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The Most Common Technical SEO Issues That Damage Your Site [Infographic]
UPDATED 2021
Stacy Mine
Editor at Serpstat
Which SEO issues are the most common? Every year, Serpstat editorial team analyzes the results of site audits our users have performed to shed light on this subject. In this article, you can find the results of the study showing the most common SEO mistakes in 2021.
Contents
1. Serpstat research: typical SEO issues
1.1. Results of the study
1.2. Country-specific features
2. The most common mistakes and weaknesses and how to handle them
2.1. Meta tags and headings
2.2. Links and redirects
2.3. Markup issues, multimedia, content and AMP
2.4. Indexing and hreflang attribute
2.5. HTTPS certificate, status codes and server parameters
2.6 Loading time for desktop and mobile
1.1. Results of the study
1.2. Country-specific features
2. The most common mistakes and weaknesses and how to handle them
2.1. Meta tags and headings
2.2. Links and redirects
2.3. Markup issues, multimedia, content and AMP
2.4. Indexing and hreflang attribute
2.5. HTTPS certificate, status codes and server parameters
2.6 Loading time for desktop and mobile
Serpstat research: typical SEO issues
Results of the study
Our users carried out 58 thousand site audits during the year, checking 288 million pages with Serpstat Site Audit tool's help. We analyzed this data and presented the most common SEO issues that our users have found on sites.
As you can see in the diagram, most sites had issues with meta tags, markup, and links. The most common problems are associated with multimedia, indexing, and headings.
As you can see in the diagram, most sites had issues with meta tags, markup, and links. The most common problems are associated with multimedia, indexing, and headings.
The least errors were found in response codes, AMP, loading speed, content errors, server parameters.
To learn how to find and fix errors on the site, read the Site Audit module's guide.
To learn how to find and fix errors on the site, read the Site Audit module's guide.
Country-specific features
I've analyzed country-specific domains to better understand the results. For example, research shows that more than 70% of website errors related to .com domains are issues associated with markups, meta tags, links, and multimedia. Similar errors are also the most common on .uk and .ca websites.
Of course, not all certified sites in the US, UK, and Canada have these domains. Look for complete data on the first chart, which shows general statistics.
The most common mistakes and weaknesses and how to handle them
Below the graphs, you will find lists of all common mistakes and recommendations for correcting them.
Meta tags and headings
The graph below shows the statistics of the detected errors. The first place is taken by extra-long title — 28.84%. The second place is shared by errors related to the length of the description meta tag.
According to the study, the most common mistakes in the use of headings are Duplicate H1 and Missing H1.
According to the study, the most common mistakes in the use of headings are Duplicate H1 and Missing H1.
Meta tags
28.84% / 21.26% — Title / Description is too long
Neither a long Title nor a long Description is considered a real error. Our recommendations (maximum 65 characters for Title and 300 characters for Description) are conditional standards for this meta tag to be fully visible in search results. Please note: we decided to extend the recommended Description length to 300 characters because Google increased the size of the snippets.
How to fix it?
Optimize the length of the text so that it appears in search results. If you can't shorten the text, try to get the main message across in the first 65/300 characters.
Ideal Title Size For Successful Web Page Optimization
How to fix it?
Optimize the length of the text so that it appears in search results. If you can't shorten the text, try to get the main message across in the first 65/300 characters.
Ideal Title Size For Successful Web Page Optimization
9.68% / 9.49% — Duplicate Title / Description
The content of the Title and Description tags should be unique and not duplicated on various site pages. It is difficult for a search engine to understand which page of your site to suggest for a particular keyword. Therefore, in identical Titles / Descriptions, it is likely that only one of the pages will be indexed by the search engine.
How to fix it?
We recommend creating unique meta tags for each page. If the found pages with the duplicate titles are completely identical, then leave only one version of the page, and close the others from indexing.
How to fix it?
We recommend creating unique meta tags for each page. If the found pages with the duplicate titles are completely identical, then leave only one version of the page, and close the others from indexing.
1.28% / 10.39% — Missing Title / Description
A Title tag tells you which page you are visiting. Without a page title, Google won't figure it out, and you'll get low rankings. When a Description is missing or seems irrelevant to the search engine, Google can use any text for the snippet.
