Why Technical SEO matters?
- We scrutinise every Website errors during the technical SEO Audit for clients
- Precision explanation detailing on why and how to check these items
The objective of this post is to explain how to perform a clean technical SEO audit, step by step.
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WHAT INDEXATION MEAN?
The quantity of the pages that your Website possesses
WHY THAT’S MATTER
The algorithm favors rich content Website. If your business is in a competitive field, low standard pages such as 4 or 5 just won’t anymore.
If there are more contents on your page this will confirm if Google noticed it.
Low indexation can indicate many factors issues( internal link issue, low domain authority or rending blocking code so on..)
HOW I CAN FIND MY SITE’S INDEX RATE?
1- By heading to search console
2. Typing by entering your URL and see it on Google SERPs
Server Uptime mean?
It’s the process by which your hosting server keeps your downtime and your Website Online.
Why does it matter?
Website stability and speed accuracy is important because it allows the search engine to index your website consistently
How to check my site’s uptime?
1- Run a free check using Pingdom
2-Request free quality paid service in real-time from Pingdom if you are facing issues.
3-Large Website should regularly monitor as it is essential.
Why does it matter?
You can decide how bots can access your website or not
Crawl directive is strictly recommended for search engines
How to check my robots.txt file?
1-Visit your site.com/robotstxt is accessible on the Web
2- In Google Search Console navigate to crawl > robots.txt tester
What’s meta robots tag?
It’s an HTML tag that you inserted between the code which would instruct search engines on how to interpret the page-specific content
< meta name =”robots”content=”noindex”>
Let’s search engine know not to index the page. Also, this page can be use to index or not index images,pages follow or nofollow.
Why robots tag is essential?
If accidentally the developer inserts “noindex” directives on an important page, this could low the site index rate.
If there are duplicate contents on your websites, noindex tags could help avoid duplicate penalty.
Where to find my robot tags?
1-Insert your URL into Screaming Frog
2-Under internal, scroll to the right
3- Will see meta robots 1 and 2
4- Find directives and see which columns have a specific instruction
What 40x errors mean?
A bad request happens when that request send to the server fails.
Several numbers of client-side errors are (401-403) but the common is 404 and it happens when traffic is indexed
straight to the page that no longer exists.
Why 40 errors matter?
- When your website isn’t rendering properly, it’s crucial for your Seo ranking factor.
- 404 is bad practices for Seo- moving pages or deleting can cause bad User Experience(UX)
- So before doing so, ensure proper steps have been taken
- Inbound link 404 pages should be 301(permanently redirected) to similar content.
Where and how to check my site errors?
- Log into Google Search Console
- Navigate into Index> Coverage
- Find a list of 40x errors happening on your site.
What is an XML sitemap?
XML file enables search engines to understand and crawl your Website.
Why do XML sitemaps matter?
It helps to improve and index your website.
It helps against duplicate content- also gives ownership when the pages are indexed and listed
Where to find my site XML?
Type your yoursite.com/sitemap.xml in Google Search Console, navigate to crawl> Sitemaps.
What a meta robots tag mean?
The meta robots are HTML tags inserted in between the code on pages and instructed the search engine to specify the page content.
An example, instruct the search engines to do not index that page. It can be used to index or not index pages, images, and follow-nofollow links on a page
Note: Do not confuse this NOFOLLOW with the rel=”nofollow” link attribute.
“Nofollow” in the head section will no follow all links on the page.
What’s the way to check my site’s meta robots tags?
- Insert your URL into Screaming Frog SEO.
- Look for the “Internal” tab, scroll to the right.
- Find out “Meta Robots 1” and “Meta Robots 2”.
- Notice the two columns and the directives of each page on your website.
What is a video XML sitemap?
- A video sitemap enables search engines to quickly find video content and index it for searches.
Why do video XML sitemaps are needed?
- When a video has been created video content, a sitemap will help you rank in Google Videos field, This is the best method to easily increase organic traffic.
How do I verify if my site has a video XML sitemap?
- Visit yoursite.com/sitemap_video.xml – do you have one listed?
- In Google Search Console, navigate to Crawl > Sitemaps.
- Use this tool to generate a video sitemap.
- Submit your video sitemap in Google Search Console, (Crawl > Sitemaps > Add/Test Sitemap).
What is a subdomain?
- Extensions of your root domain that you can use for a number purposes:
- Hosting content – setting up a blog – blog.yourdomain.com.
- Testing – a place to test offline content before pushing live to your final domain – staging.yoursite.com.
