Opinion
Eight mistakes that weaken your website.
One of the first tasks an entrepreneur in Africa faces is putting up his or her first website. The growing sophistication of the internet now means this simple task is not as easy as it looks. At the heart of it all is SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – getting your website to the front of the queue when people search the web. SOE experts at Rank Tracker shared eight of the most common mistakes people make.
Poor design
The first impression of your business will be your website design and sites that are designed in a luxurious style can be difficult to read and uninviting. If your site is too tricky to use, the search engine finds it hard to examine your site’s content properly, which can result in a low domain rating.
Neglecting keywords
Choosing the right keywords is essential for ranking success and this can make or break a website. The consumer should be at the forefront of this process and the words should reflect what they would search when looking for a specific product or service. Not only should the customer be a key consideration but the search engine too and neglecting this is one of the most common mistakes. There are various Google tools available to help source the most appropriate keywords for maximum SEO value.
Slow page load time
Page load time is very important for website users; slow websites are unattractive and cause people to leave the site instantly. Search engines like Google have begun to take load time into consideration when it comes to ranking.
Incorrect link text
The use of keywords and phrases in the link text allows search engines to determine the topic of the page that the link refers to. Avoid using “click here” text and use text with keywords for optimization purposes. Ideally, the link text should correspond to the key phrases or at least contain them in the text.
Wrong info format
The leading information on the page should be located as high as possible in the page’s code. Usually, in the page’s code, the information in the header comes first. It is crucial to ensure that the primary information is found above the info in the sidebar.
Mobile not optimised
The desktop version of a site can be difficult to view and use on a mobile device. The version that is not mobile-friendly or adaptable requires the user to click or zoom in order to read the content. Some search engines make it mandatory for a website to be mobile responsive in order to be effective.
Messy code
Poor code quality can lead to performance issues when it comes to website ranking because it can confuse search engines when they crawl through a website. If there have been multiple developers working on a site there could be a mixture of coding styles, this can slow a website down thus affecting its SEO value.
Forgetting alt text
All the text describing images and photos must be included on the page. Being usable and accessible are the two primary purposes of alt text. Using SEO keywords and phrases as alt for SEO purposes will provide a slight advantage in search results.