How to fix it?
Add some text to Description / Title, but within the given norms.
How to fix it?
Add some text to Description / Title, but within the given norms.
1.37% / 11.43% — Title / Description is too short
Title and Description should be brief and at the same time meaningful, written in detail, with correctly constructed sentences, without misuse of keywords, capital letters, advertising slogans, etc.
How to fix it?
We recommend adding more unique text.
Ideal Title Size For Successful Web Page Optimization
How to fix it?
We recommend adding more unique text.
Ideal Title Size For Successful Web Page Optimization
Title
I consider titles up to 45 characters unoptimized; you can always put one more key in them. Plus, I know many companies and SEOs who deliberately write titles longer than 65 characters, giving robots one or two more keys that humans cannot see, but robots perceive and skip into the ranking.
Recommendations for beginner SEOs on how to make a Title tag:
I consider titles up to 45 characters unoptimized; you can always put one more key in them. Plus, I know many companies and SEOs who deliberately write titles longer than 65 characters, giving robots one or two more keys that humans cannot see, but robots perceive and skip into the ranking.
Recommendations for beginner SEOs on how to make a Title tag:
The site pages' indexing depends on how Title is created, so write about information/goods on the page as accurately and concisely as possible.
In Title, use the main key (product name, service, type of activity); if this is an article, indicate what a person can find out by visiting your page.
Do not use adjectives and quality keys like "best phone", "best hotel". Headlines like these often increase CTR, but they are also often ignored by robots. So be careful!
Do not write page titles like "Main- development company ...". Nobody cares that this is the home page of the site.
Do not copy Title from others. Your page title should be unique and meaningful. Do not borrow other optimizers' possible mistakes, do not forget about constantly checking the site for optimization.
Do not overuse regular and special characters. Search engines themselves will try to remove or replace them. For example, if you compose the title "Promotion!!! Mass sale and credit at 0%," the search engine will remove unnecessary signs or alter the Title at its discretion.
Don't spam with keys. One page - one key. There is no need to list everything possible. The robot and people will not understand what is on the page. Use keys in content.
Description
As with Title, different search engines have different optimal lengths. There are sometimes 425 character snippets on Google. Also, the description attribute is increasingly being replaced by search engines with their own. And its importance in optimization is no longer so significant.
Recommendations for beginner SEOs on making Description attribute:
As with Title, different search engines have different optimal lengths. There are sometimes 425 character snippets on Google. Also, the description attribute is increasingly being replaced by search engines with their own. And its importance in optimization is no longer so significant.
Recommendations for beginner SEOs on making Description attribute:
Your page descriptions should be meaningful and engaging.
I recommend using icons and special symbols to attract attention. Even at the top positions, you will be more quickly noticed through the snippet's bright colors.
In the page description, it is advisable to use the main page keyword in the first sentence. Do not fill your descriptions with promotional offers alone, they rank poorly.
Do not copy fragments of text into the description; the robot can do it for you.
Do not copy descriptions from others.
Although the description attribute is less and less taken into account by robots in ranking, you should not ignore it. It boosts CTR very well.
Stick to the optimal length. If there is not a lot of information on the page, you should not create large descriptions. But if the page contains a lot of information, try to describe the page well and tell the robots and people that they can get it on this page.
Headings
37.58% — Duplicate H1
If H1 and title are the same, then you are not making full use of the page's text optimization capabilities.
How to fix it?
Make H1 different from Title.
How To Write H1 — H6 Headers
How to fix it?
Make H1 different from Title.
How To Write H1 — H6 Headers
30.52% — Missing H1
Title tags are an essential part of your website's SEO optimization and are highly regarded by search engines.
How to fix it?
We recommend that each page has its unique H1 tag. Add only one H1 tag per page, as the H1 tag is the title of the page.
How To Write H1 — H6 Headers
How to fix it?
We recommend that each page has its unique H1 tag. Add only one H1 tag per page, as the H1 tag is the title of the page.
How To Write H1 — H6 Headers
24.60% — More than one H1 on page
Title tags are an essential part of your site's SEO and are highly regarded by search engines.