- Private content – we use training.webris.org to host internal training content for staff members.
Why do subdomains be important?
- They should be strategically planned into your SEO. For example:
- blog.yoursite.com should be set to “index” and have its personal set of directives (robots.txt and sitemap.xml) for proper search engine indexation.
- staging.yoursite.com should be set to “noindex” to avoid duplicate content penalties and searchers stumbling on content that wasn’t approved to go live yet.
How can I check my subdomains?
- You can use this free tool to find and discover your site’s subdomains.
mage XML sitemap what it’s?
- An image sitemap helps to pop up rapidly image on search engines when index.
Why do image XML sitemaps are important?
- People actively bypass organic results for image results, depending on the query.
- Getting your images ranked for image-based searches can skyrocket organic traffic</>How can I find out if my site has an image XML sitemap?
- Visit yoursite.com/sitemap_video.xml – do you have one listed?
- n Google Search Console, navigate to Crawl > Sitemaps.
- Use this tool to generate an image sitemap.
- Submit your video sitemap in Google Search Console, (Crawl > Sitemaps > Add/Test Sitemap).
Pagination, what’s it?
- HTML commands (“rel = prev” and “rel = next”) on content that overlaps over into different pages, but should be considered as one.
- For example, your blog (mysite.com/blog) might have multiple pages (mysite.com/blog/2) as you create more content.
- Pagination tags should be used on the “Next page” and “Previous page” links to inform search engines of this.
- This also applies to eCommerce websites with multiple product pages and long guides that are broken down into multiple pages.
Why does pagination matter?
- These tags can help avoid duplicate content penalties and very low indexation rates.
What is a 404 page?
- Inform users and search engines when a page has been removed from your site.
Why do 404 pages matter?
- Sometimes removing content (aka 404’ing it) is what’s necessary for your site, even if users will still be visiting it.
- If that’s the case, a custom 404 page should inform users where to find other important pages on your site.
How can I verify if my site has a 404 page?
- Type yoursite.com/bragadabakale into a browser
Why do footers matter?
You can’t link to every page on your website from your TLN (unless you have a small website).
Footers provide a great opportunity to pass equity to various pages or sections on your website.
How can I analyze my site’s footer?
It really depends on your website’s goals, niche, and depth of pages.
Generally speaking, I like to use the footer to link to important, non-sales pages.
Google’s latest update looks hard at the quality and depth of content on your website to ensure that you’re a legitimate, functioning business.
FAQ, locations page, privacy policy, careers, HTML sitemap, and other pages important pages that search engines look for to determine the quality of your website.
It’s important to get these pages crawled by search engines, the footer is the best place to show search engines that these pages are an important part of your website.
It’s very crucial that your Website is well structured in order to rank on SERPs. Here are the necessary for ensuring its set up adequately
What are breadcrumbs?
A trail, or secondary navigation, clearly visible to website users to help them navigate your website.
Why do breadcrumbs matter?
Search engines crawl from page to page through links. Breadcrumbs enforce page hierarchy and navigation to search engines.
Breadcrumbs also help users to navigate content, particularly on eCommerce websites with a number of product categories and high page depth.
If you have a content-heavy website, users can get lost deep in your site. Breadcrumbs help to easily find their place and continue browsing, without having to use the top-level navigation to return.
This check is better for eCommerce sites, less important for smaller sites with low pages.
How can I check my site’s breadcrumbs?
If you have breadcrumbs enabled, you should see them appear underneath your navigation as you dive deep into your site.
Not every website needs breadcrumbs, but content heavy and eCommerce websites should always have them setup.
How to set up Breadcrumbs in WP?
How to code Breadcrumbs Menu?
What is TLN?
The main menu and navigation on a website.
Why do TLDs matter?
TLDs have a tremendous impact on both search indexation and the overall user experience.
Users want a logical, easy to use and find a menu that clearly directs them where they need to go.
Search engines want the same thing – your top pages should be linked to from the TLN, whether that’s a dedicated section or a drop-down depends on the amount of content on your website.
How can I analyze my site’s TLN?
Are your target pages linked to from your TLN?
Are you using SEO optimized titles in your TLN?
Is your TLN well organized for the user’s to find what they need with minimal clicks?
Your TLN should be coded in HTML, NOT JS!
Why do footers matter?
You can’t link to every page on your website from your TLN (unless you have a small website).
Footers provide a great opportunity to pass equity to various pages or sections on your website.
How can I analyze my site’s footer?
It really depends on your website’s goals, niche, and depth of pages.
