I know SEO can be downright intimidating but it can also be your best friend when it comes to getting found online. You also don’t have to have an entire SEO team in place or be an SEO guru to make simple changes to your website that can improve your search rankings.

Here are five mistakes that you might just be making- or as I like to call them missed opportunities-— on your website and how to quickly fix them!

MISTAKE #1:  NOT HAVING A BLOG OR USING THE BLOG THAT IS ON YOUR WEBSITE

I used to blog 5 days a week for my very first website.  Honestly, I do not know how I did it.  I would be totally dishonest with you if I didn’t cringe at putting together my blog content calendar.   So many times I wound up not writing anything at all! Huge mistake on my part! Google needs a reason to constantly come back to your website and pages like your about page or contact us page are static- they don’t get frequently updated.  A blog is a great way to incorporate those keywords of yours and drive traffic back to your website.   You might want to check out this post from guest blogger Skyler Bird to see if blogging is right for your business.

TCP Tip: Utilize that blog of yours or add a blog to your e-commerce website.  Try to update it at least twice a month so new content can be searched.  Don’t forget to use those keywords!

MISTAKE #2: USING PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS THAT ARE NOT YOURS

If you have an online business selling products that are not your own, you might be tempted to grab the product descriptions off their site. Who has time to re-write these descriptions, right?  While it is tempting Google actually frowns upon it. By using the manufacturer’s product description verbatim means you’re using the same content on your website as the manufacturer and anyone else who sells that product online.  I have written over 50,000 product descriptions for different manufacturers that appear on Amazon today so I feel your pain. I have learned that by writing original product descriptions it will help you rank higher in search even if you’re selling the same products as another online vendor.

TCP Tip: Don’t forget those keywords in your product descriptions. Also, a great way to incorporate more keywords is to tell a story behind the product.  Why does the customer need it?  Why can’t they live without it?

MISTAKE #3:  YOUR HOME PAGE IS PRETTY BUT NOT CRAWLABLE

I am sure you are saying to yourself right about now, what does she mean? My site looks amazing!  I can’t tell you how many clients I have worked with and their site is absolutely stunning.  The graphics and images are instantly pinnable.  However, there is no content for Google to search through. They are sending out their little spiders to crawl your home page hoping they can find something to tell them what your site or page is all about.  Without content or alt image tags, chances are your site won’t be indexed. 

TCP Tip: Make sure you have a main headline or tagline on your home page that contains some content. Make sure you select the type of format to Heading 1 or it will appear as <h1> in the HTML code.  You can select this no matter what type of site you might have- WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify.  

MISTAKE #4:  YOU HAVE NO PRODUCT REVIEWS OR TESTIMONIALS

Product testimonials and reviews are a vital part of your SEO strategy.  They help generate new content on your website but they also give your website validity and credibility.  Think of how many times you may have searched on Amazon for example or read a product review on a website before purchasing that service or item?

TCP Tip:   There are many product reviews or testimonial widgets out there depending on what e-commerce platform you have. 

MISTAKE #5: YOU HAVE BROKEN LINKS (AND MIGHT NOT EVEN KNOW IT)

Sometimes we link to a site and forget about it. Some of these links stop working at some point, and because checking broken links is probably the last thing on our to-do list, they remain in our content.

People are won over by links that look compelling, and it only works to your disadvantage if they click on a link and it doesn’t open.  Links that no longer lead to the intended or expected destination are known as broken links. They will not only hurt your traffic but your search engine rankings and your website’s domain authority as well.

TCP Tip:  Test your site for broken links with Google link checker that is added as an extension to your browser.