1. Manual Actions & Penalties By Google
You might unknowingly be violating Google’s guidelines or posting harmful content. These actions can result in manual penalties.
How To Discover Manual Actions & Penalties
To determine if you’ve been penalized, check Google Search Console. If it states anything other than “No issues detected,” that’s a red flag. Fortunately, Google will explain what was done and why, giving you a path to resolve the issue, sometimes simply by removing problematic content.
2. Inefficient Internal Linking
Links do more than enable navigation; they also:
- Transfer authority between pages.
- Shape user journeys.
This applies to both external and internal links. You control internal links, so use them wisely to avoid poor ranking and user-friendliness.
How To Optimize Links
- Descriptive Anchor Texts: Ensure users immediately understand the destination.
- Link High-Authority Pages: Pass authority from powerful to weaker pages.
- Use Navigation Bars and Footers: Provide access to critical pages like Home, FAQ, etc.
- Create Topic Clusters: Interlink related content to strengthen site authority.
- Shorten User Journeys: While the three-click rule isn’t SEO-proven, it enhances user experience.
3. Lack Of User Accessibility
Websites should be usable by everyone, including those with disabilities. Failing to cater to these users reduces access and may breach legal standards. Aim for broad accessibility.
Improving Accessibility
Tools like ARIA by EquallyAI can assess accessibility. If issues arise, consult resources like those from the World Wide Web Consortium for resolution.
4. Incorrect Use of the HREFLANG Tag
For multilingual websites, the HREFLANG tag helps users find content in their language by specifying language and region codes. Errors here can confuse users and impact site usability.
Proper HREFLANG Tag Implementation
Use the format: <link rel="alternate" href="https://example.com/en" hreflang="en-GB"/>. Make sure the language and region codes are correct. There should be a manual language switch option available too.
5. Opening Links in the Same Tab
This can affect rankings by driving users away before conversions occur. It’s advisable to use the target="_blank" attribute to open links in new tabs.
Why Open Links in New Tabs?
New tabs prevent users from navigating away from your site, preserving useful pages and preventing ranking drops. Remember to pair target="_blank" with rel="noopener" or rel="noreferrer" for security.
6. Poorly-Optimized Images
High-quality images often have large file sizes, slowing down page load times.
Image Optimization Best Practices
- Use the right format (e.g., ICO/SVG for icons, JPG for photos).
- Set manual dimensions.
- Merge adjacent images.
- Compress images with tools like TinyPNG.
7. Website Caching Issues
Caching issues can slow your website. A cache stores website elements to speed up subsequent loadings.
Proper Caching
Check your server’s .htaccess file for caching code. Define expiration dates for elements that change rarely to keep them cached longer.
8. Failing To Match User Search Intent
Keyword optimization should consider user intent, categorized into types like informational, navigational, commercial, transactional, locational, and seasonal intents.
Implementing User Intent in SEO
Understand and choose keywords relevant to the stages of the user journey: Awareness, Interest, and Action. This ensures your site meets user expectations and attracts the right audience.
9. Harmful Backlinks Accumulation
Backlinks build authority, but low-quality ones can harm it. Regularly check your link profile.
Identifying and Removing Harmful Backlinks
Scan your links with a tool to identify harmful ones. Options include removing them, asking others to remove them, or using Google Disavow to ignore them.
10. Ignoring SEO Trends
SEO evolves continuously. Staying informed about updates, especially Google’s core algorithm changes, is crucial for maintaining effective SEO strategies.
By staying educated and using reliable tools, you can identify and fix SEO problems swiftly. Regular checks will help keep your site in good shape.
