Your business’s website isn’t something you can just set and forget (even if you think it would make your life easier). In addition to regular maintenance and monitoring, you also need to be on the lookout for potential issues that your site could be causing for your search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO means trying to get your site to rank as high as possible on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). If your site isn’t up to par, or it’s not aligned with what the algorithm is looking for, it can be difficult to climb the rankings to get the visibility and traffic you want.
Your site may have significant SEO issues that need your attention. By being aware of these issues, you can see what might be slipping through the cracks.
Here are five critical SEO issues that could be hindering the success of your website:
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Slow page loading speed
No user wants to be tapping their foot as they wait for your site to load. A slow page loading speed (approximately three seconds or more) not only increases your bounce rate (referring to the number of people who immediately leave your page after coming to it), but also impacts the user experience, which is a priority for the algorithm.
You can check your loading speed through different tools including Google PageSpeed Insights and Google Chrome Lighthouse. Tips for speeding up your load time include:
- Removing unused plugins
- Using browser caching
- Compressing images
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Lack of sitemaps
A sitemap is essentially a list of all pages on your website. The three types of sitemaps are visual, HTML and XML. Having this list on your site can boost user experience by easing the navigation throughout the pages to find the content they’re looking for. It also helps the algorithm to gain a comprehensive, accurate understanding of your site by crawling through the list. The sitemap shows your relevance and value for specific searches.
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Broken links
We’ve likely all experienced the frustration of clicking on a link, only to be brought to a “page not found” notice or a redirect. You don’t want site users having that same frustration. Broken links not only impact a user’s opinion on your site’s quality and increase the likelihood of leaving without completing a conversion, but they are also a huge red flag in the eyes of the search engine algorithm.
Broken links make it harder for the algorithm to crawl through your site; in addition, it will perceive your site as unmaintained.
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Lack of meta tags
It’s important to give the search engine quick and clear indicators of what your site’s content is and why it should be ranked well on relevant SERPs. That’s what the meta tags do. These HTML codes give the algorithm the information it needs to understand the content and how it should be displayed on the SERPs. Without these codes, you may not find yourself in the rankings you’re hoping for.
Meta tags include:
- Title tag — How the title of your content is displayed on the SERP
- Meta description — A brief explanation of the content and its relevance
- Robots tag — Provides instructions to the algorithm for how to crawl
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Mobile usability issues
More than 60% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. If you want to get engagement and conversions from as many people as possible, it’s essential to make your site mobile friendly. When your site is easy to navigate on a smaller screen, it boosts user engagement and broadens your reach to people who may not have quick access to a desktop.
Want to attract new users to your website by taking care of SEO issues? BURG+CO. can help
You want to make sure that you’re giving your website its best shot at achieving high rankings on search engines. But it’s possible that certain factors on your site make that a challenge. At BURG+CO., we’ll do a deep dive into your site to determine what’s working and what’s not to help you appeal to both the algorithm and your target audience. With our comprehensive strategies and resources, we can help you reach the SEO success you need to grow.
Our team has years of experience in helping healthcare brands improve their digital presence to attract new patients and retain existing ones. If you’re looking to perform better in search engine results and attract more potential patients to your site, we’re ready to talk to you to see how we can help.
Want expert support with your digital marketing? Connect with BURG+CO. today to explore how we can help your healthcare brand grow.