because, well… that’s usually where your sales funnel starts, right?

　　能将所有外链都指向首页是很诱人的事情，因为，首页通常是你的销售漏斗起始的地方，对吗?

　　Or your client is nagging you to drive all your traffic there — which can be even worse.

　　或是你的客户们非得要你将所有的流量都引导到首页----这是更加糟糕的情况。

　　But building all your links to your home page isn’t just a mistake.

　　但将所有外链都建立到首页不仅仅只是一个错误。

　　It’s a bad strategy.

　　它是一个糟糕的策略。

　　Firstly, most sites have too many home page links. And if most sites are doing it, you shouldn’t be. Because following the crowd in SEO is guaranteed to find you somewhere on the 10th page…if you’re lucky.

　　首先，大多数网站的首页都有很多的外链。如果多数网站都那样做，你就不能那样做。因为SEO工作中的盲从行为保证会让你的网站在搜索结果的第10页被发现……如果你幸运的话。

　　A good strategy is to link deep into your site and use all those lovely internal pages you took the time to craft.

　　好的策略是将链接深入到你的网站，链到那些你花了很多时间和精力做出来的精美的内页上去。

　　Neil Patel said it best in this post about link building:

　　关于链接的建立，Neil Patel在它的这篇文章中作了最好的阐述：

　　Look at Wikipedia. The site that ranks for almost every term out there and is the 6th most popular site in the world. Majestic SEO is showing that Wikipedia in total has over 600 million backward links, whereas the home page has roughly 6 million links. That means 1% of their total links point to their home page, while 99% goes to internal pages.

　　看看Wikepedia(维基百科)吧，这个网站几乎所有的词条都有排名，而且它是世界上排名第六位的最受欢迎的网站。Majestic SEO(反链查询工具)显示这个网站有超过6亿条的反链，而其中大约只有600万条是到首页的。这也就意味着只有1%的外链是到首页的，剩下99%的外链都是到内页的。

　　Spreading your link equity across your site, rather than concentrating it on your home page, just makes sense. Instead of users landing on your home page and having to fight to find the content they’re looking for, they’re already there. It feels more natural — and if your content is good, it builds more trust.

　　将链接布局到你的整个网站上去，而不是集中在首页，是合理的。用户们不用到了首页后还要费劲地去找他们想要的内容，他们直接就在那儿，这样才更加自然----而且如果你的内容很好，这也会建立起更多的信任。

　　Linking deep helps you build the overall SEO value for your site, too — the more high-value pages you have, the more opportunities you have to achieve search engine visibility.

　　深入链接还有助于整体提升网站的SEO权重----你有越多的高权重内页，你就有更好的搜索引擎爆光机会。

　　It’s a win-win.

　　这是一种双赢。

　　Mistake #2: Stopping Link Building After Hitting The First Page

　　错误二 排上首页后就停止做外链

　　Look, let me be straight with you: search engine optimization efforts don’t last forever. Within a matter of weeks, you’re going to need to change something.

　　直接跟你说吧：SEO工作不是一劳永逸的。一段时间以后，你是需要改变一些东西的。

　　That’s why campaigns never really finish; they just change focus for a while.

　　这就是为什么工作永远没有真正结束，它只不过是时不时改变了关注点。

　　SEO is constantly changing, and it’s your job to keep up with it.

　　SEO是始终在变化的，你必须跟上它的节奏。

　　Sure, when you hit the first page, give yourself a pat on the back. Grab a beer, high-five your client, take a few screenshots, and enjoy it. But once you’re done celebrating, it’s time to work on a strategy to help you stay on the first page.

　　当然，排到首页是值得鼓励自己一下的。来个啤酒，与你的客户击掌庆贺一下，做几个屏幕截图，享受成功的喜悦。但是，庆祝完了之后，就是该采取措施维持首页排位的时候了。

　　Think of this from Google’s point of view: Your site wasn’t doing anything. Now, it’s suddenly hot and alive and interesting. And then it stops doing anything again.

