The Risks of Ignoring On-Page and Technical SEO

In today’s digital-first world, your website is more than just a business card – it’s your most powerful tool for attracting and engaging potential customers. For B2B manufacturers, this is especially true. As buyers continue to rely on online searches to inform their purchasing decisions, having a strong online presence is no longer optional; it’s essential. 

But what happens if your website isn’t optimized for search engines? Ignoring key aspects of on-page and technical SEO (search engine optimization) could mean your business is virtually invisible to potential customers searching for your products or services. Ignoring SEO best practices is never a good habit to get into and can cost you valuable leads, damage your brand reputation, and ultimately put you a step behind your competitors.

If you’re looking to attract, covert, and retain customers, addressing your website’s on page technical SEO is the first step toward success.

Technical SEO vs. On-Page SEO

It’s likely you’ve heard of SEO before, but you may not have heard of on-page or technical SEO. At its core, the goal of any SEO optimization is to increase the visibility of a website in relevant search results.

On-page and technical SEO are two complementary parts of a cohesive inbound marketing strategy. Both focus on optimizing a well-designed website, but they target different aspects:

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO focuses on optimizing individual pages to make content relevant and valuable to users and search engines. This includes:

• Keyword Optimization: Strategically using relevant keywords in titles, headings, and body text.
• Meta Tags: Writing compelling title tags and meta descriptions to improve click-through rates.
• Content Quality: Creating engaging, unique, and valuable content tailored to user intent.
• Internal Linking: Connecting related pages to improve site navigation and link equity.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to website and server optimization to help search engines crawl and index your site more effectively. Even small issues with indexability or crawlability can result in your site dropping in Google search results. Key elements include:

• Site Speed: Ensuring pages load quickly to enhance user experience.
• Mobile-Friendliness: Designing responsive websites that perform well on all devices.
• Structured Data: Using schema markup to provide search engines with context about your content.
• Crawlability and Indexability: Fixing broken links, creating XML sitemaps, and optimizing robots.txt files.

If your website doesn’t utilize both on-page and technical SEO for your inbound marketing strategy your website could be undermining your business goals.

The Dangers of Ignoring On-Page & Technical SEO

Here are four primary ways that ignoring on-page and technical SEO undermines your business:

• Lower Search Rankings
• You Miss Potential Customers
• Your Brand Reputation Will be Questioned
• Google Could Flag You As Untrustworthy

Lower Search Rankings

The majority of online experiences begin with a search engine. Ignoring SEO means your business is less likely to appear in search results, reducing its exposure to potential customers.

Lower rankings limit your reach and make it harder for new audiences to discover your brand.

You Miss Potential Customers

Effective SEO can attract a large number of visitors to your site. And the more traffic you’re getting, the more chances you have of creating new leads and even increasing your sales.

By neglecting technical SEO, you’re opening the door for your competitors to steal customers. In niche industries with long sales cycles and big contracts, it’s vital to grab the attention of your customers first.

To do that, you need to make sure your website can be crawled and indexed by Google's search engine.

Your Brand’s Reputation Will Be Questioned

When searching for solutions, customers are unlikely to choose a brand that appears unprofessional. Today’s online consumers are well-informed and typically avoid results beyond the first page of search engines.

If your site isn’t ranking highly, it risks being overlooked entirely. Furthermore, failing to maintain SEO can cause your rankings to drop, setting your efforts back to square one.

Google Could Flag You as Untrustworthy

Google’s algorithm prioritizes trustworthy and relevant content. Sites that neglect on-page SEO are at risk of being filtered out, making recovery difficult. Consistently producing fresh, relevant content that enhances user experience is vital to proving your authority to Google.

Google continually updates its search algorithms. It’s important for your business to consistently produce new, relevant content that contributes to user experience and proves to Google that you’re a leading authority in your industry.

How to Improve On-Page & Technical SEO

Simply ignoring the behind-the-scenes health of your website is a great example of what not to do for SEO. But if you have been, either accidentally or purposefully, there are some ways to improve them.

Here are four actionable tips for improving common SEO issues:

• Enhance Mobile Usability 
• Prioritize Page Load Speed
• Use Schema Markup for Rich Snippets
• Publish High-Quality Content

1. Enhance Mobile Usability and Accessibility

With so many users accessing search engines on mobile devices, ensuring your site is mobile-friendly is crucial. A mobile-friendly website improves website user experience, boosts engagement, and enhances your search rankings, as Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing. Here are key steps to take:

• Adopt a Responsive Design
• Ensure Accessibility

Using a responsive web design allows your website to adjust easily between different screen sizes and orientations. It also eliminates the need to separate between mobile and desktop versions of your site, and therefore, provides a consistent experience across devices.

Make your site accessible to users with disabilities by adhering to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This includes providing alternative text for images, clear headings, and keyboard navigation compatibility.

2. Prioritize Page Load Speed

Faster-loading pages improve user experience and are prioritized by search engines. Key techniques include:

• Optimizing Images
• Minifying Code
• Leveraging Browser Caching

Image optimization makes a great addition to your site. Large, uncompressed files can slow down website loading time and cause your visitors to get frustrated and leave before exploring your site further. Minifying your website’s backend by reducing any unnecessary CSS, JavaScript, and HTML code also helps your page load faster. And, by enabling browser caching, load times are decreased for repeat site visitors.

3. Use Schema Markup for Rich Snippets

Implementing schema markup, also known as structured data, enhances your website's visibility by enabling search engines to better understand and display your content as rich snippets. Rich snippets are like enhanced search results that provide users with additional information directly in the search results. 

These can include elements like star ratings, images, or event details, making your listing more attractive and informative.

To implement schema:

• Identify the content you want to enhance, like articles, products, or events.
• Use tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
• Add the code to your website HTML or use plugins if you’re on a platform like WordPress
• Validate your schema with Google’s Rich Results Test.

4. Publish High-Quality Content 

Creating high-quality content is more than just writing good articles. It’s about building trust and demonstrating your expertise. To do that effectively, focus on creating unique, valuable content that answers user questions by:

• Focus on E-E-A-T
• Understand Google’s Helpful Content Update
• Include internal and external links
• Provide regular updates

Google values content that demonstrates Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). Write from a position of knowledge and ensure your content reflects deep understanding of the topic.

Adapting to Google’s Helpful Content update can help you prioritize content that is genuinely helpful to users. Avoid overly promotional or shallow articles and instead focus on addressing user intent and solving their problems.

Using both internal and external links within your content can help guide and connect visitors to information you want them to know more about. Use internal site links to connect to related articles to guide users and distribute link equity. Similarly, use external website links to link to authoritative sources to back up claims or statistics while also boosting your website's overall credibility.

Don’t forget that it’s important to refresh old content with current information to maintain relevance and improve rankings. Nobody wants to be directed to a website page with outdated information on it.

SEO Checklist

Ignored SEO tasks can negatively affect your website’s visibility and user experience. For both new and existing websites, make sure you have all your bases covered.

Luckily, we have just the resource for you! Download our free SEO checklist to help keep yourself (and your website) more organized:

(Editor's Note: This article was originally published in May 2021 and was recently updated.)