How to fix it?
Leave one H1 tag per page as it is the heading of the entire page.
How To Write H1 — H6 Headers
How to fix it?
Leave one H1 tag per page as it is the heading of the entire page.
How To Write H1 — H6 Headers
7.31% — Broken order of headings on the page
The search engine pays attention to the presence and content of headings; with a consistent structure of headings placement, the analysis process is faster and is informative for the search engine.
How to fix it?
We recommend that you follow the correct order of headings.
How To Write H1 — H6 Headers
How to fix it?
We recommend that you follow the correct order of headings.
How To Write H1 — H6 Headers
Many site owners neglect the H1 heading because they cannot fit it into the page design. Multiple H1 headings or absence of hierarchy are most often encountered because it is easier to highlight the heading with a tag and target the visible result than style it for the same visual effect. That is, they misuse the available tools.
The H1-H6 headers should only be used to structure the main content of the page and should not be used to highlight individual blocks, block headers, or menu items.
It is allowed to use several headings H2-H6 on one page of the site and only one H1 heading. In this case, the H1 heading on each page must be unique within site.
To make it easier - imagine that this is a textbook. You should have a table of contents, sections, paragraphs.
The H1-H6 headers should only be used to structure the main content of the page and should not be used to highlight individual blocks, block headers, or menu items.
It is allowed to use several headings H2-H6 on one page of the site and only one H1 heading. In this case, the H1 heading on each page must be unique within site.
To make it easier - imagine that this is a textbook. You should have a table of contents, sections, paragraphs.
Links and redirects
Links
The search engines rate link profiles very carefully, so the quality and number of external links significantly affect the position of your website.
Search engines take into account both external and internal links. It's easier to start link optimization with internal factors. According to the research results, these types of errors are the most common:
Search engines take into account both external and internal links. It's easier to start link optimization with internal factors. According to the research results, these types of errors are the most common:
63.88% — External links don't contain rel="nofollow" attribute
Using the rel = "nofollow" attribute for external links means that the search robot should not follow such a link, which means it will not transfer link weight.
How to fix it?
Use the rel = "nofollow" attribute to block from indexing external sponsored links or links to unverified sites.
How to fix it?
Use the rel = "nofollow" attribute to block from indexing external sponsored links or links to unverified sites.
33.79% — Internal links contain rel="nofollow" attribute
Using the rel = "nofollow" attribute for internal links, you lose some of the ability to distribute link weight between pages on your site.
How to fix it?
Don't use the rel = "nofollow" attribute for internal links.
How to fix it?
Don't use the rel = "nofollow" attribute for internal links.
2.01% — Missing favicon
Favicon is a site icon displayed next to the site in the search engine results, next to the site address in the browser address bar, and next to the site name in Favorites or Bookmarks instead of the default one.
How to fix it?
Add Favicon to your site pages.
How To Add A Favicon To A Website
How to fix it?
Add Favicon to your site pages.
How To Add A Favicon To A Website
0.21% — URL is too long
The search engine may not process pages with more than 1024 characters in the URL.
How to fix it?
Reduce the number of characters in the URL.
How to fix it?
Reduce the number of characters in the URL.
0.09% — Too many GET parameters
If the page URL contains more than five GET parameters, then it becomes difficult to control them and the likelihood of duplicates on the site increases.
How to fix it?
It is necessary to reduce the number of GET parameters in the URL to a minimum.
How to fix it?
It is necessary to reduce the number of GET parameters in the URL to a minimum.
0.02% — Too many external links on page
A large number of outbound links can lead to incorrect link weight distribution, as well as lead to penalties from search engines for using search spam.
How to fix it?
We recommend reducing the number of outbound links or close the page from indexing.
How to fix it?
We recommend reducing the number of outbound links or close the page from indexing.
Redirects
A redirect is directing users and robots to a page different from the one they initially requested. They are not errors per se; however, all links on your site should lead directly to the landing page.
Among the indications of possible errors in redirects, the leader is Pages with set redirects. It is necessary to check whether you have redirected the user there carefully.
