After dedicating a significant amount of time and effort to website creation, the least desirable outcome is for your website to be overlooked in search engine rankings. The primary focus of SEO is often on content and backlinks, but technical SEO provides the necessary foundation for successful outcomes. Overlooking this vital aspect can result in considerable losses in visibility and traffic. Let’s explore seven prevalent technical SEO mistakes and their solutions.
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Slow Page Load Speeds
A slow website in today’s fast digital world can result in a loss of traffic, which can harm its search engine rankings and increase conversion rates. The user experience is enhanced by fast-loading sites, which is why search engines like Google prioritize this feature.
How to Fix It: Find out where you are facing bottlenecks by using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. To improve your website’s speed, consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and caching images in browsers.
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Unfriendly Design for Mobile
Mobile-optimized websites are not competitive, as mobile devices account for a significant portion of internet traffic. In Google’s indexing algorithm, mobile versions of your site are given priority over desktop versions.
How to Fix It: Your solution will be to make your website responsive, so it can load smoothly on all devices and screens. To check if your website is mobile-friendly, use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
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Ignoring HTTPS
Security is a priority for search engines and users alike. If your site still runs on HTTP, it’s not only less secure but also less likely to rank well. Users are also less likely to trust and engage with unsecured websites.
How to Fix It: Switch to HTTPS by obtaining an SSL certificate. Many hosting providers offer free SSL certificates, making the transition easier than ever.
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Broken Links and Errors
The presence of broken links frustrates users and sends negative feedback to search engines about your site’s performance. The SEO of your website can be negatively affected by pages that return 404 errors, in the same way.
How to Fix It: Regularly check your site (with tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs) for broken links. Implement appropriate 301 redirects for deleted or outdated pages.Â
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Poor URL Structure
Long, unclear URLs filled with random characters can confuse users and search engines alike. Inefficient URL structures hinder crawlers from comprehending your site’s hierarchy.
How to Fix It: Develop clean, descriptive URLs that incorporate relevant keywords. Avoid special characters and strive for brevity.
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Neglecting XML Sitemaps
Search engines use the XML sitemap as a guide to crawl and index your website efficiently. The neglect of important pages can lead to a loss of visibility for your site.
How to Fix It: To make an XML sitemap, one can use Yoast SEO (for WordPress) or utilize tools such as the free online resource xml-sitemaps.com. Transmit the information to Google Search Console to clarify the structure of your site for search engines.
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Duplicate Content
Search engines become confused about which pages to prioritize due to duplicate content, which weakens your site’s authority. Lower rankings or serious penalties may be imposed because of this.
How to Fix It: Canonical tags are used to determine the original version of a page, as suggested by The Fix. Conduct frequent inspections of your site for duplicate content using services such as Copyscape or Siteliner.
Conclusion Â
While technical SEO mistakes may not be as evident as issues with content or backlinks, they can be equally detrimental. Conducting regular audits along with consistent maintenance can help you steer clear of these traps. By tackling these seven concerns, you will establish a robust foundation for a website that excels in search engine rankings and provides value to your audience.
