Solving SEO Problems You Didn’t Know You Had!

SEO is a complex practice with constantly changing goalposts! You can ride a wave of high-ranking keywords one minute and then nowhere to be found the next! Sometimes, the problems, such as broken links or missing meta titles, can be easily detected and repaired. However, you may not even realize there is a problem for others! Without expert knowledge, these SEO problems can go undetected for extensive periods, making it increasingly challenging to repair them. That’s why you need an SEO company in Knoxville to manage your SEO efforts and ensure you don’t fall foul of some of these issues.

With that in mind, let’s look at some of the SEO problems you may not even know you have!

1 - Google Penalties

If you suddenly find yourself not ranking for keywords you once dominated, you could have inadvertently broken Google guidelines by posting spammy or harmful content. This can result in Google applying a manual action or penalty. If you are unsure if you have been penalized by Google in this manner, you can check your Google Search Console. If you see something other than ‘no issues detected,’ then you have some work to do. Thankfully, Google does provide a clear description of what sort of penalty has been applied and why, meaning you will know exactly what has to be done to rectify the problem. If you have difficulty navigating your Google Search Console, an SEO company in Knoxville will be able to help identify issues and resolve them for you.

2 - Ineffective Internal Link Strategy

Hyperlinks are incredibly underrated when it comes to SEO and web design! Not only do they let users navigate your website, but they can also shape the user journey when done correctly. When your hyperlinks are messy or inefficient, your site can become less user-friendly. Here are a few tips we recommend as an SEO company in Knoxville to help your internal link strategy:

• Use Descriptive Anchor Text - Visitors should be able to look at an anchor link and immediately understand where it leads.
• Link to Low Authority Pages From High Authority Ones - When you have pages on your website that are low authority, you should link to them from your higher authority pages, as this will help build authority for the lower ranking ones.
• Use a Navigation Bar & Footer - Your navigation and footer should always contain links to your most important pages so visitors can find them easily. This would include things like the home page, FAQs, contact page, and about page.
• Create Topic Clusters - It is good practice to create several pages relating to key topics and link them together to create a complete guide. This can help increase your website’s authority, placing you as an expert in your field.
• Keep User Journies Short - Stick with the ‘3 click rule’ wherever possible. Your visitor should be able to find the information they need with three clicks or less! This is not a hard and fast SEO rule, but it does improve user experience, which IS a ranking factor!

3 - Poorly Optimized Images

Never underestimate the power of the visual aspects of your website! You must have crisp, engaging images; however, higher quality means higher file size, which can affect the loading time of your site. It is important to strike the correct balance! Here are a few of the ways your SEO company in Knoxville can help optimize your images so you won’t have to sacrifice quality for speed.

• Use Optimal Formats - Favicons should be saved as ICO format, while larger imps should be in JPG format.
• Set Height & Width Manually - Get rid of excess pixels by manually setting the height and width of images.
• Compress Image Sizes - Compress the file size of images to allow them to load faster.

4 - Website Caching

Images are not the only culprit when it comes to a slow-loading website. Caching issues can also result in a sluggish site. If your site shows signs of cache resistance, an SEO company in Knoxville may suggest revising your .htaccess file to set longer expiration dates for elements that don’t change often, such as your logo. This allows pages to load faster as important elements will already be cached by the browser.

5 - Failure to Match Search Intent

One of the key factors of Google Search is the user’s search intent. When a user is brought to your website, they should have a purpose. For example, you want them to learn about something, subscribe to your newsletter, or share your content. Depending on what outcome you want, your content will fall under one of 6 search intent categories:

• Informational - seeking to learn something
• Navigational - looking for a specific website
• Commercial - interested in a product
• Transactional - purchasing a product
• Locational - looking for a place or information about a place
• Seasonal - specific to a time period or date (e.g., Easter or Christmas)

Your keywords and your content should reflect this intent. If you are not using the appropriate keywords, or if your content is not relevant to your keywords, then it is likely that you will disrupt the user’s search intent, and that is not something Google takes too kindly to! An SEO company in Knoxville can help you ensure your content and keywords are properly implemented for the correct search intent category.

These are just a few potential SEO problems that may not be immediately obvious to you. Working with an SEO company in Knoxville is a great way to discover hidden issues and address them so you can maintain high rankings in Google Search.

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To Your Best Online!

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Ingrid Maddox, Internet Marketing & Strategy Consultant. bluedress INTERNET MARKETING®, an Internet Marketing Company headquartered in Knoxville, TN. Internet Marketing Developed, Implemented, and Managed to Full Circle! Organic Internet Search Engine Guru. Turn-Key Internet Optimization Programs Placing You Everywhere and Anywhere You Need to Be Online.

ingrid@bluedressinc.com

865-378-7712