Among the indications of possible errors in redirects, the leader is Pages with set redirects. It is necessary to check whether you have redirected the user there carefully.
96.55% — Pages with set redirects
A redirect is directing users and robots to a page different from the one they initially requested.
How to fix it?
We recommend avoiding multi-step redirects, links to pages with redirects, redirects to relevant pages, redirects to non-existent or non-working pages, redirects to robots.txt.
How to fix it?
We recommend avoiding multi-step redirects, links to pages with redirects, redirects to relevant pages, redirects to non-existent or non-working pages, redirects to robots.txt.
3.45% — Used meta refresh tag for redirects
Search engines and users respond ambiguously to forced redirects like Refresh or JavaScript. It can also negatively affect the indexing of site pages.
How to fix it?
We advise you to reject meta refresh and JavaScript redirects, which may negatively affect the indexing of website pages.
How to fix it?
We advise you to reject meta refresh and JavaScript redirects, which may negatively affect the indexing of website pages.
Markup issues, multimedia, content and AMP
Markup
Research shows that the most overlooked markup is Twitter card on websites.
44.31% — Missing Twitter Card
Twitter Card markup is used to create informative and presentable Twitter post previews with links to your site.
How to fix it?
Add Twitter Card markup to create prominent Twitter posts with a link to your site.
How To Implement Twitter Card Markup
How to fix it?
Add Twitter Card markup to create prominent Twitter posts with a link to your site.
How To Implement Twitter Card Markup
29.71% — Missing Open Graph
Open Graph markup is used to create informative and presentable previews for your social media site.
How to fix it?
Configure the Open Graph markup to correctly display the link to your social media site.
How to customize the Open Graph markup.
How To Set Up Open Graph Markup
How to fix it?
Configure the Open Graph markup to correctly display the link to your social media site.
How to customize the Open Graph markup.
How To Set Up Open Graph Markup
25.99% — Missing Schema.org
Micro-markup helps the search engine generate special snippets and recognize the content of the page - the objects referred to on the page. Using micro-markup, you can show search robots that particular text or other elements on the page are important and belong to a certain data type.
How to fix it?
Use schema.org markup for a more detailed description of the page.
How To Implement Schema.org Microdata And Why It Is Useful
How to fix it?
Use schema.org markup for a more detailed description of the page.
How To Implement Schema.org Microdata And Why It Is Useful
Multimedia
95% of all errors in optimization of multimedia files on site pages are missing alt tags - 45.75% and too large images - 48.81%.
48.81% — Large image size
Images of 100KB or more were found on the pages. Large size of images slows down their loading and page loading in general.
How to fix?
Optimize images for website pages.
How to fix?
Optimize images for website pages.
45.75% — Missing alt tag
You can read about the importance of filling in alt images in the official guide from Google. The alt tag is necessary when a user cannot see the image due to a screen reader or the low speed of the Internet; a user will be able to read the alt tag and understand the essence of the content.
It is also worth mentioning that alt tag helps algorithms understand what is shown in the picture. For example, an online store owner may be interested in this since the definition of the image's subject will allow the product to participate in the ranking by images.
How to fix it?
Add alt tags for images.
It is also worth mentioning that alt tag helps algorithms understand what is shown in the picture. For example, an online store owner may be interested in this since the definition of the image's subject will allow the product to participate in the ranking by images.
How to fix it?
Add alt tags for images.
5.43% — Broken images
The pages contain links to non-existent images. Visitors of your site will not be able to see such images, which can negatively affect their behavior and attitude towards the site.
How to fix it?
Replace or remove the broken images.
How to fix it?
Replace or remove the broken images.
Content
The most common mistake in page content is the presence of Lorem ipsum pages. However, it is also not uncommon to face the absence of text in the body and large page size.
41.21% — Pages with Lorem Ipsum
Lorem ipsum text found on pages. Developers often use Lorem Ipsum as the default text for layout. This can lead to the perception of the page by the search engine as irrelevant, not relevant to the topic of the site, or duplicate other pages on the Internet.
How to fix it?
Replace the text with the appropriate theme of the site and page.
How to fix it?
Replace the text with the appropriate theme of the site and page.
