5 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Company’s Website

Your company’s website is a central component of your business strategy. It can act as your virtual storefront, attracting users and converting them into loyal customers. But common mistakes can undermine your efforts, impact the visibility of your website and result in customers going elsewhere.

As an SEO specialist, I have seen numerous companies struggle with common pitfalls. Fortunately, these can be avoided. All you need is a bit of foresight and planning. 

In my experience, there are five critical mistakes business owners make when setting up, redesigning and managing their website.

Waiting to set up GA4

Google Analytics (GA4) is an invaluable tool for any website owner. It tracks a range of metrics that reveal how users interact with your site. These insights can be used to optimise the user experience, improve your website’s performance and refine your digital marketing strategies.

Data-driven strategies have the power to drive growth. They can help you predict and meet the needs, desires and behaviours of your audience; boost rankings within the SERPs (search engine results pages); and produce a better return on investment (ROI). 

Setting up GA4 from the outset is crucial. This offers immediate benefits, enabling you to track the effectiveness of your early marketing efforts and observe real-time activity. It also establishes a baseline for future growth, allowing you to locate historical data and monitor performance over time.

Key metrics you can track in GA4 include: 

• Active users: the number of unique users who have engaged with your website
• New users: the number of users who visited your site for the first time
• Engaged sessions: how many sessions lasted 10 seconds or longer, involved the completion of one or more events, or had two or more page/screen views
• Average engagement time: the average amount of time users spend on your website – this reveals which pages or pieces of content your users find most engaging
• User acquisition by source/medium: tracks where your users are coming from, e.g., search, social media, paid, referral sources, etc. – this can help when deciding how to spend and prioritise your marketing budget
• Conversion rate: the percentage of sessions that resulted in a conversion
• Pages per session: the average number of pages viewed per session
• Events: tracks user interactions such as clicks, downloads, video plays, etc. – provides insights into user actions and behaviours

Redesigning or migrating without an SEO professional

Planning a website redesign or migration is a significant undertaking. It is a time-consuming process that requires strategic involvement and planning from the beginning, not as an afterthought.

An SEO professional is essential when creating a website that is functional and performs well within the SERPs. By working with an expert from day one, your website can benefit from a smooth, seamless transition with minimal disruption to your search rankings. 

A carefully-planned website migration or redesign is key to maintaining your existing SEO performance. Acting on the recommendations of an SEO professional avoids common pitfalls like broken links, duplicate content and loss of rankings. Technical implementations are also vital for optimal site structure and faster load times.

Often times, businesses will instruct their developers or a development agency to create or revamp a website and only in the latter stages bring in an SEO to review the work and make minimal adjustments. At this point in many cases it’s far too late and huge structural and technical changes to the website could mean that a dip in performance is unavoidable. It can then take months or years to claw back the organic visibility lost. 

Cannibalising your content

Creating multiple landing pages for the same service can dilute your SEO efforts. This is a common cause of keyword cannibalisation, whereby multiple pages target the same keyword(s), topics and user intent. This can lead to your pages competing against each other in the SERPs and generally leave search engines confused as to which pages they’re supposed to rank..

The easiest way to avoid cannibalisation is by ensuring you only have one landing page for each service. You also need to conduct thorough keyword research and optimise different pages for different keywords. 

The goal is to appeal to and reach your target audience at different stages of the marketing funnel. Guide your users on their journey by building a website that is intuitive and navigable, with pages that include relevant internal links.

Good website structure also prevents orphaned content. It ensures that every page is connected to the main structure, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content. 

Failing to invest in backlinks and press coverage

Backlinks are a critical part of any effective SEO strategy. Why? Because high-quality backlinks from reputable sources can enhance your domain authority, or digital footprint. They are the foundation of Google’s algorithm and signal to search engines that your content is valuable, relevant and trustworthy – which is the type of content that is favoured by Google. 

The more high-authority links that point towards your website, the better your pages could perform in the SERPs. A strong backlink profile has the potential to boost brand reputation, improve visibility and increase organic traffic. 

Many businesses naturally pick up coverage online. You may also have a traditional PR team in house. Ensure everything you get coverage for online includes a link to your website whenever possible.

To boost the backlink profile of your website, you can:

• Design attention-grabbing Digital PR campaigns 
• Create engaging, user-centric content
• Request links from press coverage

Whether you are crafting copy for your website or producing content for a campaign, every piece should consider your audience. What are their pain points? Does your content answer a need or desire? Is it informative and enjoyable? High-quality, shareable content that has been designed for the reader is more likely to achieve natural backlinks. 

Treating SEO as a one-time activity

SEO is not a one-time task. It is an ongoing process that requires continuous investment, monitoring and adaptation. It calls for a cyclical approach, one that utilises data to make improvements and maintain your competitive edge.

An effective SEO strategy works toward long-term results. There are no quick fixes. Instead, your SEO approach should rumble along in the background. It should be integrated into every aspect of your website design, be incorporated into your overall marketing strategy and align with your overarching business goals. 

Take content freshness as an example. Your content strategy could involve regularly publishing new content. It should also include updating existing content to maintain relevance and ensure it continues to align with search intent.

Additionally, the world of SEO is far from static. Google algorithm updates are a regular occurrence and they can have real-world implications for your website. The key is to make sure your site follows SEO best practices and remains compliant with Google guidelines.

Conclusion

As an SEO expert, my advice is to stay informed, be proactive and prioritise user experience. Track your website data from the outset, establish benchmarks and measure growth. Invest in your site structure, ensuring it is easy to navigate and optimised for both users and search engines. And write original content that provides real value, caters to your audience and fosters trust. 

Remember, SEO results take time and sustained effort; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Embrace the ongoing nature of SEO, leverage data-driven strategies and be prepared to pivot to stay ahead of your competitors. 

Marcus Hearn is the co-founder of Another Concept, an expert-led digital marketing agency based in Leeds. As an SEO specialist, his tailored strategies have improved the organic visibility of websites and brands across the globe.