It’s a good idea to not only focus on improving our health and well-being, but also to take a moment to evaluate our website health and identify areas for improvement. Often, with all the other responsibilities and tasks we have, our website can become neglected and unpolished.
However, certain aspects of your website may be negatively impacting your leads if they are not regularly updated. Therefore, let’s take a few moments to review these important website essentials.
Fixing 5 Significant Website Health Issues:
1. Site Speed
Did you know that the speed of your website can affect your organic rankings, traffic, and leads? Google first introduced PageSpeed as a ranking factor in 2010, stating that it reflects how quickly a website responds to web requests. Not only can a slow website cause you to rank lower in search results, but it can also lead to visitors giving up and leaving your site. According to Google’s research, the chance of a bounce increases by 32% when the page load time goes from 1s to 3s. To address this issue, you can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to assess your website’s speed and consider contacting a web developer for improvement.
2. Updated Content
Outdated content on your main site pages or blog not only gives your website an outdated appearance, but it also affects your SEO. Having fresh, frequently updated content is crucial to remain competitive and keep Google actively crawling your site. Search engines favor new and relevant content, so regularly evaluate your main site pages and consider expanding or improving their content. Creating an editorial calendar and having a content strategy can help you consistently update your content.
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3. Broken Links
Having broken links on your site can be frustrating for visitors and can also affect how Google perceives your site. Links are seen as a vote for a website’s quality, and too many broken links can signal low quality to search engines. Therefore, it’s essential to remove or update broken links to improve user experience and make your content easier to discover. Utilize Google Search Console to identify broken links on your site and consider using other broken link checking tools available online.
4. Mobile-Friendliness
Google announced back in 2016 that they would eventually prioritize mobile sites to determine ranking signals. This means that Google will crawl your mobile site to determine its ranking in both mobile and desktop searches. To prepare for this, run your site through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and make any recommended improvements as soon as possible. Additionally, check your mobile PageSpeed and follow Google’s suggestions for improving it. Ensure that your mobile site displays and functions well, contains all important content, and is optimized with on-page content and meta data.
5. Search Engine-Friendly Backlinks
Please note that this is an advanced tactic. Seek assistance when needed.
Regularly reviewing your backlinks is crucial to maintaining a strong online presence. If you have spammy sites linking to your website, it can negatively impact your organic visibility. Tools like Moz’s Open Site Explorer can help identify spammy links so that you can investigate further. If you do find spammy links, consider submitting a disavowal request to Google. Disavowing these links will prevent them from affecting your organic rankings. It is advisable to consult a professional for assistance with this process.
In conclusion, taking the time to evaluate and improve your website is just as important as improving your health and well-being in the New Year. By addressing issues such as site speed, updated content, broken links, mobile-friendliness, and search engine-friendly backlinks, you can enhance your website’s performance, user experience, and organic rankings. Keep in mind that seeking professional assistance when needed and staying up-to-date with the latest best practices will help ensure the success of your website in anytime.