Generally speaking, I like to use the footer to link to important, non-sales pages.
Google’s latest update looks hard at the quality and depth of content on your website to ensure that you’re a legitimate, functioning business.
FAQ, locations page, privacy policy, careers, HTML sitemap, and other pages important pages that search engines look for to determine the quality of your website.
It’s important to get these pages crawled by search engines, the footer is the best place to show search engines that these pages are an important part of your website.
What is the site depth/structure?
This refers to the number of ‘clicks’ your pages are away from the starting URL.
Why does site depth/structure matter?
Both search engines and users shouldn’t have to click 1,000 times to get to important content on your website.
General SEO best practices state to keep important content (i.e. pages you want to rank) within 4 click of the starting URL (i.e. your home page).
Basically what that means is target pages should be easily accessible from top-level nav, footer, or located within a few clicks of these pages.
How can I analyze site depth/structure?
In Screaming Frog, run a crawl of your website.
All the way to the right, click on “Site Structure”.
You will see stats about how many pages you have and their depth from the starting URL.
Analyze which pages are over 3 clicks and decide if there’s a better place for them to live within your website.
This Part is a complete analysis of a website’s URLs optimization using Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
What are hyphens in the URL?
- The default URL structure should use hyphens (” – “). For example:
Good: http://yoursite.com/miami-seo-professionals/Bad: http://yoursite.com/miami_seo_professionals/Worse: http://yoursite.com/miami,seo,professionals/
Why do hyphens matter?
- Using _ or , as your URL structure causes search engines to read URL strings wrong.
- Search engines read – as spaces. Using them ensures your content will be read the right way.
How can I check my URLs?
- In Screaming Frog, run a crawl of your website.
- Set the tab to “URI”.
- In the search bar, enter “_”.
- Filter the results to see if your URLs contain underscores.
NOTE: you can also export your crawl to Excel for better filtering and analysis.
What is URL friendliness?
- URLs should be structured (when possible) to be clean, short, memorable, and shareable.
- User experience signals (SERP click-through rate in particular) are increasingly important ranking factors. Short, clean, and readable URLs drive more SERP clicks than non-friendly URLs.
- For example, which would you click?
- http://site.com/cute/10-cutest-puppies-ever/
- http://site.com/9dfshre/?324323/10sfd-fscutest-pfdsuppies-sdfever/
How can I check my URLs
- In Screaming Frog, run a crawl of your website.
- Set the tab to “URI”.
- Export data to Excel and analyze.
- It could be a CMS issue forcing URLs into unfriendly states. If URLs are human-generated, you should recommend creating a URL structuring guide for those pushing URLs live to ensure friendliness going forward.
- Consider changing extremely unfriendly for cleaner ones, 301 redirect old into the new.
Here’s a very important part of the Audit. It directs on how to analyse individual pages issues within the site.
What is Meta “hreflang”?
- Signals to Google which language is being used on a page.
Why does Meta “hreflang” matter?
- If you have content in different languages on your website, you want to make sure that the appropriate page is served to the searcher based on what language they’re using.
- Results will be served based on location.
- Ex. Spanish pages with hreflang=es will be served to IP addresses in Spanish speaking countries.
How can I check for Meta “hreflang” on my site?
- Right-click + “View Page Source”.
- Search HTML for reflang markup ()
What is Authorship markup?
- Shows a rich snippet of the author in the SERP.
- Attributes content on a page or post to a particular author (i.e. digital
signature)
Why does authorship markup matter?
- Currently, Google has suspended authorship markup; however, may bring it
back in the future.
How can I check if I have an Authorship markup?
- Verify with Google Structured Data Testing Tool.
What is a Publisher markup?
- This markup connects the entire website to the publisher.
- While they can be used mutually exclusive, publisher markup is for companies, and authorship markup is for individuals.
- Similar to how authorship markup shows a picture of the author as a rich snippet, publisher markup shows a summary of the companies google plus page on the right-hand side of the screen when someone searches for the company by name.
Why does Publisher markup matter?
- It good for branding as the searcher will get a snapshot of your company’s name, logo, address, pictures, and reviews.
How can I check if I have a Publisher markup?
- Verify that your website is connected to your business google plus page.
- Check the section of your website for this code
What are Page Source Meta tags?
- The information that is displayed by the search engines in the SERPs about a particular page or website.
- Your meta descriptions should be no longer than 156 characters. Anything more will get truncated by Google.
- Your pages should all have meta tags, none
- Your pages should all have unique meta tags, no duplicates.
