Knowledge Base

Meta Tag Found Outside the Head Section

Published on May 8, 2023

Meta tags found outside the head section may have an effect on a page’s optimization or its rankings. The meta description must be added to the section of the HTML, for example.

Meta Description Tag Too Long

Published on May 8, 2023

Even though there is no limit on how long a meta description can be, it’s recommended to keep it relatively short — or else it risks getting cut off in the SERPs.

Meta Description Tag Occurs More Than Once

Published on May 8, 2023

Multiple meta description tags may confuse search engines. All additional meta descriptions should be removed from your page so there is only one.

Meta Description Tag Missing

Published on May 8, 2023

A missing meta description is a missed opportunity to provide both users and search engines context about your page.

Meta Description Tag Empty

Published on May 8, 2023

If your page has a meta description tag but it has no text, you can update the tag to add relevant copy. Here’s how.

Title and Meta Descriptions are the Same

Published on May 8, 2023

Having the same text for both your title and meta description is a missed opportunity for optimization. If they are the same, you can update your meta description (or title tag) to be more descriptive...

Meta Description Same as H1

Published on May 8, 2023

Having the same text in both your and meta description is a missed opportunity for optimization. If they are the same, you can update either one to make it unique from the other.

Broken or Incorrect Hyperlinks

Published on May 8, 2023

Broken or incorrect hyperlinks not only affect users, they interfere with Googlebot’s ability to crawl your site.

Hyperlinks Are Using Relative Reference

Published on May 8, 2023

While relative URLs come with quicker coding, a staging environment, and faster load times, they can lead to issues with crawling.

Hyperlink Has Both href and onclick Attribute

Published on May 8, 2023

The “onclick” attribute does what it sounds like: it’s activated when a user clicks it. However, Googlebot will follow the href reference, while users experience the onclick.

Underscore Instead of Dash in Hreflang

Published on May 4, 2023

If your hreflang uses an underscore instead of dash, you can update the attribute to solve this issue.

No Self-Referencing Hreflang Tag

Published on May 4, 2023

If a page has been translated into a different language, it will need an hreflang attribute that points to itself. For pages missing this self-reference, it can be added. Here’s how.

Invalid Region in the Hreflang Attribute

Published on May 4, 2023

Using the wrong regions in the hreflang attribute results in not getting picked up by Google. It’s important to have invalid/incorrect regions updated to avoid this.

Invalid Order of Hreflang Values

Published on May 4, 2023

The language code must precede the country code to have a valid hreflang attribute. If your order is invalid, you can update the hreflang to swap the order and resolve this issue.

Invalid Language in the Hreflang Attribute

Published on May 4, 2023

Wrong language codes in the hreflang attribute do not get picked up by Google.

Hreflang with Multiple Defaults

Published on May 4, 2023

Multiple x-default entries can interfere with a search engine’s ability to follow your hreflang tag.

Hreflang with Duplicate Language or Region Combinations

Published on May 4, 2023

Multiple entries for a single language/region combination can cause issues with your hreflang tag.

Hreflang Using Relative Links

Published on May 4, 2023

Relative URLs may be misinterpreted by search engines, so it’s recommended they are fully qualified URLs as part of your hreflang tag.

Hreflang URL Is Invalid

Published on May 4, 2023

An invalid URL in your hreflang attribute can get in the way of the search engine to reference the correct page.

Hreflang Present Outside Head

Published on May 4, 2023

The hreflang attribute should be implemented in the , not outside of it.

Hreflang Not Present

Published on May 4, 2023

The hreflang attribute tells Google which language and country you are targeting for a specific page.

Hreflang Missing Language Entry

Published on May 4, 2023

Language codes are a necessary component for hreflang attributes. If hreflang attributes are missing the language code, they’ll need to be added accordingly.

Empty Hreflang URL

Published on May 4, 2023

Empty hreflang URLs are going to be shown as errors in Google Search Console.

Conflicting Hreflang and Canonical

Published on May 4, 2023

Conflicting Hreflang and Canonical Hreflang tags should be used in conjunction with the canonical tag. The canonical tag and the hreflang tag for each version of a page should both point to the same U...

Viewport Tag is Missing the Width Attribute

Published on May 2, 2023

The viewport tag on your page should have a ‘width=device-width’ attribute. This way, mobile users will have the best online experience.

Viewport Tag is Missing the Initial-Scale Attribute

Published on May 2, 2023

Your viewport tag may be missing the initial-scale attribute set. In this case, you’ll want to add it, or else you face creating a negative user experience. Learn how below.

Viewport Tag Has a Specific Width Set

Published on May 2, 2023

Some viewport tags incorrectly have a specific width set instead of ‘width=device-width’.

Viewport Tag Does Not Have a Width Set

Published on May 2, 2023

The viewport tag controls the page dimensions on different devices by including 'width=device-width'.

Viewport Tag Has a Minimum-Scale Set

Published on May 2, 2023

The minimum-scale determines how much a user can zoom out of a page. It’s recommended to avoid using the minimum-scale attribute in your viewport tag.

Viewport Tag Has a Maximum-Scale Set

Published on May 2, 2023

The maximum-scale attribute defines the maximum zoom that the site's users are able to use, which in turn could cause scaling issues.

Viewport Tag Exists Outside the Head Element

Published on May 2, 2023

Viewport tags should be in the of the HTML. If your tag is located outside the you can make the necessary optimizations to move it to the correct location.

Multiple Viewport Tags Were Found in the Head Element

Published on May 2, 2023

Only one viewport tag is required for your page. Having multiple viewport tags could result in the incorrect one being selected.

Meta Descriptions

Published on May 1, 2023

What is a Meta Description? A meta description is a meta tag in a page’s HTML that is used to further tell searchers what a page is about.

Missing Viewport Tag

Published on May 1, 2023

The viewport tag instructs a browser on how to control and scale a page’s dimensions for presentation to users. After all, a smartphone has a much different surface area to display content (i.e. viewp...

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