SEO Killer
You have seen the phrase on websites forever. I am loathe to even type it. “Under Construction” Don’t use it. Here are 3 reasons why:
- Most importantly, it is an SEO killer. Search engine bots are like real people. (I mean, that’s the goal of search engines, create seach analogs that “think” like people.) When a person or a bot finds this phrase on a website, what is the natural result? What would you do? You make a note, mental or otherwise, to not come back for a while. That’s what the bot concludes as well. After all, bots have a heavy workload. No sense wasting time visiting a site that is telling you “I’m not ready. Come back later.” And later is a relative term. Later could be 6 weeks or 6 months or later. A busy bot, like Google, will probably not come back for 6 months. That is an SEO killer. Don’t do it.
- It looks unprofessional. Will a client feel confident in the professionalism and competency of, oh, let’s say, an attorney, if she tells the world her website just hasn’t been well planned. “There’s nothing valuable to find here so just move along, potential client.” No, it looks bad. Don’t do it.
- It states the obvious. Every website is, or should be, in a constant state of change and improvement. So why state the obvious? And if your website is not intended for ongoing updates, then you might as well tell the world, “This website will never change, so once you have seen it, no need coming back.” No, you wouldn’t do that. Why? See rule #1.