Dumb SEO Questions

(Entry was posted by Rhiannon De Havas on this post in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 04/28/2022).

What would you do in my situation?

I have a problem and a question, it’s a bit difficult to explain, but I’ll try my best. I use squarespace for my website.I have a page that is performing very well for a long tail keyword. It’s getting me a small but necessary amount of sales every day because it’s currently at #2 on google for that long tail keyword. It took 3 months after I published it to get it to number 2 and it seems to be staying there.However, for a related (shorter) keyword with much higher traffic, it reached #22 in 4 months, but has started going up again and is now at #28. Obviously, because of the higher amount of traffic with the shorter keyword, I want to get higher than #22.The problem is that whenever google indexes the page it says there are issues with mobile compatibility. It says clickable elements are too close together and the content is wider than the screen.I know the reason for this is because of the elements I have chosen from squarespace.I know this because I have one other page on my website where I have chosen exactly the same way to display the content and I’m having the same problem. I’ve chosen a different design for all my other pages and they are all fine.I’ve tried tweaking the elements, but nothing seems to fix the issue. I feel like the only thing I can do to fix the mobile issue is to keep all the content the same, but change the way I’m displaying it completely. So, my questions are:1. Is the mobile issue likely the thing stopping me getting high up on the high traffic keyword? I’m not sure, because I managed to get to #2 with the longer keyword even with those issues.2. If I redesign the page, but keep all the content the same, how likely is it that this will have a negative impact on my position at #2 for the longer tail keyword. I really can’t afford to lose the sales that this brings in.So, I guess, since it’s hard to know exactly what will happen, I’m asking:What would you do in my situation?
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YOUR ANSWERS

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

  • Sal Isme: There are so many factors in a page ranking for a term, including content, compatibility, tech SEO, internal linking, backlinks for highly competitive keywords, leading to site authority, content gaps etc. Strictly speaking any change on your page could cost you your number 2 position but realistically if you have the same content with optimised headers, images and /or video content you shouldn’t lose the ranking and your page performance should improve, albeit slightly.

    2d
  • Dahlian R. Lamy: That mobile issue about clickable elements is NOT what`s holding your page back from ranking higher for the shorter keyword.

    Over the years, I`ve gotten that same message from GSC. I ignore it and it has not prevented my website or my client websites from ranking on page 1 for both long-tail and the more competitive shorter keywords.

    Changing the design will NOT have any impact. So, don`t waste your time on that.

    Your website is ranking well for the long-tail keyword as that keyword is less competitive and your page is probably better optimised for that particular keyword than the competitors.

    Now, to improve your ranking for the shorter, more competitive keyword, you will need to make sure your page is optimised for it and depending on the competitiveness of the keyword, you may also need to do some off-page optimisation.

    2d
  • Tim Capper: I agree with Dahlian above - clickable elements are not the issue.

    Google does not see your "shorter tail" page as quite ready yet BUT you know that "long tail" works so fill in the content gaps between the short & long - work your way to the target.

    2d
  • Jenni Brown: Unrelated. It`s usually a false positive and will go away on its own.

    2d
  • Michael Martinez: "Is the mobile issue likely the thing stopping me getting high up on the high traffic keyword?"

    No.…

    1d
  • Bill Hartzer: The mobile issue isn’t stopping you from ranking.

    I would look at the analytics to see if people are truly bouncing from the page when they are on mobile.

    1d

View original question in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 04/28/2022).