Search engine optimization, known also as SEO, isn’t something that can be ignored. That’s because leads generated via SEO have a 14.6% close rate. Outbound marketing leads only have a close rate of 1.7%.

How can you maximize your SEO? By avoiding these 7 mistakes, you can strengthen your custom label site. Keep reading to find out how these mistakes can hurt your SEO, and therefore, your bottom line.

Mistake 1: Excluding H1 Tags

An H1 tag, or header-level-one tag, tells users and search engines alike what your page is about. Think of it like a title. If it’s absent from your page, then no one–visitors or search engines–know what your page covers.

Without that information, your website can’t rank as well. A website that doesn’t rank as well doesn’t get as many visitors.

Mistake 2: Uploading Large Media Files

Large photos are beautiful, and videos are a great addition to any website. Large files take a long time to load though. They can really slow down a website.

Slower websites frustrate users. Websites that frustrate users don’t rank as well as those that don’t.

Keep your media file size under control and you can avoid this pitfall.

Mistake 3: Making Text Part of an Image

If a website’s keyword is “woven label custom woven labels,” then that keyword needs to appear in text that the search engines can recognize. If that text only appears as part of a picture, the search engines can’t read it and it’s like it doesn’t exist at all.

Mistake 4: You Don’t Have Product Pages

Failing to set up product pages, for a website designed to sell something like custom labels, is detrimental on more than one level. Not only is it frustrating for users and search engines, but it’s a missed opportunity.

Even if you require customers to contact you to place custom orders, you still need product pages. There’s a difference between product pages and a shop.

Mistake 5: There is No Content Above the Fold

The area “above the fold” on a website is what users can see without having to scroll down. Search engines can tell when this area is void of content. Users can find it frustrating.

When users get frustrated, search engines can drop your site’s rankings. When you’re in the website design stage, make sure you include content above the fold.

Mistake 6: You Don’t Provide Contact Information

Users like to be able to get in touch with companies before, during, and after the buying journey. If you withhold your full contact information, they notice.

Search engines notice too, and your NAP (name, address, phone) citations, or listings, may suffer for it. When this happens, your SEO can be negatively affected.

Mistake 7: Never Completing an SEO Audit

An SEO audit can point out areas where you can improve your site’s search engine optimization. As search engine algorithms change, you need to keep your website up to speed in order to maintain good rankings.

There’s no reason not to conduct an SEO audit every six months or so. How can you improve a website without knowing its shortcomings?

Which mistake will you fix first?