Website Optimisation Macarthur: 7 Design Mistakes Hurting Rankings

Your website might look incredible, but is it actually working for your business?

It is a common scenario we see with business owners in Campbelltown and Camden: they invest heavily in a visually stunning website, only to find it buried on page three of Google. The hard truth is that design choices often sabotage search rankings. Slick animations, heavy videos, and confusing layouts can slow down pages, hide content, and confuse the Google bots trying to index your site.

In this guide, we are going to break down the ranking-killers local businesses hit most, and more importantly, how to fix them to start driving real leads.

Design Mistake 1: Heavy Pages That Fail Core Web Vitals

If your site is slow to load or visually unstable, Google will penalise you.

Modern web design tools often add unnecessary “bloat” to a website. Hero videos, uncompressed high-res images, and complex sliders might look good in a pitch meeting, but they destroy your site speed.

Google measures this through Core Web Vitals—a set of metrics that quantify the user experience. If you are failing these, you are frustrating users and losing ranking positions.

How to Fix It Fast:

• Audit First: Run your site through PageSpeed Insights. Look specifically at your LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) scores.
• Compress Assets: Replace heavy video backgrounds with compressed, high-quality static images where possible.
• Prioritise “Above the Fold”: Ensure the content the user sees first loads instantly. Load chat widgets and tracking scripts after the user interacts with the page.
• Mobile Optimisation: Pay close attention to INP (Interaction to Next Paint) on mobile devices, which often lags behind desktop performance.

When we build websites for our clients, our development process is laser-focused on Core Web Vitals to ensure a fast user experience from day one.

Design Mistake 2: Mobile Pages With “Hidden” Content

Google uses the mobile version of your site to decide where you rank.

Many businesses still treat their mobile site as a “lite” version of their desktop site. They hide text behind “read more” buttons or remove sections entirely to save screen space. This is a critical error. Since Google switched to mobile-first indexing, if content isn’t visible on mobile, it might as well not exist.

Achieving Content Parity:

• Keep the Copy: Ensure your mobile site contains the same headings, main text, and metadata as your desktop version.
• Check Navigation: Make sure internal links to your key service pages are accessible on mobile menus.
• Don’t Hide Answers: We have seen rankings dip when clients put key FAQs inside closed accordions that Google struggles to value. Keep core answers visible.

Design Mistake 3: Intrusive Pop-ups and Overlays

Aggressive pop-ups ruin the user experience and can trigger Google penalties.

We understand the need to capture leads, but large overlays that cover the entire screen, especially on mobile, are a major usability issue. Google explicitly warns against “intrusive interstitials” that block users from accessing the content they expected.

The Safer Alternative:

• Use Banners: Opt for a smaller sticky banner at the top or bottom of the screen instead of a full-screen gate.
• Time It Right: Trigger offers only after the user has scrolled significantly or spent time on the page, rather than immediately upon entry.

Design Mistake 4: Weak Headings and Visual Hierarchy

Headings are for structure, not just style.

A common issue we see on Macarthur business sites is the misuse of heading tags (H1, H2, H3). We often find multiple H1 tags on a single page (confusing for Google) or vague headings like “Welcome” instead of descriptive ones like “Emergency Plumber Campbelltown”.

Structure your content so both Google and busy customers can scan it easily.

A Better Service Page Layout:

• H1: Clear service name + Location (e.g., “Commercial Electrician Camden”).
• H2: The core problem you solve.
• H2: Your solution and methodology.
• H2: Social proof (Reviews, Case Studies).
• H2: Call to Action (CTA).

Design Mistake 5: Links That Google Cannot Crawl

If Google can’t follow your links, it can’t index your pages.

Google discovers new pages on your site by following links. However, some modern design trends use buttons that aren’t real links (using JavaScript instead of standard HTML href tags). This creates “orphan pages” that are invisible to search engines.

The Fix:

• Ensure every button and navigation item is a standard HTML link.
• Avoid generic anchor text like “Click Here.” Use descriptive text like “View our Website Development Services” so Google understands what the next page is about.

Design Mistake 6: Thin “Doorway” Pages

Quality beats quantity in local SEO.

Some SEO strategies involve creating dozens of near-identical pages for every suburb in the Macarthur region (e.g., “Plumber Narellan,” “Plumber Oran Park”). If these pages have thin, duplicated content, Google views them as “doorway pages” and may de-index them entirely.

How to Do Local Pages Right: If you want to target specific areas—like we do with our Local SEO services—you must provide unique value on each page:

• Include specific project examples from that suburb.
• Mention local landmarks or specific service limitations for that area.
• Add unique reviews from customers in that location.

Design Mistake 7: Missing Local Trust Signals

Trust signals are crucial for both conversion rates and local ranking factors.

Your website needs to prove you are a legitimate Australian business.

Add Trust Without Clutter:

• Header: Place your local phone number and main service area clearly at the top.
• Footer: Include your Business Name, Physical Address, and ABN.
• Reviews: Embed real Google Reviews near your primary Call to Action.

For businesses looking to secure their digital assets, our website security and maintenance packages ensure these trust signals (and your site’s uptime) are always protected.

---

A Simple Optimisation Plan For Your Business

You don’t need to fix everything overnight. Start with this focused plan:

1. Pick one key service page that drives revenue.
2. Measure it using PageSpeed Insights and Google Search Console.
3. Fix one speed issue (usually images) and one mobile issue this week.
4. Improve structure by rewriting headings to be keyword-rich and descriptive.

Final Thoughts

Website optimisation is about removing the friction that prevents Google, and your customers. from finding what they need. When your pages load fast, read clearly on mobile, and link cleanly, rankings and enquiries inevitably follow.

However, technical SEO can be complex. If you would rather focus on running your business than debugging code, we are here to help.

Ready to turn your website into a lead-generation engine?

Click here to book your free, no-obligation strategy session with Cyberspark Digital today.

---

FAQs

What is website optimisation? Website optimisation is the process of improving your site’s technical performance, content, and user experience to rank higher in search engines and convert more visitors into leads.

Should I optimise for mobile or desktop first? Always optimise for mobile first. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it looks at your mobile site to determine your rankings, even for desktop searches.

How do I know if my speed data is real? Use Google PageSpeed Insights. Focus on the “Core Web Vitals” section, which uses real-world user data rather than just lab simulations.