SEO Expert Blog

Below you find a list of common mistakes that may prevent your website from ranking well in or even lead to getting banned from search engines. The list includes aspects that do not directly turn off search engines but users, which in turn badly affects your search engine ranking.

• Not setting your <title> tag.
• Using common words or phrases in your title, that are not related to your content or do not reflect what your website is about, such as Welcome to our Website.
• Excessive repetition of your keywords.
• Spamming your Meta tags.
• Using hidden text to target non-relevant traffic.
• Excessive use of images, Flash, and other media, that slow down the download times.
• Using images for textual content.
• Bloating your source code with unnecessary markup, instead of using CSS.
• Not using tags for headings, <h1>, <h2>,...
• Not using markup, such as <strong>, <em>, to highlight your important keywords.
• Using deprecated markup, such as <font>, <b>, and <i> tags.
• Using frames which may turn off search engines, and make it harder to bookmark single pages.
• Using tables for your website's layout.
• Using Flash or JavaScript navigation without providing an HTML-only based alternative.
• Using blinking text or animations, which are detracting and annoying.
• Not breaking up long pages into smaller pieces, users don't like scrolling.
• Not avoiding horizontal scrolling.
• Using technologies that are hyped but not supported by the commonly used browsers.
• Not telling users where they are on your website.
• Not testing your website with different browsers.
• Not providing a means for users to contact you.
• Not telling users what your website actually is about.