29.55% — Missing body text
The content on the page is important to search engines as an indicator of the usefulness of the page content to the users.
How to fix it?
Fill the Body with unique, non-duplicate content.
How to fix it?
Fill the Body with unique, non-duplicate content.
29.25% — Large page size
The page size affects the speed at which it loads. Low speed can be alarming for behavioral factors. Pages that are too heavy can have crawling and indexing problems.
How to fix it?
Reduce the page size to 2 MB.
How to fix it?
Reduce the page size to 2 MB.
AMP
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is a Google project launched in 2015 and designed to accelerate download speeds on mobile devices.
Check out some of the most common AMP related errors:
Check out some of the most common AMP related errors:
99.87% — AMP not used
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. Sites that use AMP load faster on mobile and rank first in mobile search results.
How to fix it?
Use AMP elements for fast website loading on mobile devices. Make sure your JavaScript code and CSS stylesheets work according to AMP rules. Replace the deprecated AMP elements with the current ones.
How to fix it?
Use AMP elements for fast website loading on mobile devices. Make sure your JavaScript code and CSS stylesheets work according to AMP rules. Replace the deprecated AMP elements with the current ones.
0.13% — Invalid or misused HTML tags
For AMP pages to work correctly, you need to use HTML tags correctly. To add various rich media elements to accelerated pages, you need to use AMP HTML tags correctly. Pages with broken or misused HTML tags will not validate and will not appear in Google search results.
How to fix it?
To get into the search results for the created AMP pages, you should avoid syntax errors and do not use prohibited or obsolete tags.
How to fix it?
To get into the search results for the created AMP pages, you should avoid syntax errors and do not use prohibited or obsolete tags.
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Indexing and hreflang attribute
Indexing
As per the graph, the most common errors associated with indexing site pages are:
26.91% — Another page in canonical tag
The canonical tag can help you eliminate duplicate content on your site by specifying the preferred version of the URL for the page. For pages with similar content, this tag will help show the search engine which pages to index.
How to fix it?
We recommend checking the correctness of the rel = "canonical" value on your website pages. Ensure that the canonical tag contains exactly the pages that you want to be indexed by the search engine.
How to fix it?
We recommend checking the correctness of the rel = "canonical" value on your website pages. Ensure that the canonical tag contains exactly the pages that you want to be indexed by the search engine.
21.33% — Missing charset
If the encoding is not specified, then the search engine may have problems recognizing the page content.
How to fix it?
Specify the encoding on the page.
How to fix it?
Specify the encoding on the page.
20.21% — Iframe tag on pages
The iframe tag is obsolete; the information it contains is not taken into account by search engines during the indexing process.
How to fix it?
Avoid using it whenever possible. If you can't avoid it, keep in mind that the information inside the iframe tag will not be indexed.
How to fix it?
Avoid using it whenever possible. If you can't avoid it, keep in mind that the information inside the iframe tag will not be indexed.
13.41% — Pages are blocked from crawling by noindex tag
The noindex meta tag prohibits the search engine from indexing the page. The difference between a meta tag and a closed page is that pages with a meta tag are visited by the search engine but not indexed, and those closed are not visited.
How to fix it?
We recommend that you check whether all pages closed from indexing should not participate in ranking.
How to fix it?
We recommend that you check whether all pages closed from indexing should not participate in ranking.
11.26% — Pages with low word count
The service checks for pages with too short or absent text on your site. Search engines check pages for content, blank pages can diminish the value of a site when indexed.
How to fix it?
We recommend enlarging or adding text to the pages of the site.
How to fix it?
We recommend enlarging or adding text to the pages of the site.
3.31% — Multiple rel="canonical' tags
When using the canonical tag more than once on a page, the search engine can ignore the directives specified in these tags.
How to fix it?
Use one Canonical tag per page.
How to fix it?
Use one Canonical tag per page.
1.29% — Canonical has a relative URL
If Canonical provides a link to a page without specifying the site domain, errors may occur when clicking on it.
How to fix it?
Specify absolute page addresses in Canonical.
How to fix it?
Specify absolute page addresses in Canonical.
