SEO is a game of so many moving parts. It is not just about making your website look pretty for users. There is a multitude of different factors that influence the success of your website. Among these factors, there are three key technical SEO issues: indexation, content and page speed. We will discuss each of these issues in some detail to help you develop a strategy to adapt to these challenges.
Indexation Issues
There is no doubt that lack of indexation can be a killer to a site. Google are very smart, and they are tracking the site’s content in many ways. If you have any kind of issue with your site, it may result in you not be seen by Google, and the consequence is that you will never rank if you have such issues. If this happens with multiple pages, it could work out to be a larger problem. Your website’s health and rank can be affected by indexation issues, which can lead to lost revenue and a drop in trust and confidence on the part of your customers.
Robots.txt Issues
Robots.txt is a file that is placed on your web server, which controls the behaviors of web crawlers accessing your site. There are good uses for this file, but sometimes it can be misused and cause serious problems in search engine optimization. It’s important to be aware of robots.txt and how to use them as they can be very beneficial to your SEO strategy. For example, the Robots.txt can be used to block certain sections of your site that you do not want to be indexed – such as password-protected pages that are not meant to be seen by the end-user.
Canonical Tag Issues
The canonical tag is a way to tell search engines and browsers that a page on your website is the original version of a duplicate content issue. This is useful for sites with multiple URLs, such as e-commerce stores with product pages that lead to different products based on size, colour, etc. If not used correctly the canonical meta tags can lead to a page not being indexed.
URL Parameters
You can tell Google which URL parameters to crawl using Google Search Console (GSC). Incorrectly configuring your parameters can lead to your pages not being crawled and indexed.
Content Issues
Search engines are under no obligation to rank content they deem problematic. Content issues can be anything from the way the content is structured on the page to the headings used on a page. Understanding what content issues will get your site penalized is key in an era where SEO is constantly changing.
Google’s own Matt Cutts said that “content is king” way back in 2005. He was right then, but it’s even more true today. Content is the most important factor for a successful SEO campaign, and it’s something every business should be focusing on. If you want your website to rank in Google, you need to have fresh content that people will engage with, interact with, and want to link to.
Duplicate Content
Duplicate content is a serious SEO issue. When search engines find duplicate content, they don’t know which version of the content to rank for certain queries. This can cause a site to be penalized and/or de-listed from search engines.
Thin Content Pages
Thin content is a search engine optimization (SEO) term for web pages that are made up of fluff without any real value. These may be pages created to rank for a popular search term, or can be pages created by authors who don’t appear to know what they’re talking about.
Page Speed Issues
Page Speed has been a factor for google’s search engine rankings now for years. In 2010, Google announced that it will start using site speed as a signal for ranking. This means that websites with faster loading times rank higher in Google. Another benefit is that Google measures the page speed of every site on their page speed insights tool page.
If your site is “slow” users will leave it quickly. Not only that, but Google can now penalize sites that aren’t “responsive”
To make your website load faster, your goal is to optimize your code and images by either compressing or resizing them to reduce the amount of data they take up. A fast website increases user experience, makes your website more attractive to search engines, and also improves your conversion rates.
If your website is experiencing issues with search engine optimization, you need to have it fixed as soon as possible. The sooner you have your site optimized, the better chance you have of getting higher rankings on search engine results pages. If you allow your site to suffer from search engine optimization issues, you could see a dramatic in the amount of traffic going to your site. It is thus crucial to fix it as soon as possible.
If you need help fixing your site’s SEO issues, contact Algorithm and our team will be sure to assist.
Author : Tuis Nkanyane