Why do Meta tags matter?
- They matter because they act as descriptors for your site.
- They tell the user what content they can expect to find when they click on the result.
- While they have no direct ranking impact, they increase the SERP click-through rate, which is a ranking factor.
How can I check if I have Meta Tags?
- You can view the source code of your page and look for
What are Visible Tags per Page tags?
- The title of your pages.
- This should be written both for SEO benefit and to incite a click from the user.
- It’s best to structure your page title with your main keywords within.
- You must keep page titles to under 65 characters. Anything more will get truncated by Google.
- Your pages should all have title tags, none missing.
- Your pages should all have unique title tags, no duplicates.
Why do the title tags matter?
- Title tags are HUGE on-page ranking factors.
- It draws the most attention to the user in the SERP with larger text and highlighted blue.
How can I check my <title> tags?
- Viewing the source code of your page.
- Using the site: URL operator to read your titles in SERPs.
- Check your Screaming Frog audit.
What are page headings?
Titles tags are generally found at the top of the page and display the page’s heading (may be different from the title tag).
- There should only be 1 heading on each page.
Why do H1 tags matter?
- Tells search engines about important content on the page.
- A good place to work in LSI keywords different from the main keyword in the title tag.
How can I check my H1 tags?
- Check your Screaming Frog Audit.
What is a structured data markup?
- A snippet of code (HTML) located in the
tag that instructs search engines what your page is about. - These markups come in different forms (local business, video, etc) and should be used based on your website and content type.
Why does structured data markup matter?
- It makes it easier for Googlebot to get to the meat of what your page is about without having to read complex code.
- For product reviews, having a rich snippet shows up on the SERP with stars, which greatly increases the click-through rate.
How can I check for structured data markup?
- Paste your website’s URL into Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.
What is a key content location?
- The place where important, topical related content appears on the page.
Why does key content location matter?
- Search engines read content from top to bottom. Topically related content should be mentioned near the top of the page to give the page the most relevance for the desired topic.
- Your main keyword should be in the h1 tag and LSI variations of keyword should be placed in h2, h3 (when appropriate) without overtly keyword stuffing.
How can I check the key content location?
- Right-click + “view page source” and search the h1, h2, and h3 tags
- Use the “find” feature on a webpage to view the location of keywords on the page.
What is editorial strength?
- The quality of the content being published (length, authoritative, informative).
- Determine if the content is compelling enough for link building efforts.
Why does editorial strength matter?
- Content that is well written, robust, and properly optimized will index quicker and rank better in search.
- Conversely, thin content, duplicate content, or keyword-stuffed content will not rank well and runs the risk of penalty and/or deindexing.
How can I check the editorial strength of my content?
- Use Grammarly to check for grammar errors.
- Use a free online word counter tool to check how many words are in an article and compare that to existing content that’s performing well in the space.
- Use a keyword density checker like SEO Centro to make sure you’re not over-optimizing any keywords.
- If you’ve outsourced content, run it through Copyscape or at the very least, copy and paste an entire paragraph into Google search to make sure it’s not published anywhere else on the net.
What is thin content?
- Pages on a site with very little text and/or without rich media.
- Pages that serve little to no value to the end-user.
Why does having thin content pages matter?
- Creates a bad user experience and lowers your site’s quality score.
- They take longer to index or don’t index at all.
- Even if they do index, they have very little value and rank poorly.
How can I check for thin content pages?
- Open Screaming Frog and enter the domain.
- Scroll over to the right to find “Word Count” and look for pages with less than 300 words (outside of trivial pages ie. contact, about).
- Consider no-indexing these low-value pages.
What are the missing title tags?
- Not having an input into how search engines are seeing your page titles.
Why do missing title tags matter?
- Page titles are a ranking factor, they tell search engines what your page is about.
- Does not give the user a clear indication as to what the content on the page is about.
How can I check if I’m missing
By using the Screaming Frog crawler
What are duplicate title tags?
- When at least 2 pages on your site have the same title.
Why do duplicate titles matter?
- If pages have duplicate titles most likely they have similar content which would be better suited to merged together to create one robust and authoritative page with a unique title tag.
How can I check for a duplicate?
Screaming Frog crawler
What are optimized title tags?
- Having less than 65 characters in the title tag.
Why does a character size matter?
- Having more than 65 characters will result in the title being truncated.
- This can cut off keywords or your message to searchers.
How can I check for title character size?
- Screaming frog
What are missing meta descriptions?
