5 Warning Signs of a Poorly Optimized Site (and What to Do About It!)
Online marketing experts agree that an optimized site can improve a website’s performance.
As 93% of all online experiences start with a search engine, website SEO is an essential part of the marketing mix. SEO services help to improve on-site, off-site, and technical issues to rank your pages higher.
But how do you know if your website is poorly optimized?
This article offers 5 warning signs that your website isn’t optimized for Google Search and what to do about it.
Learn how to measure loading speeds and what times to aim for. See why responsive pages rank better. Understand that by hiring the right SEO team you can achieve the best results.
Read on to find out if your site is running as it should and how to improve its performance.
- Pages Take Forever to Load
How long does it take for your landing pages to load? If the answer is more than 2.5 seconds then beware.
Google’s Core Web Vitals came into effect in May 2021 and state that an optimized page should load quickly. Those that don’t let the user interact or view stable content in that time frame will be penalized.
Search for ‘measure core web vitals’ and use the free online tools to determine how well your site scores.
- Need to Pinch and Zoom on a Mobile Device
If the same layout of your page appears on a mobile screen as a desktop then your site isn’t optimized.
Having to pinch and zoom to read content isn’t ideal. Users want to read and interact with content immediately. Google agrees and now ranks responsive websites higher than outdated layouts.
Ensure your website template includes a responsive design to accommodate all of your visitors.
- Poor Ranking on Google Search
A simple test of whether you have an optimized website is to search for your company on Google. If you aren’t ranked on the first page for your business name then you need to roll up your sleeves.
Many successful sites employ website SEO services to manage their optimization.
These teams fully understand on-site techniques like content creation and image tagging. They also build off-site links and can ensure the technical aspects of your site are up to speed.
- Lack of Useful Content
If your analytics show a drop in new visitors it may be because of the lack of useful content.
Google’s guidelines state that its users want to read interesting and unique content relating to their queries. If your site doesn’t offer quality copy then you won’t rank as well.
Take the time to build SEO-optimized articles and post them on a regular basis for better results.
- Reduction in Sales and Contact Calls
Finally, if you see a dip in sales or contacts then something is clearly wrong.
Check your customers’ journey. See where the problems lie. Can they easily spot how to buy your products or find your contact form? Or are they tripping at the first hurdle on your home page?
Ensure that all your pages work as they should and see where the barriers exist to remove them.
More Optimized Site Tips
An optimized site attracts more traffic as search engines reward a good user experience with a higher ranking.
Website optimization techniques focus on improving UX by making it easy to use a site. SEO-optimized websites also offer unique and interesting content. You need both fast-loading pages to get to the #1 spot.
Discover more about the importance of optimization in our related posts. Remember to share this article on social media and let us know if they’ve improved your position.
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