Technical SEO

Technical SEO can be a bit of a daunting term. But really, it’s just Search Engine Optimization that focuses on the technical aspects of a website. That means ensuring your site is well-structured, uses the proper tags, and has fast page speeds.

What is technical SEO and why do you need it?

If you want your website to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs), then you need to make sure it has strong technical SEO. Technical SEO will help search engines understand your website better and index it properly, which can lead to higher SERP rankings.

Why is technical SEO important?

Technical SEO is important because it helps ensure that your website is easily accessible and understandable by search engines. If your website is not technically sound, then it may be difficult for search engines to index it properly, which can result in lower SERP rankings.

The benefits of technical SEO optimization

There are many benefits of technical SEO optimization, including:

• Improved website speed and performance
• Better crawling and indexing by search engines
• Increased website visibility in search results
• Improved user experience on your website

How can you improve your website’s technical SEO?

There are many ways to improve your website’s technical SEO. SEO Tools for Webmasters will help you to improve the technical aspects of your website.

But a tool is just a tool, the main thing is that you understand the technical foundation of your website and once that knowledge is obtained, tools will help you to improve the technical aspects.

Technical aspects of a website

There are a number of different technical aspects that go into making a website, from the server it is hosted on to the code that runs it. All of these need to be configured correctly in order for the site to function properly and be visible to search engines. Some of the most important technical aspects of a website include:

• Site architecture: This refers to how the website is structured and coded and includes things like using proper tag hierarchy and nesting. A well-structured website is easier for search engines to crawl and index, which can lead to better rankings.
• Page speed: Visitors expect websites to load quickly, and search engines also factor page speed into their algorithms. Slow pages can result in lower rankings and less traffic.
• Mobile-friendliness: More and more people are using mobile devices to access the internet, so it’s important that websites are optimized for smaller screens. This includes things like using a responsive design and ensuring that tap targets are large enough to be easily clicked on.

Making sure your website is technically sound is an important part of SEO and can help you achieve better results. By paying attention to the details, you can ensure that your site is set up for success.

Site Architecture

Site architecture is the process of planning and designing the structure of a website. This includes things like the layout, navigation, and overall organization of the site. A well-designed site architecture makes it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for and increases the chances that they’ll convert into customers or leads

There are a few key things to keep in mind when designing the architecture of a website:

• The site should be easy to navigate so that users can find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.
• The structure should be logical and organized in a way that makes sense.
• The design should be responsive so that it looks good on all devices.
• The site should be coded using proper tag hierarchy and nesting.

By paying attention to these details, you can create a website that is both easy to use and search engine friendly.

Page speed

One of the most important technical aspects of a website is page speed. Visitors expect websites to load quickly, and search engines also factor page speed into their algorithms. Slow pages can result in lower rankings and less traffic.

There are a few things you can do to improve the page speed of your website

• Use a content delivery network (CDN) to serve static assets like images and CSS files from a location closer to the visitor.
• Optimize images by reducing their file size without sacrificing quality.
• Minimize the amount of code used on each page.
• Use caching to store frequently accessed files so they don’t need to be loaded from the server each time.

By making a few simple changes, you can dramatically improve the page speed of your website.

Mobile-friendliness

Another important technical aspect of a website is mobile-friendliness. More and more people are using mobile devices to access the internet, so it’s important that websites are optimized for smaller screens. This includes things like using a responsive design and ensuring that tap targets are large enough to be easily clicked on.

There are a few key things to keep in mind when making a website mobile-friendly:

• Use a responsive design so that the site can be easily viewed on all devices.
• Make sure tap targets are large enough to be easily clicked on.
• Use mobile-specific content such as location-based offers and click-to-call buttons.
• Avoid using pop-ups or other intrusive elements that might make it difficult to use the site on a mobile device.

By keeping these things in mind, you can create a website that is easy to use on all devices.

How to audit your website for technical SEO issues

One way to audit your website for technical SEO issues is to use a tool like Google’s PageSpeed Insights. This tool will analyze your website and provide suggestions on how to improve page speed.

Another thing you can do is to run a site audit using a tool like Screaming Frog. This will help you find any broken links or other errors that could be hurting your SEO.

There are more tools out there like SEO PowerSuite Website Auditor that you can download for free and use as long as you want.

Finally, you can also use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your website is optimized for mobile devices. This is important because more and more people are using mobile devices to access the internet.

By auditing your website for technical SEO issues, you can identify any areas that need improvement. By fixing these issues, you can improve your website’s search engine rankings and traffic.

Let’s dive into the infrastructure of your website

Sitemaps

A sitemap is a file that contains a list of all the pages on a website. This file is used by search engines to understand the structure of a site and to find new pages.

There are two types of sitemaps: XML sitemaps and HTML sitemaps. XML sitemaps are intended for use by search engines, while HTML sitemaps are intended for use by visitors.

Creating a sitemap can help improve your SEO in several ways:

• It helps search engines find new pages on your site.
• It helps search engines understand the structure of your site.
• It can help increase the crawling rate of your site.

Many tools are available including plugins or extensions for creating the sitemaps.

If you have a website, it is a good idea to create a sitemap. This will help improve your site’s SEO and make it easier for search engines to find and index your pages.

