As a marketer, you know the importance of having a strong online presence. After all, your website is often the first point of contact that potential customers have with your business. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that your website is optimised for search engine ranking. Unfortunately, many businesses make common mistakes in their website design that can hamper their SEO efforts. In this blog post, we’ll discuss ten of those mistakes and what you can do to avoid them.
1/ Not Optimising For Mobile
More and more people are using their mobile devices to access the internet. In fact, Google has announced that mobile-first indexing is now its default setting. This means that if your website is not optimised for mobile devices, it will be at a serious disadvantage in the rankings. Make sure that your website has a responsive design that will look great on any size screen
2/ Slow Loading Speed
No one likes waiting for a slow website to load. And Google knows this. That’s why site speed is now a ranking factor in its algorithm. If your website takes more than a few seconds to load, you can bet that potential customers will click away before they even have a chance to see what you have to offer. There are a number of ways to improve your site’s loading speed, so make sure you talk to your web development team about this issue.
3/ Using Non-SEO Friendly URLs
The URL of each page on your website should be clear and concise. It should also include relevant keywords for that page. For example, if you have a page about social media marketing, your URL should include the phrase “social media marketing.” If your URLs are long and confusing, they will be much less likely to rank well in search results.
4/ Not Using Alt Text on Images
Google’s algorithm cannot “see” images the way humans do. So, how does it know what an image is about? That’s where alt text comes in. Alt text is a brief description of an image that tells Google what the image is about. When adding images to your website, always remember to include alt text so that Google can properly index them.
5/ Keyword Stuffing
In the early days of SEO, it was common practice to stuff as many keywords as possible into website content to improve its ranking in search results. However, this technique no longer works and can actually harm your ranking instead of helping it. These days, quality trumps quantity when it comes to keywords—so focus on using relevant keywords throughout your content instead of cramming them in wherever possible.
6/ Poor Navigation
Navigating your website should be intuitive and user-friendly. If visitors struggle to find what they’re looking for, they’ll likely leave in frustration, leading to higher bounce rates and lower engagement. Clear navigation menus and well-organised content are essential for a positive user experience, which in turn contributes to better SEO performance.
7/ Missing H1 Tags
H1 tags are used to indicate the main heading of a page, providing structure and hierarchy to your content. Neglecting to include H1 tags can confuse search engines about the main topic of your page. Ensure that each page has a properly formatted H1 tag that includes relevant keywords, helping both users and search engines understand the page’s content.
8/ Large Images and File Sizes
Using high-resolution images and large files may improve visual appeal, but they can significantly slow down your website’s loading speed. Slow-loading pages are not only a huge source of frustration for visitors, but they will also be penalised with lower rankings from search engines. Optimise images for the web by compressing them without compromising quality, which will help maintain a balance between aesthetics and performance.
9/ Text in Images
While images can enhance the visual appeal of your website, using important text within images can be detrimental to SEO. Search engines can’t directly read text embedded in images, making it difficult for them to index and rank your content accurately. Whenever possible, use plain text for important information and headings to ensure that search engines can crawl and understand your content.
10/ Poor Page, URL, and Image Naming
Page URLs, image file names, and alt text should provide context and relevance to both users and search engines. Generic or cryptic naming conventions offer no information about the content, making it harder for search engines to identify the purpose of the page or image. Instead, use descriptive keywords that accurately represent the content to improve your website’s discoverability.
Conclusion:
Making sure that your website is designed with SEO in mind is vital if you want it to rank well in search results pages—but it’s not always easy. There are many potential pitfalls that can trip up even the most experienced marketers. In this blog post, we’ve discussed 10 common website design mistakes and by avoiding these mistakes, you can give your website the best possible chance of ranking well in search results and driving traffic to your site.
To learn more about how our professional SEO services and our Web Design & Build Services can amplify your online impact, don’t hesitate to contact Protean.