Why your website is stuck on Google
We audit Senegalese SME websites every week. The verdict is brutal: 80% of sites have 5 to 10 major technical issues that cap rankings no matter how good the content is. Before you pay a content expert, fix these 15 points. Many are free.
The 15 technical SEO blockers to handle
Speed and Core Web Vitals (1-4)
1. LCP over 2.5 seconds
Google measures when the largest visible element loads. On Dakar 3G mobile, most Senegalese sites hit 4-7s. Fix: optimized hero image (WebP/AVIF), lazy loading, CDN.
2. Unoptimized images
A 2 MB image on a product page kills LCP. Use WebP or AVIF, responsive widths, aggressive compression (next/image does all this automatically).
3. Render-blocking web fonts
Loading 4 Google Fonts synchronously costs 300-800ms. Rule: 1-2 fonts max, font-display: swap, preload only the main family.
4. Unsplit JavaScript
A 1.5 MB bundle freezes entry-level phones. Code splitting per route, lazy-load non-critical modules, drop unused libs.
Indexing (5-8)
5. Misconfigured robots.txt
The classic: Disallow: / left in production after a staging deploy. Google indexes nothing. Check every Monday morning.
6. Missing or stale sitemap
An up-to-date sitemap.xml speeds up indexing of new pages. Next.js generates it automatically with sitemap.ts — most Senegalese WordPress sites lack it.
7. Missing canonical tags
Without canonical, Google sees duplicates between /page and /page?utm=fb. Result: authority dilution. Canonical mandatory on every page.
8. Orphan pages
Pages with zero internal inbound links. Google cannot find them. Internal linking = minimum 3 links per key page.
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Structure and markup (9-12)
9. Duplicated or empty title tags
50% of Senegalese sites show "Home | SiteName" on 10 different pages. Unique title per page, 50-60 characters, keyword first.
10. Generic meta descriptions
CMS auto-generated descriptions cut click-through rate in half. Write them by hand, 140-160 characters, promise + benefit.
11. Broken H1/H2/H3 hierarchy
Multiple H1s per page, jumping from H2 to H4, H1 at the bottom: Google cannot parse the main topic. 1 H1, logical H2s, cleanly nested H3s.
12. Missing structured data
Schema.org LocalBusiness for a restaurant, Product for e-commerce, Article for a blog: this is what gets you into rich snippets with stars, prices, hours.
Mobile and security (13-15)
13. No HTTPS or expired certificate
In 2026, an HTTP site = penalized + flagged by Chrome. Let's Encrypt is free, no excuse.
14. Non-responsive design
Google indexes mobile-first since 2021. If your site breaks on iPhone, your SEO is broken.
15. No local signals
For a Dakar SME, missing a Google Business Profile + consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across the site costs 40-60% of possible local traffic.
How to audit your site tonight
- PageSpeed Insights (Google): Core Web Vitals
- Search Console: indexing, sitemap, errors
- Screaming Frog (500 URLs free): full audit
- Rich Results Test: structured data
We do it for you in 48h
Our Kolonell technical SEO audit lists all 15 points with priority, effort and estimated impact. Free for Senegalese SMEs.
Request your free SEO audit or message us on WhatsApp — report delivered within 48 hours.
Mohamed Ba
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.