If you’re still stuck on page 2 of Google, chances are you’re making one of these mistakes.
At Softplace, we’ve audited hundreds of websites across Sunderland, Newcastle, and the wider UK. And no matter the industry — from salons to solicitors — the same errors pop up again and again.
Here are the top 5 SEO mistakes UK businesses are still making in 2025 — and exactly how to fix them.
1. Neglecting Their Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is your local SEO HQ. Yet, so many businesses still:
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Don’t verify it
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Leave it half-filled
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Let customers answer questions
📍 Fix it:
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Fill out every field (description, hours, services, etc.)
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Add high-quality photos monthly
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Respond to reviews
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Post weekly updates
2. Targeting the Wrong Keywords
Many businesses guess what their customers search — and get it wrong.
Example: A roofing company in Sunderland targeting “affordable roof repair UK” instead of “roofing contractor Sunderland.”
🔍 Fix it: Use real data via tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs. Focus on:
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City + Service terms (e.g., “SEO Sunderland”)
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Problem-based queries (e.g., “website not ranking on Google”)
3. Sending All Traffic to the Homepage
Your homepage can’t do everything. Yet many businesses dump all search traffic there, losing relevance and rankings.
🚫 Example: Running Google Ads for “Facebook Ads Sunderland” and sending clicks to the homepage.
✅ Fix it:
Create dedicated landing pages for each service + location combo:
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/web-design-sunderland -
/seo-durham -
/facebook-ads-gateshead
See how we do it at Softplace: See our Local SEO Pages
4. Ignoring Technical SEO
Even beautiful websites fail when their technical SEO is broken:
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Slow page speeds
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Missing image alt text
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No meta titles or descriptions
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Broken internal links
⚙️ Fix it:
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Add alt tags with real keywords
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Check your site for crawl errors
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Compress and lazy-load images
5. Failing to Build Local Backlinks
Google sees backlinks like votes of trust. Yet many UK business owners don’t invest in building them — especially local ones.
🔗 Fix it:
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Sponsor a local football team
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Join the Sunderland Chamber of Commerce
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Pitch a guest blog to local news sites
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Ask satisfied clients for a mention on their websites
One backlink from a trusted UK site beats 20 spammy ones from overseas.
Final Thought: Don’t DIY Your SEO Blindly
DIY SEO is powerful — if you know what you’re doing. But for most UK businesses, these five issues quietly kill rankings.
At Softplace, we help businesses like yours avoid these mistakes and turn SEO into a reliable growth engine.
Tip: Start with a Free Audit
Want us to review your SEO setup and highlight your top 3 issues?
We’ll send a full report in 24 hours.