　　从Google的角度来想想看吧：你的网站之前并没有做任何事情;现在，它忽然变得很火热、活跃而且有趣了。然后它又将不会做任何事情。

　　It assumes you’ve either had a quick hit of a link building campaign or a viral blog post, and you’ve finally run out of steam.

　　它会假想你要么是快速命中了一个外链建设活动，要么发布了一篇病毒式传播的博客，而最终你会失去这一强劲势头。

　　Keep building links. Don’t stop being hot and alive and interesting in the eyes of Google — or you’ll run out of traffic (and clients) quickly.

　　不要停止外链建设，不要让你的网站在Google的眼中变得不再火热、活跃和有趣，否则你会迅速失去流量(和客户)的。

　　Mistake #3: Not Using Blogging As A Strategy

　　错误3 不把博客作为策略

　　Not long ago, I had a conversation with a marketing director at a Fortune 500 company. She asked me to write a series of blog posts for her that would drive traffic to their new initiative.

　　不久以前，我与一个财富500强公司的营销总监有过一次谈话，她让我写一个系列博客，以为她们的新倡仪吸引流量。

　　I asked her, “How long would you like the post to be?” To which she said, “It doesn’t matter; it’s not like anybody is actually going to read it.”

　　我问她：“你想让这些博客发多久?”她回答说：“这不重要，似乎并没有人会真正去阅读这些博客的。”

　　This is what’s wrong with how businesses and old-school marketers view blogging. They view blogging as low value — and it’s a view that’s rubbed off on lots of SEOs, too.

　　这就是商务人员和老派的营销人员对于博客认识的误区，他们认为博客是很低端的，这一认识误区也传染到了很多的SEO人员。

　　But not blogging is a big mistake. In fact, it can be one of the highest-value strategies you can use.

　　但这并不表示博客是一个巨大的错误。事实上，它是你可以利用的价值最高的策略之一。

　　Look at it this way: How often is the content on your site updated? Not often. Because you can’t really update your About Me or Services page more than a couple of times a year.

　　让我们这样来看吧：你网站的更新频率怎样?不常更新。因为你不可能一年里多次去更新你的“公司介绍”和“服务”页面。

　　That means your site is just sitting there dormant. And Google doesn’t like inactive sites.

　　也就是说，你的网站只是在那里睡觉。而Google并不喜欢不活跃的网站。

　　But if you have a blog, you’re adding another page to your site at least once a month — if not once a week or once a day. That says to Google, “Hey, look at us! We’re working our butts off over here. Come and see what we’ve made.”

　　但是如果你有一个博客区，你每个月至少增加一个页面----如果你做不到一周或一天一页的话。这就等于是告诉Google：“嘿，看我们，我们正在辛勤工作呢，快来看看我们做了什么吧。”

　　And if you’ve got more pages in your index, there are more pages to rank with that you can work your SEO magic on for a little extra traffic.

　　如果你有更多的页面被收录，你就有了更多的页面可以供你做SEO工作来取得排位，进而获得额外的流量。

　　HubSpot sees blogging as a vital way to attract new customers.

　　(HobSpot认为博客是吸引新顾客的重要途径)

　　Take a look at HubSpot, for instance: 70 percent of their traffic comes from old blog posts — that is, content they didn’t create that month. That’s a ton of visitors for work they did months ago.

　　以HubSpot为例吧，它们70%的流量是来自源于以前发布的老博客，而不是当月创建的内容。它们几个月前做的工作吸引到了大量的访客。

　　And with every month that they grow their content index, the bigger that 70 percent becomes — because they’re bringing strangers into their site and converting them with great blog content.

　　每个月它们会有新增的内容被收录，于是有超过70%的流量被吸引来，因为他们会用优质的博客内容将陌生人吸引到自己的网站上再加以转化。

　　You don’t have to focus on your blog as much as some big sites like HubSpot or Buffer to get the most out of your SEO. But even having a blog you update with relevant content twice a month is better than having no blog at all.