- When you don’t enter your own meta description, Google takes what it thinks is the most descriptive part of the content and uses it for the snippet to show users in the SERP.
Why do meta descriptions matter?
- While filling out the meta description has become less important to tell the search engines what your page is about, it’s still a good place to put in keyword phrases and language that will elicit a click from the user.
- By not filling out the meta description, you miss the opportunity to frame your snippet the way that you want it to read.
How can I check the missing meta description?
- Screaming Frog > Meta description
What are duplicate meta descriptions?
- When two or more pages have the same content in the meta description
Why do duplicate meta descriptions matter?
- It’s better to either have a unique meta description or no meta description than to use the duplicate meta descriptions.
- Each page on your site should have a clear cut message.
How can I check for duplicate meta descriptions?
- Screaming Frog
- Google Search Console
What is image location?
- Where images on a page are hosted.
Why is image location important?
- Images can be found in search on the web. If someone finds your image you want the path to direct them to your site.
- If you’re hosting images on a third party site and that site is terminated, you’ll lose the images on your site.
How can I find the image location?
- To check images on a page, hover your cursor over the image. The image URL will appear in the lower left-hand side of your screen.
- To check images on multiple pages, use Screaming Frog “Images” tab.
What is image size?
- The file size of an image (measured in kilobyte).
Why is it important to have images < 100 kb?
- Larger image sizes slow load time on a page.
- Slow load time leads to bad user experience having to wait for images to render.
- Large image files take up unnecessary space on your server.
How can I check the file size of images?
- For individual images, right-clicking on an image and viewing properties/info.
- To bulk check images, use Screaming Frog “Images” tab and filter by “Over 100 kb”.
- Use image-editing software to decrease large image files before uploading to the site.
What is alt attributes/text?
- When applied to images, the alt text will appear in its place when an image fails to render and gives a description of the image.
Why is it important to use alt text?
- While it’s not recommended to stuff keywords into the alt text, it is a place where you can add relevant keywords for SEO purposes.
- Search engines are unable to crawl images therefore unable to determine what the image is or deliver it in search queries without alt text.
How can I check if images have alt text?
- To check alt text of an individual image, right-click on the image and view image info.
- To bulk check alt text, use Screaming Frog “Images” and filter by “Missing Alt Text” to view the images without alt text.
SEO equity indicates the strength of your website and informed how it’s being led across pages
What is a 302 redirect?
- Tells search engines that a page has been moved temporarily.
Why do 302 redirects matter?
- 302 redirects do not pass SEO equity, meaning if you redirect a page, the link value does not pass through.
- It may prevent content on the new URL from indexing because Google believes at some point you will revert back to the redirected URL.
How can I check for 302 redirects?
- Screaming Frog
- Redirect Checker
What are redirect chains?
- A string of multiple redirects from one location to another.
Why do redirect chains matter?
- Having too many redirects may cause the Googlebot to eventually stop following the chain
- You lose “link juice” with each redirect.
How can I check for redirect chains?
- Screaming Frog
What are broken redirects?
- A link that takes you to an error page.
Why do broken redirects matter?
- Lead to bad user experience
- A low-quality score of your website
- Negatively affect your ranking in the SERPs
How can I check for broken redirects?
- Screaming Frog
- Google Webmaster Tools > Crawl Errors
Check for rel=nofollow Stats
- A command telling Googlebot not to pass any equity, trust, or credit through a link.
Why do nofollow links matter:
- If you want to pass link equity through an outbound link or through an internal link on your site
- If you’re link building and getting nofollow links, you’re getting diminishing returns on your effort
How can I check for nofollow links:
- Majestic
- Screaming Frog
- A nofollow browser plugin
What is Google Analytics?
- A data providing tool by Google to monitor and maintain your site’s performance.
Why does GA link to SC matter?
- Give your data to improve visibility and user experience on your site
- It will inform you of critical issues that have an effect on your site’s rankings
- Give you data that you can use to optimize your website for better conversions
How can I link Google Analytics to Search Console?
- Sign up for a free account and select one of the methods available to connect your site to Search Console.
What are internal links?
- Links that point to other pages within your website.
Why are internal links important?
- Internal links pass link equity across your website.
- Establishes a hierarchy within a category (read more on “silos”).
- Improves user experience by making it easier to navigate.
How can I check internal links on my site:
- Search Console > Search Traffic > Internal Links
What are Manual actions?
- A spam penalty that has been issued to a website by a manual Google review instead of an algorithmic penalty.
Why do manual actions matter?:
- Manual action penalties can negatively affect your site’s rankings.
