Taking your business into the online world has benefits and challenges in equal measure. Competition is just one of them, but fortunately, there are a myriad of solutions, one being the SEO or the search engine optimization. SEO is a powerful marketing strategy that ensures your business website is ranked better in search engines, which increases lead conversion.
It is important to appreciate that SEO techniques are evolving each day because of new developments in search engines and changing user perspectives. This means that it is not always easy to stay up to date on the most effective optimization methods, which explains why many online businesses fall into the snare of doing SEO incorrectly. There are some common errors that are often tricky to avoid. However, by learning about these potential pitfalls, you will be in a better position to turn them into prospects to achieve the desired result that matches your marketing efforts. In this article, we focus on the top two mistakes. If you need help with any of the following give Ysais SEO a call today!
1). Having a business website with slow loading time
Search engine optimization is not only about keywords and content, but it is also about the page’s loading speed. Can you guess how many minutes potential customers will wait for a page to load before they abandon the search altogether? Did you say one minute? Yes, you are close to the answer, but not exact! Metrics from Google claim that more than 50% of website searchers abandon their query if the said site does not load in fewer than three seconds! That may be an insane threshold, but that is the reality behind consumer habits.
Slow loading speeds have been one of the biggest challenges facing online business websites, even the “big boys” are not spared. Unfortunately, if your site does not load quickly, it will definitely affect your rankings simply because search engines want searchers to be happy. Fast loading websites make them happy! So the implication here is that a site that loads slowly will undoubtedly drop in search rankings and there are slim chances to recover.
There is a solution to this challenge though; just use the Site Speed Test from Google. You are required to enter your site’s URL and, in a matter of seconds, you will receive outcomes for desktop and mobile device alike. It does not stop there though; Google will present you with incredible tips on what you will do to fix speed issues on your business website.
2). Running a website not secure with SSL
In 2014, Google clearly stated that running a business website that is highly secured has a great positive impact on your ranking. It seems SEO teams and digital marketers did not pay serious attention to this opportunity until recently, and so the damages have already been done! It should be noted that Google is currently displaying “Not Secured” warnings on some of the popular browsers like Chrome for sites that are not secured.
When a target customer clicks on your website and is welcomed by the warning sign stated above, they will immediately think otherwise. Could this site be a fraud site? Will my personal details be safe? And many other confidence eroding questions. Without further ado, having a secure website will potentially boost its rankings as well as help in lead conversions.
If you want to make a business site secure, you will first be required to buy something called SSL certificate from the site’s host or even from the domain name registrar. Once you have the certificate, proceed to install it on your site. Yes, there is a possibility that installation can get somewhat technical as unexpected challenges may arise. If this happens, you may request the site’s host to help with the installation or hire a website developer to fix it. Upon successful installation, the software will redirect all non-secure (http://) URLs to new secure (https://) URLs.
Since making your website secure boosts your search engine rankings, it is essential to ensure the SSL installation process is done professionally and correctly. Therefore, after switching, it is important to test if any errors exist. If everything is okay, then rest assured that your rankings will rise henceforth!