　　你没有必要像HubSpot或者Buffer这样的大网站一样将SEO的焦点放在博客上，但是有个博客区哪怕你一个月只更新两次内容，也比没有博客要好。

　　But, as you’ll see next, relevance is the key.

　　但是，如你即将看到的内容所述，相关性是关键。

　　Mistake #4: Ignoring Content Relevance

　　错误四 忽视内容的相关性

　　I believe there are two big flaws in online marketing:

　　我认为在线营销存在犯两个很大的错误：

　　1. Marketers think people are dumb.

　　1. 营销人员将人们当成傻瓜。

　　2. Marketers think search engines are dumb.

　　2. 营销人员将搜索引擎当成傻瓜。

　　Advertising legend George Lois once said, “If you think people are dumb, you’ll spend a lifetime doing dumb work.”

　　广告界传奇人物George Lois曾说过：“如果你认为人们是傻瓜，那你将终生做愚蠢的事情。”

　　And he was right.

　　他说的是对的。

　　People aren’t stupid. They’re clever and brilliant. They want to be sold to and discover products in creative ways.

　　人们不愚蠢，他们聪明而杰出，他们希望你以有创意的方式向他们销售或让他们发现你的产品。

　　But most of all — and what makes them smart — is that they want trust. They want to know that they’re spending money with someone worthwhile.

　　但最重要的，也是人们的聪明之处是，他人想要信赖，他们想要知道他们的钱是花在某个值得信赖的产品上。

　　So if the content you’re creating to rank isn’t relevant, they’re going to see right through you. They won’t trust you. And, they’ll bounce quicker than my niece on a trampoline.

　　所以如果你创建以取得排名的内容是有相关性的，他们会往下看。如果他们不信任你，他们会以比我的小侄女跳蹦床还快的速度跳出你的网站。

　　If you think search engines are dumb, then you, my friend, are in the wrong game.

　　如果你视搜索引擎为傻瓜，那么你，我的朋友，入错了局了。

　　In the same way that people want relevant, trustworthy content, so do search engines. In fact, it’s what the boffins (techies) at Google are crying out for. Because, as you’ve just read, it’s what the people want.

　　如同人们想要看到相关性的、可信赖的内容，搜索引擎也是这样。事实上，这也是Google的技术工程师们迫切想要的，因为，如你刚刚读到的，这是人们想要的。

　　So just creating SEO content for the sake of creating SEO content isn’t good enough anymore.

　　所以仅为做SEO内容而做SEO内容已经不够了。

　　But what makes relevant content?

　　但是如何做到内容相关呢?

　　● It fits the topic of the site you’re writing for.

　　要与你所定的话题相匹配

　　● It adds value to the end reader.

　　要为终端读者带来增值

　　● It fits any (and all) keywords you’re using.

　　要适合任何(所有)你所用到的关键词

　　● It makes sense for any backlinks to point to it.

　　要与所有指向它的反链有关联

　　● It contributes to the overall quality of the site.

　　要能提升网站的整体内容质量

　　If your content isn’t doing any of those things, then it isn’t relevant.

　　如果你的内容做不到以上任何一点，那就是无相关性。

　　Mistake #5: Not Using Brand Anchor Text

　　错误五 不使用品牌锚文本

　　Anchor text is probably going to remain a constant in SEO for years to come. But it’s not anchor text itself that’s a problem — it’s the type you use.

　　锚文本在SEO中可能会作为一个常量多年存在。但锚文本本身并不是问题，问题是你使用的锚文本的类型。

　　For example, it’s no secret anymore that the more diverse your anchor text, the better — and the more natural it is in the eyes of Google.