- You have to request Google to remove the penalty once you’ve addressed the issues by submitting a reconsideration request.
- They can be sitewide or partial – penalties have a major impact on your ability to rank higher in search engines.
How can I check for manual action?
- Search Console > Search Traffic > Manual Actions
What are Page Not Found errors?
- When a page on your website has been removed or moved and the URL in question could not be found on your server.
- A”404:” page not found error” is shown to the user.
Why is the page not found error important?
- You want to be aware of page not found errors so you can address them properly so users are not landing on error pages.
How can I check for Page not found?
- Screaming Frog
- Search Console > Crawl > Crawl errors
What are Pages Blocked by robots.txt?
- These are pages on your website that the Googlebot is not crawling due to directives in the robots.txt file.
Why do Pages Block by Robots.txt matter:
- At times, you can accidentally block the wrong pages from being indexed by search engines.
- Simply removing this directive can mean an instant boost in traffic.
How can I check for pages blocked by Robots.txt?
- Search Console > Google Index > Blocked resources
What are Pages Indexed?
- The number of pages on your website that are in Google’s Index, aka eligible to rank in search results.
Why do Pages Indexed matter:?
- If your pages are not indexed, they will not be found in search.
- Pages not getting indexed is a sign that your site has a penalty or low authority with search engines.
How can I check for Pages Indexed?
- Pages indexed report in GSC.
What are sitelinks?
- Links to pages on your site shown below the meta description in the SERP.
Why do sitelinks matter:
- Sitelinks have been shown to improve CTR.
- They present your site as a more authoritative resource.
- Takes up more real estate in the SERPs.
- It also allows the user to navigate straight to the pages on your site that are relevant to their search query.
How can I check for sitelinks?
- Sitelinks are created algorithmically which means there’s nothing you can do to create them.
- You can choose to tell Google not to create a sitelink for a given page by going to Search Console > Search Appearance > Sitelinks
What is Sitemap Indexation?
- The amount of pages on your site that have been indexed.
Why do Sitemap Indexation matter?
- It will tell you if any URLs are not accessible or are blocked by robots.txt.
How can I check my Sitemap Indexation?
- Search Console > Crawl > Sitemaps
What is an Anchor Link?
- A link embedded in the text (hyperlink), typically relevant to the content it’s linking to, that can be clicked on.
Why do Anchor text Links matter?
- Anchor text helps Google understand the relevancy and topical nature of the page that it’s linking to.
- Read more about anchor text.
How can I check the anchor text on my site?
- Screaming Frog Tool using the outbound links tab.
What are Broken Links?
- A standard HTTP response code that indicates the server on which the site is hosted could not find the page requested.
Why do broken links matter?
- Broken links are a natural part of the web however, having too many broken links will give users a bad experience and loss of traffic.
- There are better ways to redirect traffic from 404 to relevant, live material.
How can I check for broken links?
- Screaming Frog
- Broken link checker plugin
What is a logo link?
- I hyperlink in the logo image of the website
I hyperlink in the logo image of the website
- For branding and making your logo synonymous with your homepage.
- Easy navigate to your homepage by clicking on your site-wide logo.
How can I check for a logo link?
- Place your cursor over your logo and it will turn into the pointer icon indicating that it’s a live link.
What are external links?
- Links that take the user offsite.
Why do external links matter?
- Increases the topical relevance of your content.
- Helps readers find additional resources not included in your site.
How can I check for external links?
- Screaming from tool external tab.
What is the proper use of nofollow?
- Typically you want to nofollow outbound links.
Why does the use of nofollow links matter?
- Follow links pass credit, trust, and link equity which means you’re telling Google you’re vouching for it.
- Having too many follow external links will bleed the juice on your website.
How can I check for nofollow links?
- Screaming Frog tool outlinks tab.
What are malicious backlinks?
- Links coming into your site from irrelevant spam sites.
Why do malicious backlinks matter?
- They can have a direct impact on your SEO and cause spam penalties.
- They can shape the topical relevance of your site.
How can I check for malicious backlinks?
- Search Console > Links to your site
- Majestic
What is Google My Business?
Formerly Google+ Pages, it’s your online business center for everything Google.
Why does Google My Business matter?
Getting setup and verified as a Google Business is a massive part of SEO for local businesses. Without it, you can’t rank in local search results.
For larger businesses, it’s also a verified review platform and allows you to get set up in Google Maps.
How can I check if I have a G+?
Typing in the name, phone, and google plus in the Google search bar.
