Google has changed. But the SEO practices of many sites haven't moved since 2015. The result: efforts that lead nowhere, or worse, that penalise you.
Here are the 5 mistakes we find on almost every site we audit.
Mistake 1: Keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing is dead. Google no longer counts keyword occurrences — it understands the meaning of a text. What matters today is semantic relevance: covering a topic in depth, addressing related questions, using natural language.
A well-structured text written for humans consistently beats a text manually optimised for Google.
Mistake 2: Ignoring Core Web Vitals
Since 2021, Google has included technical performance in its ranking algorithm. LCP, FID, CLS: three metrics that measure the real experience of your visitors. A slow or visually unstable site is penalised, even if its content is excellent.
Mistake 3: Neglecting internal linking
Internal linking is the art of connecting your pages to each other in a logical way. It serves two purposes: helping Google understand your site's architecture, and guiding visitors toward key pages.
In practice: every blog post should link to at least 2–3 pages on your site. Every service page should point to content that explores the topic further.
Mistake 4: Forgetting image alt tags
Images without alt tags are invisible to Google. Worse: they slow your site down if they're not compressed. Two minutes of work per image, long-term results.
Use descriptive file names (not "IMG_4521.jpg" but "web-agency-paris-portfolio.jpg") and alt tags that describe what the visitor sees.
Mistake 5: Publishing content without a clear search intent
Publishing for the sake of publishing achieves nothing. Every page must respond to a specific search intent: informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial. If you don't know what question your page answers, Google won't either.
Before writing, ask yourself: "What problem is my visitor trying to solve when they type this query?" The answer structures everything else.