Fixing common problems with SEO

By Steve Mortiboy

Tools we’ll use

• Google Search• Google Webmaster Tools (aka Search Console)• Chrome Developer Tools• Why No Padlock• Moz Local Search Tool

How does Google work?

When Google crawls a site it checks:• Robots.txt• Sitemap.xml• Source code of each page it crawls • Meta tags in the source code• Content of each page crawled

SEO Meta Tags• The title tag

<title></title>

• The meta description<meta name="description" content="" />

Additional SEO Meta Tags

• NOINDEXNOFOLLOW

• NOODP• NOYDIR

<meta name="robots" content="noindex" />

Google doesn’t use my...

• #1 most frequently asked question in SEO:Why doesn’t Google use my title or description?

Google Quality Guidelines• Every page must have a title and description• Every title and description must be unique• Titles should be less than 60 characters• Descriptions should be less than 160 characters• Brand your titles• Titles and descriptions should be descriptive,

no keyword stuffing• Use NOODP and NOYDIR• Fix problems as soon as they occur

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35624?hl=en

Checking the index date in SERPS

site:mydomain.com

GWT – HTML Improvements

Helpful Resources

• https://semperplugins.com/faqs/why-doesnt-the-title-and-description-i-set-appear-in-search-results/• https://semperplugins.com/documentation/checking-index-status-in-google-search-results/• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbpfjzEBAM• https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35624?hl=en• https://semperplugins.com/faqs/can-i-remove-the-date-from-google-search-results/• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbpfjzEBAM• https://semperplugins.com/documentation/google-webmaster-tools-how-to-fix-html-improvements-reports/• https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

Headings – H1, H2, H3

• Headings are important to visitors and Google• H1 headings should be for the page/post title only• There should only be one H1 heading on any page• H2 headings are for primary headings in content• H3 headings are for secondary headings in content• Never mix and match• Fix bad headings in theme template files

Blocked Resources

You can block Google using:• Robots.txt• NOINDEX meta tag• .htaccess• Search Engine Visibility setting in WordPress

(Settings > Reading)• Using some plugins

Robots.txt

GWT – Blocked Resources

Crawl Errors

Crawl Errors - CausesCommon causes of Crawl Errors:• Incorrect URL due to change in permalink

Examples:• Change to the permalink structure in WordPress• Change to page structure or category structure

i.e. move a top level page to a child page/wordpress-seo/ to /services/wordpress-seo/

• Change to page slug, i.e. rename a slug from /contact/ to /contact-us/

Crawl Errors - Causes

Common causes of Crawl Errors:• Incorrect URL due to bad hyperlink on your site

Examples: • you typed a URL wrong• you created a link to a page then deleted that page

so the link goes nowhere

Crawl Errors - Causes

Common causes of Crawl Errors:• Incorrect URL used in a backlink to your site

Examples:• Someone mistyped the URL when linking to your site• Someone linked to a page that no longer exists

Crawl Errors - Causes

Common causes of Crawl Errors:• Server issues• DNS issues• Plugin or theme issues

Crawl Error Details

Crawl Error Details

Crawl Error Details

Fixing Crawl Errors

• Use Broken Link Checker pluginhttps://wordpress.org/plugins/broken-link-checker/

• Use Redirection pluginhttps://wordpress.org/plugins/redirection/

Bad Backlinks

Bad Backlinks• https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2648487?hl=en• https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/disavow-links-main

Mobile Usability

Mobile Usability

Mobile Testing Tool

Mobile Testing Tool

XML Sitemap Issues

XML Sitemap Issues

Structured Data – Schema markup

What is Structured Data / Schema markup?• Structured data is a type of markup that Google uses

to display rich snippets and Knowledge Graph cardsin search results

Examples of rich snippets include:• Product price and availability information• Star ratings• Recipe information• Event information

Structured Data – Schema markup

https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/intro-structured-data

Structured Data Issues

Structured Data Testing Tool

Page Speed

PageSpeed Recommendations

• Implement caching• Remove render blocking for above-the-fold content• Optimize images• Speed up server response time• Implement minification• Avoid redirects• Enable compression

Page Speed Testing

HTTPS Encryption

Local SEO Issues

• Name, Address and Phone (NAP) markup• Missing or incomplete Google Business listing• Missing, incomplete or conflicting business listings,

directory listings, social media information and review sites

Local SEO Tool

Questions?

Steve MortiboySales Manager

steve@semperfiwebdesign.com1-855-284-5940 | @wpsmort

Semper Fi Web Design• Support• Security• Performance

• Development• Design• SEO

http://semperfiwebdesign.com