10 reasons google hates your transportation website · reduce redirects. your website isn’t...

10 Reasons Google Hates Your Transportation

WebsiteAnd What You Can Do About It

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About Chris Peer

● President / CEO SyncShow● Call Chris to schedule a free

consultation: 440.356.1903 or email your questions to:

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.syncshow.com


WELCOME TOCLEVELAND

WE ARE ASTRATEGIC MARKETINGPARTNER SPECIALIZING INB2B TRANSPORTATION, MANUFACTURING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICE COMPANIESCOMMITTED TO GROWTH.

Why Should You Care About Google?

It’s All About Volume


Why You Should Care What Google Thinks

Google’s Slice of the Pie Worldwide

Source: Smart Insights



Google’s Slice of the Pie By Country

Source: statcounter



Google As the Innovator

Source: Moz

500

Number of Times Google Updates Their Algorithm Annually

(*Moz)

Your Website Is TooSlow

REASON 1


Does Google Care About Speed?

Your Website Is Too Slow

Yes. Google Rates Your Site By Load Speed

Where on the spectrum does your site fall?

This 9-second load example was taken from a typical, mid-sized TRANSPORTATION company.

...worried it might be yours?

https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com/


Why Speed Matters


Google’s Rating On Speed’s Impact On Site QualityWhy does Google care about site load

time?

UX = User Experience

FAST SITE =

POSITIVE USER EXPERIENCE

SLOW SITE =

NEGATIVE USER EXPERIENCE


Why Speed Matters


Google Cares About … Google

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FAST- LOADING

SITE

SLOW- LOADING

SITE

Google Looks Good

Google Looks Bad


How Do You Solve For This?


Source: SmartInsights

● Image Optimization● Minification of CSS and JS (code reduction)

● Robust Server Platform● Server Location (for international)● Minimize HTTP requests (your web browser needs information to load a page)

● Enable compression● Enable browser caching● Prioritize load elements● Use of a CDN (content delivery network)● Reduce redirects

Your Website Isn’t Mobile Optimized

REASON 2


Speed Is A Factor, But So Are Other Items...


“...our algorithms will eventually primarily use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages from that site…”


Globally, Mobile Searches Overtook Desktop 3 Years Ago


Source: comScore, Google

US mobile search took over desktop in 2015

Transportation sites are not yet above the 50%

mark.However, it’s a

fast growing segment.


It’s More Complicated Than Just Mobile Vs. Desktop


Source: SmartInsights

The switch from desktop to mobile isn’t a 1:1, per say.

It’s more of a multi-device experience, where mobile + desktop searches matter, with desktop-only searches shrinking significantly over time.


Make Your Site Mobile Friendly


No pop-ups

Mobile-Friendly Software

(Accelerated Mobile Pages) New mobile-specific

technologies “Fat Finger” Design

Font SizeMobile-responsive design

NOBODY IS LINKING TO YOUR SITE

REASON 3


Links Tell Google Who Your Site “Hangs Out” With

Nobody Is Linking To Your Site

“Links help our crawlers find your site and can give your site greater visibility in our search results. ...Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote by page A for page B. Votes cast by pages that are themselves ‘important’ weigh more heavily and help to make other pages ‘important.’”


Why Does Google Care About Who Links To Your Site?


Links Build, Prove Or Destroy Trust

1. Well-regarded sites pass on authority to your site. 2. Poorly regarded websites diminish your site’s authority. 3. No links to your site make your presence seem irrelevant.

Be careful of what company your site keeps.


What Makes A Good Link?


1. How trustworthy is the site linking to yours?

2. How popular is the page that links to you?

3. How relevant is the site linking to you in relation to yours?

4. What keywords is the site using in the link pointing to your site?

YOUR CONTENT IS “THIN”

REASON 4


What Is “Thin” Content?

Your Content Is Too Thin

“Thin” content references web pages that have very

little valuable content.

Ideal length varies from page to page, but Google rewards

long-form: 700+ words.

Google’s “Panda” algorithm update (2011) hit hard against sites with

“thin” content.


What To Do About “Thin” Content

Your Content Is Too Thin

Ask yourself:

● Would my users be upset if this page didn’t exist? No? = Remove the page.

● If the page covers a relevant topic, will your readers find value in its content? No? = Rewrite it to fit the user’s need.

Tip: If you have multiple pages covering the same topic in the same way for the same type of user, consider consolidating the content into fewer pages.

DUPLICATE CONTENT

REASON 5


What Is Duplicate Content?

Duplicate Content

Google likes unique, well-written content, and they want to know who wrote it first.

Tip: Don’t plagiarize anyone, not even yourself.


Why Is Duplicate Content Such A Big Deal?

Duplicate Content

“... cases in which Google perceives that duplicate content may be shown with intent to manipulate our rankings and deceive our users, we'll also make appropriate adjustments in the indexing and ranking of the sites involved. As a result, the ranking of the site may suffer, or the site might be removed entirely from the Google index, in which case it will no longer appear in search results.”


