Habits can be hard to break, but when it comes to search engine optimization it’s worth taking a moment to make sure you’re doing things right. Take a look at the list below, and see if you’re guilty of any of these sinful SEO practices. If so, then now’s the time to take action — it’s not too late for your ranking to be saved!
1. Poorly Described Images
You almost certainly use images on your site — but can search engines see them? And, for that matter, what about readers on slow or unstable connections? In these cases, a generically named image (“headerimage.jpg”) or one that’s lacking in alt-text might as well be invisible. Take a moment to describe your images, and you’ll be doing a massive favor for both visiting bots and your readers.
2. Keyword Stuffing
It’s tempting to try and get as many keywords as possible into your titles and headers … but stop and think a moment before you do. Jamming in irrelevant or awkward-sounding keywords and phrases might do more harm than good. If a title looks spammy and overloaded are readers really going to want to investigate further? Keep your titles readable and user-friendly, with a focus on just one or two well-chosen keywords.
3. Website Dead Ends
Don’t forget that not all visitors arrive at your site via the homepage. Make sure that it’s easy for them to find their way around and find out what you’re all about wherever they land on your site. Whether you achieve this through a descriptive sidebar or some clean and clear footer navigation doesn’t matter — just be sure you don’t let new visitors get stuck in a dead end!
4. Irrelevant Anchor Text
Have you fallen into the “click here” trap? It’s more than likely that you’re not trying to optimize those exact words, so why make them the anchor text for a link? Instead, choose some relevant anchor text that gives readers (and bots) an idea of what they’ll find if and when they decide to click. Not only will this boost your keyword ranking, but your visitors will thank you as well.
Guilty? Not Guilty?
If you’ve managed to steer clear of the above errors, congratulations! But don’t relax just yet. These are just a few of the multitude of possible SEO sins many sites are guilty of. You can use our tool to preform a free SEO audit. Though performing a full, in-depth SEO audit would uncover all the SEO fixes your site needs.