Every pet business owner will easily tell me they ‘want to rank number one on Google,’ yet none of them are focusing on (or even know about) some of the most important factors when it comes to SEO.
When we think of SEO, people think of keywords and Google Ads.
I’m here to say those factors are not as important as the mistakes I’m getting into below.
Here is Pet Marketing Unleashed’s list of the most critical and common SEO mistakes pet business owners are making on their websites:
SEO Mistake 1: Not connecting to Search Engine Console
When your website launches, the first thing you need to do is head over to Search Engine Console (SEC) and connect your website. This tells Google that your website exists and is ready to start showing up in the search results.
The process is simple. You'll create an account using your business email address and then follow the prompts to verify your site ownership.
Bonus: SEC is also a great tool to help you quickly index updated pages on your website, see analytics, and more.
SEO Mistake 2: Not setting up 301 Redirects
This might be the biggest mistake I see because if someone gets a new URL or switches platforms and does not set up 301 Redirects, their SEO rankings essentially start from zero.
It’s crucial that once you change a URL (slug or entire domain) you set up a 301 Redirect to tell Google what the new link is. This allows Google to know which pages are still the same content, just with a new URL so you don’t lose the SEO rankings it's built so far.
To do this, look up in your website platform’s support articles on how to set up 301 Redirects. Make sure to keep track of old links before updating them so you know what URLs to plug into the redirect portal.
SEO Mistake 3: Not considering user experience
Having a beautiful and well-designed website layout goes outside of just ‘looking pretty.’ It keeps people on your website longer, strategically allows the user to flow through the client purchase journey with ease, and as a result, tells Google you have a high-quality site that’s worth showing up higher in the search results.
To do this:
Invest in quality branding
Invest in quality copywriting
Invest in a quality custom website or website template
SEO Mistake 4: Not writing blog posts or updating your website
Literally, the best thing you can do for your SEO is to regularly update your website with new, quality content. That’s what tells Google you are up-to-date and relevant. It also presents more and more opportunities to rank in Google. Remember: you rank on Google by page, not by your website as a whole.
If you published your website and it’s remained exactly the same for years, you are doing your website a disservice. You absolutely need to be updating it with new and relevant information, and the best way to do that is via blogging.
SEO Mistake 5: Not auditing for broken links
The more broken links on your website, the more Google thinks your website is out-of-date and unreliable. Remember, Google is a business! If they are leading people to outdated websites with broken links, people will not use them. They want the best results for their users.
To do this, head to a broken link checker like brokenlinkcheck.com, enter your website, and let it populate your report so you can fix any and all broken links on your website!
SEO Mistake 6: Not implementing your site hierarchy
Google breaks down your website via a site hierarchy. When you create your website, you are setting up what things are most important by placing an H1 tag on it (aka a header tag). If you forget to do this, you may end up with no H1 or multiple H1s which is a BIG no-no for Google!
Google needs to know how to organize your content so it knows what your pages and sections are on your website. Without this, they have no way of knowing what your content is about and can drastically impact your rankings.
To do this, head into your text box settings and add hierarchy to your site. In essence, your main header is your H1. Your main sub-header is your H2, and so on all the way through for paragraph or body text.
Luckily, all of these mistakes are pretty easy and quick to implement if you’ve already got the basics going. If you want to learn more about SEO and how to make sure you’re optimizing ALL of your SEO settings for on- and off-page SEO, take a look at our Pet Business SEO Unleashed Course. It’s jam-packed with step-by-step videos walking you through the steps to ranking on Google, and we’d love to have you join!