What To Do About Duplicate Content

Duplicate Content

● Rewrite content to be unique and useful

● Remove duplicate pages

● Use coded opportunities to identify the original page(s)

YOUR CONTENT ISN’T OPTIMIZED

REASON 6


What Is Optimized Website Content?

Your Content Isn’t Optimized

Content Optimization: The act of making your on-page content more relevant to search engines and users.

Tip: Nearly every element on a page can be optimized for search.


Where To Optimize Your On-Page Content

Your Content Isn’t Optimized

Alt Tag

Title Tag

Header Tag

Internal Linking

Keyword Density

Content Quality

Keyword Placement

Meta Description

Spelling / Grammar

Image File Size

USERS AREN’T ENGAGING WITH YOUR SITE

REASON 7


What Is “Site Engagement”

Low Site Engagement

● Site engagement is the action visitors take on your website.● High engagement and “dwell time” can mean users are finding

what they want and exploring further.● “Bouncing” visitors - visitors who view your site, and leave right

away without taking action - may be a negative indicator.


How To Foster Higher Engagement

Low Site Engagement

1. Provide value in content (get them excited about your product/service). Think video.

2. Give a user something to do (make the page interactive)3. Interlink relevant content (not just via navigation)4. Use the right CTAs (learn more, sign up, buy now, download, etc.)

POOR SITE STRUCTURE

REASON 8


What Is A Site Structure?

Poor Site Structure

Site Structure is the way in which your website is organized. Sometimes called a “hierarchy” or “taxonomy”


Why Site Structure Matters

Poor Site Structure

● A site structure is like a highway system connecting your content.

● Poor site structures leave users and Google confused.

● Bad structures mean users and Google will abandon your site before they hit the info they need.


Identifying A Well-Designed Site Structure

Poor Site Structure

● Group topic-related pages● Folder groups lend authority to each other● Pages nearer the homepage should target a wider audience ● Sub-pages are more specific● Unlinked/ungrouped pages are “orphan pages”

ORPHANED PAGES

REASON 9


Orphaned Pages Can’t Be Found By Google

Orphaned Pages

● An orphan page is a page or section of your site not linked to from the rest of your website.

● Google runs through your website looking for pages to index by following links. No links to a page means it doesn’t exist to Google.

● No matter how optimized an orphan page is, it’s very unlikely Google will find it on its own.


How To Solve the Problem of Orphaned Pages

Orphaned Pages

Once you identify an orphan page, you have a few options:

● Build a link from the established pages on your website to the standalone page

● Include the page in your sitemap

● Submit the page to Google directly via Search Console

YOUR SITE ISN’T SECURE

REASON 10


Why Google Wants Your Site To Be Secure

Your Site Isn’t Secure

If people feel unsafe using the internet, that hurts Google’s core business.

Google wants to protect the user, but it also wants to protect itself. Therefore...

“...we're starting to use HTTPS as a ranking

signal.”


But What If You Don’t Collect Sensitive Information?


Even if your page doesn’t collect information, Google will still warn users of an non-secure

connection, and you’ll lose out on possible SEO benefits.


How To Make Your Site Secure


● Purchase and install an SSL○ An SSL is what provides the

encryption for your website.

● SSLs can be purchased through your domain provider or on the open market.

● Ensure Google indexes the proper version of your site (https vs http)○ Sitemaps○ 301 Redirects○ Google Search Console


Recap of the 10 Reasons

1. Your site is too slow2. You have duplicate content issues3. Your site isn’t mobile optimized4. Your users aren’t engaging on your site5. You lack quality inbound links6. You have a poor site structure7. Your content is thin8. You have orphan pages9. Your on-page content isn’t optimized for search

10. Your site isn’t secure


FREE SEO TESTING RESOURCES

The following free website resources are a great place to attain some basic details about your website. For more detailed information regarding a comprehensive SEO strategy, please call Chris Peer at SyncShow: 440.356.1903.

Site speed testing: https://www.pingdom.com/ Site speed testing: http://www.webpagetest.org/ Google page speed insights: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ Schema testing tool: https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool/u/0/Structured data markup: https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/u/0/ Keyword research: https://answerthepublic.com Keyword research: https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/ SEO stats chrome plugin: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/open-seo-statsformerly-pa/hbdkkfheckcdppiaiabobmennhijkknn?hl=en Mobile site speed: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/feature/mobile/ Website code health: https://validator.w3.org/

https://www.pingdom.com/

http://www.webpagetest.org/

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool/u/0/

https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/u/0/

https://answerthepublic.com/

https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/open-seo-statsformerly-pa/hbdkkfheckcdppiaiabobmennhijkknn?hl=en

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/feature/mobile/

https://validator.w3.org/

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