Online site checkers are a quick way for non-developers to test how well their websites are performing, but it’s important to know how to interpret the results of the data you receive. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, dealing with algorithms, rather than people, is a bit like learning how to order a fancy sounding dish in French, only to misunderstand the waiter’s reply when he asks you how you’d like that cooked. Having just a bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing!
Quick but limited results
There are advantages to online site checkers, but you need to accept that the results you are given are an off the peg answer, designed to test all websites. The checker may pick up on your spelling mistakes, whether you’ve got content duplication issues or broken links, but it can’t detect the nuances. How compelling is your call to action? An online site checker can’t tell you that. Do you have attractive descriptions on your website that make visitors desire your products and services? An online site checker can’t tell you that either.
What happens when an online site checker detects a problem?
If you’re a business owner, with a bit of an understanding about how SEO works, using an online site checker to see how attractive your website appears to both your target audience and the search engines, might seem like a great idea. All you have to do is input your company URL and the checker will detect the presence of up to 700 different problems for you. But do you know what to do with that list of 700 problems, when it appears in your inbox? Perhaps you preferred it when you didn’t know that you had an illegal beacon embedded into your wordpress site?
How reliable is the site checker you’re using?
As a species, we’re very good judges of people. If a person was standing in front of you explaining how you could improve the SEO or user experience of your website, you would probably have a gut instinct about whether or not that person knew what he or she was talking about. If you had a question, you could ask it and the human person would answer it either satisfactorily, or in a manner that would begin to ring alarm bells in your head.
We’re not such good judges of algorithms. This is why so many of us are scammed by fake websites. There are fake online site checkers out there. We’ve seen the reports. There are also outdated checkers out there that will advise you to stuff your 300 word web content full of keywords, ignoring the fact that the last Google update would far prefer you to use the sort of language that flows naturally between people and provide interesting ideas and opinions instead.
Online site checkers are a sticking plaster over a wound that may or may not need stitches. The best opinion on how to improve the performance of your website to appeal to real people and search engines alike, will come from website and marketing experts, like our team here at Cosmetic Digital.
We know the cosmetic and dental industries inside out. We know what your competitors are doing and we know how you can improve upon their efforts. Why trust an unfamiliar website to provide you with accurate information, when one of our guys, with a proven track record, can be helping you in person within minutes.
For advice tailored to your business and budget, please give us a call on 0115 9140 640.