Search engine optimization is ever growing and evolving practice. You must comply with new algorithm updates released by Google in order to rank well on its search engine. This article will list vital factors that every website owner in South Africa should know.

Here are the following points you should consider if your website is NOT on the first page of Google, even after having done extensive SEO

PROBLEM

Google dislike duplicate content. Duplicate content is information copied word for word from another website. If your website contains information from antoher website, you will not be able to reach the first page of Google.


CHECK

In order to check if your website contains duplicate content, please go to the following resource and do a plagiarism check- https://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/. Simply copy and paste your information into the box and push the plagiarism checker button.


SOLUTION

You will need to re-write your websites information, or hire a professional writer from an Article Writing site to do it for you (If your website has duplicate content). We recommend using writers from Textbroker to re-create your website content.

PROBLEM

In the early days of SEO, people incorporated keywords into their content repeatedly in order to rank high on search engines. Nowdays, this practice is viewed as keyword spamming and will hurt your organic rankings rather then help them.


CHECK

In order to check your website information for keyword spamming, please visit the following link- https://smallseotools.com/keyword-density-checker/

SOLUTION

You will be required to re-write your website information and keep the keyword density at 2 percent. Make sure the keywords are incorporated into your information naturally.

PROBLEM

Websites with few web pages, or little information, are considered as content thin websites. Google do not like websites that have less then 5 web pages, or websites that provide little details about their business.


CHECK

The content thin check can be done manually. If your website contains less then 5 web pages, or has less then 200 words per page, its likely its viewed as content thin.


SOLUTION

Simply add more content to your website. Google love websites that provide lots of information about their own products and services. Each web page should contain between 200-300 words per page.

PROBLEM

Google is all about the user experience. Since people have little patience online, they have rewarded websites with quick loading speeds. They have also dropped websites with long loading speeds. Its vital your website loads quickly in order to rank well in 2019.


CHECK

In order to check how well your website loads, please visit the following link- https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/


SOLUTION

If your website received a score of less then 49 percent, you need to make adjustments in order for it to load quicker. These changes include reducing the size of images, removing unnecessary plugins or even changing hosting providers. You should forward this concern to your website designer if you do not possess any experience in web design.

PROBLEM

The number of people using their mobiles to conduct searches on Google has increased dramatically over the years. If your website is not mobile friendly, you will not rank well on search engines.


CHECK

In order to check if your website is mobile friendly, please visit the following link- https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly


SOLUTION

If your website did not pass the mobile friendly test, you should ask your web designers to render this immediately. Alternatively, you could install the Jetpack plugin and make your website mobile friendly yourself. Here is the recommended link- https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/

PROBLEM

If your website does not possess an SSL certificate, you will lose ranking points in terms of SEO. Google want safe interactions between clients and servers online.


CHECK

In order to check if your website has an SSL Certificate, please look at the URL. If it starts with HTTPS and small lock to the left of the URL, you have an SSL certificated installed. If it starts with HTTP and does not have a small lock, your website is not secure.


SOLUTION

There are several companies in South Africa which offer SSL certificate installation. Simply Google Search “SSL Certificate Installers” and find a provider that suits your requirements.

PROBLEM

The internet is full of viruses and malware. If your website does not have firewalls and malware detectors, you have a high chance of being hacked. Websites that are breached are placed on Google’s blacklist. Having your website on Google’s blacklist will ensure your website does not get found on Google’s search engine in order to protect its browsers.


CHECK

Please visit the following link and check if your website has been hacked- http://isithacked.com/


SOLUTION

Our company recommends installing the Wordfence Plugin onto your WordPress website. There are 2 versions available- Free and paid version. We suggest using the paid option if you have the funds or if you have been hacked. If you are on a tight budget, please install the Free version.