How to Avoid 10 Common Web Design Mistakes That Hurt SEO
How to Avoid 10 Common Web Design Mistakes That Hurt SEO
Learn 10 of the most common site design blunders that may be damaging your SEO efforts and your rankings – and how to avoid them.
Picture this.
You’ve spent a ton of time building your website.
You’ve picked a beautiful theme, added great graphics, and produced intriguing writing.
You’re sure visitors will enjoy it (and you) (and you).
The only problem?
You aren’t receiving any visitors.
In fact, your site is nowhere to be visible on Page 1 (or even #2 or #3) of Google.
What’s going on?
Well, here’s the deal.
Your web design might be the reason your site is ranking so poorly in search engines.
Ready to turn things around?
What follows are 10 of the most prevalent site design blunders that may be damaging your SEO efforts and your rankings — and how to avoid them.
1. Poor Website Navigation
Ever visit a website and have no clue what to do next?
You know, something like this.
I bet it had you running for the hills in panic.
You don’t want your own visitors to do the same.
Right?
Instead, you want them to know exactly what to do at a glance.
Plus, you want Google’s web crawlers to understand your site.
To achieve this, make sure to prioritize internal linking between your important pages.
2. Slow Page Load Speed
People in the Internet world move at breakneck speed.
They’re constantly speeding around social media, banging away at emails, and speeding past a ton of boilerplate headlines on the SERPs.
This means if people take the time to click on your site, and it takes longer to load, they’ll be gone before you know it.
After all, you didn’t invent the Keto diet or men’s wool socks.
There are other websites with the same information you have.
If you want your visitors to stay?
Make sure your pages load in three seconds or less.
The scary part is the lovely WordPress theme you have carefully chosen can be the reason your site takes an eternity to load.
To solve this?
Ditch your laggy theme with one of these tried-and-tested favorites:
Hello Elementor – This theme is simple and basic, allowing for a clean interface and excellent speed.
Astra - Astra’s theme is one of the fastest-loading themes on WordPress. It’s also very easy to use, with stunning pre-built samples for popular businesses like pet care, outdoor sports, and more.
OceanWP - This theme allows you to have a gorgeous look without compromising speed. It’s a fully responsive theme that looks excellent, especially on smaller devices.
3. A non-mobile-friendly Site
Ever meet someone who told you he didn’t own a smartphone?
If you have, I guarantee you had a ton of questions for this guy.
Because the truth is, we expect everyone to own a mobile device.
In fact, there 275 million smartphone users in the U.S. (For reference, there are 331 million people residing in the U.S.)
Do these folks use their smartphones to consume digital media?
You bet!
In fact, 70 percent of all digital media consumed in the U.S. is done through a smartphone!
Of course, Google took note and came up with mobile-first indexing.
This means it prefers the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking.
If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, expect it to essentially be invisible in the SERPs.
What’s more, visitors are 5x more likely to quit a non-mobile-friendly site.
But don’t worry.
It simply takes a few modifications to make your site mobile-friendly.
4. Missing H1 Tags (Especially on the Home Page)
Your H1 tag is the first thing search engine crawlers check to help them determine what your site is about.
If you don’t have one?
Your site will more than likely fall in the SERPs.
But including an H1 tag is more than just satisfying Google.
It’s pleasing your visitors as well.
For instance, have a look at STUDIOPRESS’s homepage.
At a glance, you know exactly what the site is all about.
Here are three recommendations on using H1 tags to suit both Google and your visitors:
- Include your primary keyword in your H1.
- Put your H1 above the fold — the visible place people see before scrolling down.
- Apply the 5-second test. If visitors can determine exactly what your site is about in 5 seconds, your H1 tag is amazing.
5. Large Images & Media Files
Tempted to fill your page with attractive images?
I hear you.
We’d all love our sites to look like this.
Or this.
And that’s terrific.
But did you realize that huge graphics and media files can slow your site down?
To make sure this isn’t happening, run your site via Google’s PageSpeed Insights Test.
Scroll below to find out what Google suggests about the images you’ve used.
If they’re too huge, you may either resize them or compress and re-upload them to your site.
6. Disruptive Pop-Ups
Do you utilize pop-ups?
Don’t worry.
When deployed appropriately, pop-ups can convert up to 1,375 percent more email subscribers
The problem comes when your pop-ups interrupt and annoy your visitors.
According to Google, sites with intrusive pop-ups will have problems ranking high on the SERPs.
The solution?
Build popups your audience will adore.
OK. They may never love them, so you should at least develop high-converting pop-ups that won’t annoy them.
For instance, you can time a pop-up to display whenever a visitor has been at least 30 seconds on your site.
Or once a person has browsed halfway down your page.
Another thing you may do is build enticing pop-ups.
Like this.
7. Text in Images
This mistake isn’t hard to avoid, thus it’s a surprise that so many web designers do it.
Here’s what it looks like: placing text straight into an image instead of over the image.
Like this.
The trouble is when you place text right into a picture, you’re missing out on the option of employing an H1, sub-headline, and relevant keywords above the fold.
Remember, although your visitors can read the text in photographs, Google can’t.
8. Infinite Scroll
Ever had to scroll to the bottom of a webpage and watch new content loading?
That’s infinite scroll.
And though that’s OK, it raises one concern.
Google bots can’t scroll.
This implies they won’t be able to index the additional pages on your site.
For example, your site contains 100 pages.
However, your default option only shows your 10 most recent posts.
When Google scans your site, they won’t know there’s any material beyond these top 10 posts.
9. Thin Content
In the Internet world, your website is your storefront.
This implies you should arrange it so visitors are attracted to it and know exactly what you offer.
Also, you want to optimize it for keywords so people can find you.
To make sure you hit both birds with one stone?
Avoid thin content.
Here are three symptoms of thin content.
Not Having Service/Product Pages
Eliminating these pages means letting go of the chance to rank for relevant keywords.
Listing Multiple Products or Services on One Page
It’s a terrific idea to have one keyword on each page.
This signifies one product or service per page.
Make it easy for Google to comprehend what every one of your web pages is about.
You should be rewarded with more prominence in the SERPs.
Thin Content on Your Product Pages
Don’t only scrape the surface when working on your product pages.
Fill them with a quality, keyword-targeted copy.
Also, make sure what you write is intriguing enough to turn visitors into consumers.
Resist the impulse to write lazy copy.
Like this.
10. Not Having a 404 Page
A 404 page is a must.
Also having a Good Web Hosting Service is a Must
It’s not that random page you build on a Saturday when you have nothing to do.
It’s a vital page indicating visitors you care about their experience.
You want to keep them on your page and show them where to go next.
With a little imagination, you can use your 404 pages to make visitors grin instead of feeling annoyed.
Ready to construct your own 404 pages?
Check out this post for inspiration: The Best 404 Pages: 37 Examples You Need to See.
Summary
You’ve already spent a ton of time designing your website.
You know guests will find it gorgeous, charming, and well-polished.
The next step?
Make sure people actually find it on Google, you can do Email Marketing to Engage more people in your country
If you aren’t getting the results you expected from your SEO efforts, review your website for these important web design flaws.
Fixing these issues should help you increase the SERPs.
Post a Comment