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Last Updated on July 21, 2021 by Work In My Pajamas
If you are spending a lot of time writing and publishing web pages that no one ever sees, the most likely reason is that you are not ranking well for search engine optimization, or SEO. To help you increase traffic to your site, take a look at these 5 reasons your website design might be hurting your SEO:
1. Unique Copy
Search engines love unique content. The more unique, the better. If you are publishing pages containing copied content, you will rank low. This doesn’t mean you have to write about a subject no one else is writing about – It just means that you have to put it into your own words. Don’t underestimate the importance of unique copy. It’s one of the most important factors in SEO.
2. Title Tags
Every page should have a title tag that is relevant to the page topic and includes the keywords you’re striving for. Search engines hate missing titles, as well as duplicate titles. The ideal length of a title tag is 70 characters or less.
3. Keyword Use
Search engines determine what a page is about by counting how many times words appears on the page. If the word “shoe” appears 20 times in a 500 word article, the search engine will surmise that the article is about shoes. Use keywords throughout your page, but not so frequently that your article is difficult to read.
4. H1 and H2 Tags
Make sure you have only one H1 tag per page. Use H2 tags as subheadings for various topics. Include your keywords and keyword phrases in both your H1 and H2 tags. You can also try to have at least one of your keywords or keyword phrases in bold print and one in italics.
5. Page Load Time
Users are impatient and want pages to load quickly. Search engines know this, so they clock the page load speed, and include the results in their evaluation. This means you need to simplify your graphics so that they load quickly, and make sure your hosting company has fast, reliable servers. One thing you don’t want is for the search engine to be waiting for your page to load.
Writing copy for websites can be enjoyable if it produces results. Hopefully, a few tweaks here and there will lead to success. To really soar, though, it may be worth hiring a professional website design company to help you with your SEO. With some effort, you can get your site in the hands of your customers and boost your business!