Robots.txt

The robots.txt file is a text file that contains instructions for search engine bots. These instructions tell the bots what pages on your website they are allowed to crawl and index.

The robots.txt file can be used to improve your website’s SEO in several ways:

• It can help you control what content is indexed by search engines.
• It can help you prevent duplicate content from being indexed.
• It can help you manage server load by controlling how often bots crawl your site.

If you have a website, it is a good idea to create a robots.txt file. This will help you improve your site’s SEO and prevent any unwanted pages from being indexed.

URL structure

The URL structure of a website is the way that the pages are arranged in the hierarchy. A well-structured URL can be favourable for SEO because it can help search engines understand the structure of the site and what the pages are about.

There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a URL structure:

Use keyword-rich URLs to help search engines understand what the page is about.

• Use hyphens (-) to separate words in the URL.
• Make sure the URL is short and easy to remember.

Having a well-structured URL can help improve your website’s SEO. Choose a URL structure that is easy for search engines to understand and that will help them index your pages correctly.

Canonical tags

A canonical tag (sometimes called a rel=canonical tag) is an HTML element that tells search engines which version of a page to index.

For example, if you have two versions of the same page (e.g. example.com/page1 and example.com/page2), you can use a canonical tag to tell search engines which one is the preferred version.

Adding canonical tags to your website can help improve your SEO in several ways:

• It can help you avoid duplicate content issues.
• It can help you control which version of a page is indexed.
• It can help you improve the crawlability of your site.

If you have multiple versions of the same page on your website, it is a good idea to use canonical tags. This will help improve your SEO by preventing duplicate content issues and controlling which version of the page is indexed.

Meta tags

Meta tags are HTML elements that provide information about a web page. Meta tags are not visible to visitors, but they are used by search engines to understand the content of a page.

There are a few different types of meta tags:

• Title tags: The title tag is the most important meta tag. It tells search engines what the page is about.
• Meta description tags: The meta description tag gives a brief description of the page. This tag is often used by search engines to display a page’s description in the search results.
• Meta keywords tags: The meta keywords tag is used to list keywords that are relevant to the page. However, this tag is not used by all search engines and has little SEO value.

Using meta tags can help improve your website’s SEO by providing information to search engines about the content of your pages.

Content optimization

Content optimization is the process of making sure that your website’s content is well-written, relevant, and keyword-rich. Optimizing your content can help improve your website’s SEO and make it more likely to rank well in search results.

There are a few things to keep in mind when optimizing your content:

• Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
• Write unique and relevant content.
• Use keywords throughout your content, but don’t overdo it.
• Make sure your content is easy to read and understand.

If you want your website to rank well in search results, it is important to optimize your content. Keep these tips in mind to write well-optimized content that will help improve your SEO.

Alt text

Alt text is the text that is used to describe an image. It is important to include alt text on your website because it can help improve your website’s SEO.

Adding alt text to your images can help search engines understand what the images are about. This can be especially helpful if your images are not able to be seen by search engines (e.g. due to a technical issue).

Including alt text on your website can help improve your SEO by making sure that your images are properly indexed by search engines.

How to fix common technical SEO problems

There are a few common technical SEO problems that can impact your website’s ranking in search results:

• Duplicate content
• Broken links
• 404 errors
• Canonical issues

Duplicate content is a common issue that can occur on websites. It happens when there is more than one version of a page on your site (e.g. example.com/page1 and example.com/page2). This can cause confusion for search engines and can lead to your pages being ranked lower in the search results. To fix this, you can use canonical tags to tell search engines which version of the page is the preferred one.

Broken links are another common technical SEO problem. They happen when a link on your site points to a page that doesn’t exist. This can be frustrating for visitors and can cause search engines to lower your website in the rankings. To fix this, you can use a tool like Google Search Console to find broken links on your site and then update or remove them.

404 errors are another common issue that can occur on websites. They happen when a visitor tries to access a page that doesn’t exist. This can be frustrating for visitors and can cause search engines to lower your website in the rankings. To fix this, you can create a custom 404 page that helps visitors find what they’re looking for.

Canonical issues are another common technical SEO problem. They happen when there is more than one version of a page on your website (e.g. example.com/page1 and example.com/page2). This can cause confusion for search engines and can lead to your pages being ranked lower in the search results. To fix this, you can use canonical tags to tell search engines which version of the page is the preferred one.

The future of Technical SEO

The future of technical SEO looks bright. With the ever-growing importance of search engine optimization, companies are starting to invest more in their technical SEO efforts. This trend is only going to continue as the competition for visibility in the search results becomes more fierce.

As the competition increases, the need for technical SEO best practices will become more important than ever. Companies that invest in optimizing their website for search engines will be rewarded with higher rankings, increased traffic, and ultimately more sales.

While the future of SEO is always changing, one thing is for sure: those who embrace technical SEO will be well-positioned for success.

Types of SEO

There are several types of SEO, and our article 22 SEO Types writes about them.

Finally

Technical SEO is important for any website that wants to rank well in search results. By optimizing your content and fixing common technical SEO problems, you can help improve your website’s SEO and visibility. The future of technical SEO looks bright, and those who embrace it will be rewarded with higher rankings, increased traffic, and ultimately more sales.