0.89% — Pages are blocked from crawling in robots.txt file
Pages are blocked from crawling by the Disallow directive in your robots.txt file. By prohibiting this page, you prohibit search engines from accessing it and, as a result, the correct display and indexing of your web pages. Make sure this page is not blocked from indexing by mistake.
How to fix it?
Check if all of the found pages should be unavailable for indexing.
How to fix it?
Check if all of the found pages should be unavailable for indexing.
0.89% — Flash elements on page
Items using flash technology are outdated and affect your site's performance and loading speed.
How to fix it?
We recommend not to use outdated flash elements on the page.
How to fix it?
We recommend not to use outdated flash elements on the page.
0.50% — Cross-domain canonical links
If a domain is specified in canonical that is different from yours, then all positive signals that the search engine takes into account will be transmitted to this domain.
How to fix it?
Do not list pages on other domains in canonical if this page is important to you.
How to fix it?
Do not list pages on other domains in canonical if this page is important to you.
Hreflang attribute
According to our research, 69.60% of hreflang attribute errors are due to missing attribute on multilingual pages. The second most common is the conflict of hreflang attributes in the source code of the page, which appears 22.69% of the time.
69.60% — Pages without hreflang attributes
As the name suggests, this check returns a list of site pages for which the hreflang attribute is not specified.
How to fix it?
Do the following:
How to fix it?
Do the following:
- add the lang attribute to the tag, for example <html lang = "en">;
- add the hreflang attribute to the tag on your page, for example: http://example.com/ "hreflang ="en"/>.
22.69% — Hreflang attribute conflicts in page source
This validation algorithm helps to detect conflicts of hreflang attributes in the code of the page to avoid unexpected behavior of search engines.
This check reveals the following problems:
How to fix it?
Review your code and fix these issues.
This check reveals the following problems:
- lack of self-referencing hreflang attribute;
- hreflang conflicts in the URL;
- conflicts between the hreflang and rel = canonical attributes.
How to fix it?
Review your code and fix these issues.
6.46% — Invalid hreflang values
The hreflang attribute accepts invalid values:
Make sure the hreflang attributes are being used correctly. Check the language and country code, separate the language and country codes with a hyphen, put the country code in front of the language code; do not use a country code without a language code.
- unknown language code;
- unknown country code;
- using underscore;
- only country codes are specified;
- invalid order of hreflang values.
Make sure the hreflang attributes are being used correctly. Check the language and country code, separate the language and country codes with a hyphen, put the country code in front of the language code; do not use a country code without a language code.
1.25% — Your page isn't multilanguage
In international SEO, the hreflang attributes are fundamental. They indicate which page the search engine will display to the visitor, depending on his native language and location. If you have not specified the values for hreflang tags or have specified them incorrectly, this may negatively affect your site's usability. Site audit allows you to find and fix hreflang errors in the shortest possible time.
How to fix it?
We recommend making the interface of your site as convenient as possible for users from any country. Provide values for the hreflang tags.
How to fix it?
We recommend making the interface of your site as convenient as possible for users from any country. Provide values for the hreflang tags.
HTTPS certificate, status codes and server parameters
HTTPS certificate
When using HTTPS certificates, 81.60% of all errors are links from pages with HTTPS to HTTP. Also, a common problem is the presence of unsecured elements on pages with HTTPS — 17.31%.
81.60% — HTTPS pages leads to HTTP pages
When the site was migrated from HTTP to HTTPS, not all links were fixed to be secure with the HTTPS protocol.
How to fix it?
Eliminate insecure HTTP links from HTTPS pages.
How to fix it?
Eliminate insecure HTTP links from HTTPS pages.
17.31% — Mixed content
The site contains some elements that are not secured with HTTPS.
How to fix it?
Post only secure content on HTTPS pages.
How to fix it?
Post only secure content on HTTPS pages.
0.87% — Pages with insecure password input
An HTTP page becomes insecure if it is discovered using the <input type = "password"> field. Using the <input type = "password"> field on an HTTP page is detrimental to the user's security, as there is a high risk of the user's credentials being stolen.
How to fix it?
Do not use <input type = "password"> fields on the HTTP page.
How to fix it?
