Your website serves as the digital front door to your business, and every element plays a role in its performance. Among the most critical components are your online forms and links. Broken forms and dead links can harm not only your user experience but also your SEO rankings, potentially costing your business valuable leads and customers.
Testing your online forms and links monthly should be a key part of your SEO strategy. In this blog, we’ll explore why it matters, how it impacts your website’s performance, and what you can do to ensure these elements are always optimized.
Your online forms—whether contact forms, sign-up sheets, or quote requests—are often the primary method for generating leads. A broken form means missed opportunities, frustrated users, and lost revenue.
From an SEO perspective:- Forms that fail to load or submit properly may increase your bounce rate, signaling to search engines that your site isn’t meeting user expectations.- Users who encounter broken forms are less likely to return to your site, reducing repeat traffic and engagement.
Links are the backbone of your website’s structure, guiding users and search engine crawlers through your content. Dead or broken links:- Prevent search engines from properly indexing your pages, which can lower your rankings.- Create a poor user experience, leading to higher bounce rates and reduced time on site.
Healthy links ensure that users and search engines can navigate your site seamlessly, improving your overall SEO performance.
If users click on a form or link and encounter errors, they are likely to leave your website immediately. This increases your bounce rate, a key metric search engines use to evaluate your site's relevance.
Broken internal links confuse search engine crawlers, preventing them from properly indexing your content. This means important pages may not appear in search results.
A website with broken elements damages trust and credibility. Visitors are less likely to engage with your business if they encounter issues navigating your site or submitting information.
Search engines prioritize websites that deliver a smooth, error-free experience. Broken forms and links signal poor website maintenance, which can lower your rankings.
By testing your forms and links regularly, you ensure visitors can navigate your site easily and complete desired actions without frustration.
Healthy links and functional forms contribute to higher engagement metrics, better crawlability, and improved rankings.
When your forms work perfectly, users are more likely to submit inquiries, sign up for services, or complete purchases.
Identifying and fixing issues early prevents potential revenue loss due to unresponsive forms or inaccessible pages.
Tools to Use:- Google Chrome DevTools: Simulate form submissions and check for errors.- BrowserStack: Test forms across multiple browsers and devices.
Tools to Use:- Broken Link Checker: Automatically scans your website for broken links.- Screaming Frog SEO Spider: A powerful tool for crawling your site and identifying broken links.
Use Structured Data:
Add schema markup to your forms and pages to make them more accessible to search engines.
Keep Backup Links:
If you must remove a page, implement a 301 redirect to guide users and search engines to a relevant alternative.
Optimize Error Messages:
For forms, create user-friendly error messages that guide visitors in fixing submission issues.
Collaborate with Your Developer:
Regularly review your website with your development team to ensure there are no technical issues affecting your forms or links.
At Fawkes Digital Marketing, we understand the importance of a well-maintained website for both user experience and SEO performance. As the premier digital marketing agency in Cullman, Alabama, we offer comprehensive website audits to ensure your forms, links, and other elements are always optimized.
Testing your online forms and links monthly is a simple but effective way to enhance your SEO and ensure your website delivers a flawless user experience. By proactively identifying and fixing issues, you’ll not only improve your search rankings but also build trust with your audience and capture more leads.
Ready to ensure your website is always in top shape? Contact Fawkes Digital Marketing today, and let’s optimize your website for success! Get in touch to schedule a consultation.