　　例如，众所周知的是，你的锚文本越是多样化，在Google的眼里它就越好而且越自然。

　　But there’s one type of anchor text that SEOs always overlook: branded anchor text. That is, links on text that are:

　　但是有一个类型的锚文本常常为SEO人员所忽略：品牌锚文本。也就是，在以下类型文本上的链接：

　　● Your brand name 你的品牌名称

　　● Your name 你的公司名称

　　● Your URL 你的URL

　　For example, by linking to Apple’s home page with the text “Apple Inc.,” I’ve just created a branded anchor text link.

　　比如，我刚刚就做了一个品牌锚文本，用“苹果公司”这样一个文本链接到苹果公司网站的首页。

　　Now, you might be thinking, “But you just said don’t link to your home page.” And you’d have a point — you shouldn’t link to your home page if it’s more relevant to link to another page.

　　现在，你可能会想了，你刚刚说了不要链到首页呀。这个问题你应该这样看，当其它的页面比首页更相关的时候，你不应该链到首页。

　　All too often, however, SEOs will write a guest post or some content and leave their brand name unlinked. And it’s a sin — because it’s the perfect opportunity to boost your search rankings.

　　经常，SEO人员会写一篇博客或某个文章，但是没有将品牌作链接，这简直是罪过，因为这是一个能促进你的搜索排名的绝佳机会。

　　Of course, you have zero control over what anchor text people use when they link back to you. But that’s out of your control, so I’m not talking about that.

　　当然，你对于别人使用什么样的锚文本链向你是没有任何掌控的，这不在你的控制，所以我现在谈的不是这种情况。

　　I’m talking about when you do have control. When your name, brand or URL come up naturally in content, take the opportunity to link it.

　　我现在谈的是当你能控制的时候，当你的公司名称、品牌或URL在某个内容里面自然地出现时，你就要把握住做链接的机会。

　　You won’t be penalized for it, and it could get you a much better ranking.

　　你不会因此被惩罚，而且它会为你取得更好的排名。

　　Don’t Worry, Get Traffic

　　不要担心，去获取流量吧!

　　Be honest with me: How many of those mistakes are you making?跟我说实话吧，你犯了几个错误?

　　It doesn’t matter if it’s one, two or the whole list. What matters is that you do something about it.无论是一个，两个，还是所有五个，都没有关系。重要的是，你要做点什么来改进它。

　　Because if you don’t make the change, you’re going to be left in someone else’s virtual dust, aren’t you?因为如果你不做些改变，你将会被其它人所尘封，不是吗?

　　Let’s quickly recap the mistakes, and what to do about them:让我们来快速地回顾一下那些错误，并且说说怎么改进吧：

　　1. Building All Your Links To The Home Page: While some links to your home page are great, don’t saturate it. Focus on deep linking and creating a rich index of SEO content.

　　将所有外链建到首页：首页有一些链接是很棒的事情，但是不要链太多。要将外链集中深入内页并且创建丰富的SEO内容收录。

　　2. Stopping Once You Hit The First Page: SEO doesn’t last forever. The minute you relax is the minute it changes. Keep working and getting backlinks to make sure you’re a permanent fixture on the first page.

　　排上首页后就停止做外链：SEO不是一劳永逸的，你松懈的那一刻就是它发生变化的那一刻。你需要坚持不懈，要一直获取反链以维持你的首页排名。

　　3. Not Using Blogging As A Strategy: Keep your site active and create a big index of pages that you can link to.

　　不把博客作为策略：让你的网站保持活跃状态，并创建大量的收录页面以供你做链接。

　　4. Ignoring Content Relevance: People and search engines aren’t dumb. So don’t treat them that way. Create relevant content that’s fit for purpose.

　　忽视内容的相关性：人们和搜索引擎都不是傻瓜，所以不要把他们当傻瓜对待。要创建与你的网络营销目的相关的内容。

　　5. Not Using Brand Anchor Text: Don’t let easy links to brand messages that use your name pass you by. Link them, and look for the difference it makes in your rankings.