Do not use <input type = "password"> fields on the HTTP page.
0.16% — HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is not supported
With HSTS, the browser will request HTTPS pages even if the user types http in the address bar, and Google will only display secure URLs in search results. All this reduces the likelihood of showing users unprotected content.
How to fix it?
Subdomains must support HSTS. To use HSTS, use a web server that supports this technology.
How to fix it?
Subdomains must support HSTS. To use HSTS, use a web server that supports this technology.
0.02% — Invalid certificate name
The domain name for which the SSL certificate is registered does not match the name displayed in the address bar.
How to fix it?
Check which hostname the certificate is registered to. An example of such a mismatch: your website address is example.com, and the certificate is registered at www.example.com.
How to fix it?
Check which hostname the certificate is registered to. An example of such a mismatch: your website address is example.com, and the certificate is registered at www.example.com.
0.01% — The certificate is not trusted in all web browsers
SSL certificate chain is broken.
How to fix it?
You may need to install an Intermediate/chain certificate to associate it with a trusted root certificate.
How to fix it?
You may need to install an Intermediate/chain certificate to associate it with a trusted root certificate.
0.01% — Self-signed certificate
The certificate is generated by your server, not an independent certification authority, and is self-signed.
How to fix it?
Contact your certification authority. SSL certificate is not trusted.
How to fix it?
Contact your certification authority. SSL certificate is not trusted.
0.01% — Present HTTPS URLs in sitemap.xml
In order not to confuse the search engine, you need to specify only the pages with HTTPS in the sitemap.xml
How to fix it?
Generate a new sitemap.xml file with HTTPS URLs.
How to fix it?
Generate a new sitemap.xml file with HTTPS URLs.
HTTP status codes
The most common mistake is the presence of a 4xx server response code on the site. The presence of a large number of 400 response codes can negatively affect the ranking, so you need to monitor this indicator carefully.
62.76% — Server status code: 4xx
The 4xx server response code reflects the client request's errors, for example, invalid syntax or an error made while specifying the page. Search engines have a negative attitude towards such links, which affects the speed of indexing your website pages.
How to fix it?
We recommend removing this link from the site or replace it.
How to fix it?
We recommend removing this link from the site or replace it.
37.24% — Server status code: 5xx
The 5xx server response code indicates when the operation was unsuccessful due to the server's fault. These errors can lead to a decrease in the speed of indexing the site or not indexing pages by the search engine. The service provides a list of links to pages that give a 5xx server error code (500-599).
How to fix it?
We recommend that you check the server settings and site fault tolerance.
How to fix it?
We recommend that you check the server settings and site fault tolerance.
Server parameters
In this category, the most common error occurs when the www version of the site does not respond - 63.59%.
63.59% — Website version with www does not respond
The site does not have a redirect from the www version to the non-www version, and the www version is not responding.
How to fix it?
We recommend setting up redirects to the site version without www.
How to fix it?
We recommend setting up redirects to the site version without www.
36.41% — No redirect to https version of the site
Search engines define www and non-www versions of sites as different sites. At the same time, for the search engine, one of the pages is canonical, and the other is a duplicate. This can lead to non-indexing of the page content, as well as loss of link weight on the main page.
How to fix it?
We recommend setting up redirects to the site version without www.
How to fix it?
We recommend setting up redirects to the site version without www.
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Loading time for desktop and mobile
Loading speed for desktop
31.65% — Top of page content
All of the content at the top of the page is displayed only after the resources are loaded. JavaScript and CSS block the display of the top of the page. The check is carried out only on the main page of your site.
How to fix it?
We recommend deferring the loading of these resources, loading them asynchronously, or embedding their most important components directly into the HTML code.
How to fix it?
We recommend deferring the loading of these resources, loading them asynchronously, or embedding their most important components directly into the HTML code.
16.08% — Readable font sizes for desktop
Font size and line spacing may not allow easy reading of the text. The check is carried out only on the main page of your site.
How to fix it?
We recommend increasing the font sizes for the best reading experience.
How to fix it?
We recommend increasing the font sizes for the best reading experience.
10.78% — Incorrect size of links and buttons
Links and buttons on site pages should be large enough to be easy to click on.
