Get All Access for $5/mo

This Big Mistake Can Hurt Your Site's Search Rankings Online marketing expert John Rampton talks SEO and outlines one mistake to avoid at all costs.

By Jason Fell

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Big search engines like Google and Microsoft's Bing are constantly making changes in order to deliver the best search results to their users. So when it comes to optimizing your site for search, some tactics can improve your site's rankings while others can actually hurt them.

Online marketing expert John Rampton outlines several search engine optimization (SEO) mistakes in his article "SEO Strategies That Can Hurt Your Website Rankings." In this video he talks about one more: publishing duplicate content. This can be especially harmful especially now that Google is cracking down on sites that have what it deems to be low-quality content.

"It can be just the tagline of your business repeated 50 times on your website or an About Us section that's copied from one website to another site to 50 others," Rampton says. "You really need to write unique content."

Related:

SEO Strategies That Can Hurt Your Website Rankings

Pinterest 101: Marketing Tips From Whole Foods

The Most Telling Sign That You Might Be an Entrepreneur

Need to Raise Money for Your Startup? This Book Might Be For You.

Jason Fell

VP, Native Content

Jason Fell is the VP of Native Content, managing the Entrepreneur Partner Studio, which creates dynamic and compelling content for our partners. He previously served as Entrepreneur.com's managing editor and as the technology editor prior to that.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Side Hustle

This Former Starbucks Employee Started a Side Hustle That's Making More Than $70,000 a Month — and He's Not Done Yet

When Tom Saar moved to New York City, he spotted a lucrative business opportunity.

Business News

Is One Company to Blame for Soaring Rental Prices in the U.S.?

The FBI recently raided a major corporate landlord while investigating a rent price-fixing scheme. Here's what we know.

Business News

Amazon Has a Blank Book Problem: Buyers Report Receiving Fakes of Bestselling UFO Book

The book looked fine on the outside, but the inside was out-of-this-world.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Paramount Leadership Alludes to Layoffs If Merger Does Not Go Through

Paramount is awaiting approval on its merger with Skydance Media from majority shareholder Shari Redstone.

Business News

Microsoft Reportedly Lays Off Over 1,500 Employees in Cloud Sector as Partnership with OpenAI Strengthens

Alphabet also reportedly laid off employees from several teams in Google's cloud unit last week.