The most common SEO problems on websites
Also curious about the most common SEO problems? During SEO analyzes of all kinds of websites, I regularly encounter the same problems. I’m going to tell you what these are here.
Table of Content
Number 1: indexation problems
The most common (and also the most serious) problem I encounter while analyzing dozens of websites is the indexation problem. Time and again I see websites, especially WordPress websites, that have hundreds of pages indexed but in reality only have 20 important pages.
This does not only occur with websites but also with webshops. I can almost say that it occurs much more often with webshops than with websites. You can find out how many pages Google thinks you have for any website in Google by running a Site: search in Google. Search by site: followed by your domain name.
Now Google shows how many search results are in their index. If this number is much higher than the number of pages on your site, it is a sign of a possible indexing problem. With many websites, and especially WordPress websites, you often encounter the following problem:
- Dozens of Author pages are indexed
- Tags are indexed
- Archive pages are indexed
- Images are indexed as normal pages (The Yoast SEO plugin problem you still face in 2020)
- Filters in online stores that are indexed
Number 2: incorrect use of keywords
Number 2 is using keywords incorrectly. There are actually 2 types here: excessive use and insufficient use. Many websites that never engage in SEO are missing the most important keywords in the right places. So they are considerably under-optimized. And on the other hand, you have people who use the keywords in the wrong way. For example, they put the most important keyword in every title of their website.
In both cases, you will have problems. As an SEO specialist, I prefer to deal with the first problem. Then you can simply optimize the titles, meta description and headers per page for the fastest profit. The 2nd problem is often much more persistent and may even have resulted in an algorithmic penalty with the search engines. Therefore, be careful when applying your own SEO. If you want to do it anyway, start with a website that isn’t that important to you.
Number 3: Abusing Headers
This has a lot to do with number 2. Using headers incorrectly or not at all. The easiest way to be found relevant to a particular query is to use H1-H4 headers correctly.
I regularly come across websites that don’t use an H1 at all or even make all the headers in the text an H1. Solving this can quickly yield a profit. Also, misusing H2-H4 headers is a common problem. Likewise, all kinds of unnecessary headers are used. For example, I came across a webshop that had about 30 headers on the website, of which maybe 10 could be seen. The rest were all hidden and had all kinds of stupid names like the owner of the store. The website builders said they focused a lot on SEO, but then you’re just a bum.
Number 4: A missing 404 page, or worse, all 404 errors are redirected to the Homepage
It doesn’t have to be very difficult. A working 404 page on your website. There are plenty of examples of nice and well-functioning 404 pages. But the least you need is a real 404 page that visitors get when entering a wrong URL, or clicking on a broken URL. It is important that you have these so that you can see this in your statistics and solve the problems. If you don’t do this and send all visitors to the homepage, you won’t know there is a problem, and the visitors will go crazy.
In addition, Google will see these problems as a soft 404, which in turn can have consequences for the homepage and the rest of your site. When backlinks point to the broken URLs, they all end up on the homepage. This is a waste of the link value you receive. It is much better to forward the broken backlink with a 301 redirect to a matching page.
Number 5: Internal links
Usually, the homepage gets the most backlinks. The value of backlinks can be passed on to other pages on your site through internal links. Let’s say your homepage gets 100 links, this can be a lot of value. If you don’t have any internal links to your important articles on the homepage, then all these points will end up in a full bucket.
The use of internal links is therefore extremely important. In addition to passing on link value, you can also let visitors walk through your website. Depending on the link, you can let a visitor hang out on your website longer if you use internal links. It is therefore a shame not to use internal links, and also a shame if you do not use the correct anchor texts. An anchor text is extremely important in the ‘value’ of the internal link. Therefore, use as few buttons as possible with the text: click here or, read more, and do not use images for internal links. Sometimes you can’t escape it, but pay attention to this when you are optimizing.
Number 6: Don’t use Schema structured data
Millions of new pages are added to the world wide web every day. And for several years now, search engines like Bing and Google have been using Schema structured data. This allows a search engine to see much faster what the content of the page is about. In tests in recent years, it has become known several times that having Schema is good for findability. It helps to add Schema to your website to get higher rankings.
Self-built CMS systems and website builders often do not have this option. Therefore, carefully read the manual of your website builder to see if she can add Schema structured data. If not, I would seriously consider whether you still want to continue with your website in this way. If your website is custom made, you can add it fairly easily. (if sometimes manually) but that’s still better than not using Structured Data.
Number 7 No log of adjustments and SEO progress
How often do you come across it: websites that have been maintained for years, but nobody knows what exactly happened. Have new pages been added, which keywords are being targeted, etc? You encounter these kinds of problems too often. In the long run, you do not know which pages are used for which keywords. You also don’t know what exactly happened in a particular month. Setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console must be set up at the start of an SEO process.
When you get started with search engine optimization, make sure you have a list of work that has been done each month. I myself use google docs, google sheets, and Google Analytics. If site-wide things have been adjusted, such as adding Schema, I prefer to mention this in Google Analytics so that you can see what happened around that date in the event of fluctuations. In addition, it is also important to conduct monthly analysis of what exactly happened and what the rankings are. If problems arise, you have to solve them.
Also, checking your up-time is a best practice. I have already found several problems with setting a ping and a performance monitor. A free tool for this is hexometer.com. It is not clear how long it will remain free.
Number 8: Missing basic parts on a website
Number 8 is missing standard pages on a website. As I mentioned above, a working 404 page is important for troubleshooting and redirecting backlinks. But there are many more basic settings and pages that every website should have. Many of these basic parts are also simply discussed in the Google Webmaster Guidelines.
Every website should simply have a contact page and multiple ways to get in touch. Think, for example, of a contact form, an e-mail address, telephone number, chatbot, etc. But also things such as About Us, Privacy Policy, General Terms and Conditions and for a webshop: information about shipping, returns, etc. Having all these parts is only possible but to the benefit of your findability.
Here’s an example from one of our customers where we fixed all sorts of issues and added the default pages. But some pages were optimized when this boost became visible after a Google update.
Number 9: Website Loading Too Slow
To test your website speed I would recommend webpagetest.org. Choose a server that is close to your visitors’ location. If your website mainly receives Dutch visitors, choose a Dutch server. Then choose the speed: 3G Fast, and choose a mobile browser.
With these settings, your website should load in 10-15 seconds. This is why I use these settings. If you use Cable Speed, almost any website will load in seconds, and you won’t notice the difference. You can also find the ‘problems’ much less quickly. So do choose a slower connection with a mobile browser.
The longer the loading time for a page, the more people will leave the page before it finishes loading. People often don’t have the patience to wait. So make sure your website loads smoothly. I myself use Cloudways in combination with a Vultr server in Amsterdam for my Dutch websites. With this setup, you can receive tens of thousands of visitors per month. You don’t need much for that. But always use a Caching system. Either server-side or other on the website side.
Conclusion
Although they are not necessarily in order of impact, these are the top problems I could see in my SEO analyses. If I dig a little deeper I can find a few more. But these are important issues that you just need to get right.
If you read all this but would prefer help from a real SEO specialist, please contact us. We are happy to help you get higher in Google.