How to fix it?
We recommend increasing the sizes of links and buttons.
How to fix it?
We recommend increasing the sizes of links and buttons.
9.23% — Optimized loading of visible content
The correct format and compression of images can reduce their size. As a larger image will always have a larger file size. We recommend optimizing the loading of visible content. The check is carried out only on the main page of your site.
How to fix it?
Optimize your images.
How to fix it?
Optimize your images.
6.88% — Long server response time
You can find out the server response time using the webmaster panels or third-party tools.
How to fix it?
To reduce this indicator:
To reduce server response times in WordPress, use plugins for caching, data cleansing, and server request validation.
How to fix it?
To reduce this indicator:
- clean up the database from unnecessary options;
- create caches of pages and binaries for PHP connections;
- go to a high-performance server;
- remove requests to third-party resources;
- reduce the number of requests to the server.
To reduce server response times in WordPress, use plugins for caching, data cleansing, and server request validation.
5.02% — Use of browser caching for desktop
With a caching system in place, the site creates content once instead of creating it every time users visit the page. Also, use Web Caching: the browser caches files for later use, significantly increasing website loading speed. The check is carried out only on the main page of your site.
How to fix it?
We recommend using the browser cache.
How to fix it?
We recommend using the browser cache.
4.78% — Optimizing images
The correct format and compression of images can reduce their size to speed up page loading. The check is carried out only on the main page of your site.
How to fix it?
We recommend optimizing your images. You need to resize and re-save images using an image editor instead of using the width and height attributes in HTML.
How to fix it?
We recommend optimizing your images. You need to resize and re-save images using an image editor instead of using the width and height attributes in HTML.
3.72% — Use of JavaScript for desktop
JavaScript optimization helps to speed up page loading and improve the site's search engine rankings.
2.99% — Minifying CSS for desktop
Effective code reduces the size of CSS documents and makes them easier to maintain. Validation is done only on the home page of your site.
How to fix it?
We recommend that you shorten the CSS code to reduce its size.
How to fix it?
We recommend that you shorten the CSS code to reduce its size.
2.55% — Server side compression testing for desktop
Compression of pages affects the speed of loading the site. The check is carried out only on the main page of your site.
How to fix it?
We recommend that you enable compression to speed up page loading.
How to fix it?
We recommend that you enable compression to speed up page loading.
2.21% — Page view area for desktop
The Viewport meta tag is used to adapt the site to all devices and sets the rules for displaying the visible area in a mobile browser.
How to fix it?
To activate a tag, you need to add it to the Head section of the page code, setting the required parameters.
How to fix it?
To activate a tag, you need to add it to the Head section of the page code, setting the required parameters.
1.91% — Minifying HTML code for desktop
The correct format and compression of images can reduce their size to speed up page loading.
How to fix it?
We recommend optimizing your images. You need to resize and re-save images using an image editor instead of using the width and height attributes in HTML.
How to fix it?
We recommend optimizing your images. You need to resize and re-save images using an image editor instead of using the width and height attributes in HTML.
1.19% — Above the fold content for desktop
The correct format and compression of images can reduce their size. As a larger image will always have a larger file size. We recommend optimizing the loading of visible content. The check is carried out only on the main page of your site.
How to fix it?
Optimize your images.
How to fix it?
Optimize your images.
After reading this post, you don't need to guess what errors you have on the site and manually look through the source code of all site pages. Serpstat Site Audit will help you with the question how to perform a technical SEO audit. You can also perform an audit of one page using our SEO checker.
You can also detect the errors described in the article using the free Serpstat Website SEO Checker browser extension.
You can see what problems most often arise for site owners, and you can predict their appearance :) Good luck in optimizing sites!
You can also detect the errors described in the article using the free Serpstat Website SEO Checker browser extension.
You can see what problems most often arise for site owners, and you can predict their appearance :) Good luck in optimizing sites!
If there are no errors on your site now, it doesn't mean that they will not appear soon - programmers are prone to errors. To notice this even before the drop in positions, set up a periodic audit, and you will learn about technical issues long before the fall in positions in and Google.
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