Technical SEO

Your content's search engine rankings depend on a good technical SEO strategy.

The content itself does the heavy lifting of relevance and earning link equity, sure. However, without a foundation of Technical SEO work, your site's performance on search will be lacking.

Website Architecture impact on Technical SEO

The website architecture is like a mind map. It tells search engines what topic links to what, and what doesn't link to what. A well-organized site not only looks good, but also guides crawlers (aka Bots) to the main pages of your content and help with the indexation process.

Now, technical SEO Services like a Site Audit can reveal many errors in this architecture. Among these mistakes are:

• Orphan Pages: A page that doesn't get links pointing into it.

• Index Pages (or category pages): These pages are often neglected as hubs that link to many spokes. When you handle them correctly, they can add tremendous value to your website.

• Web Accessibility: Can the website meet minimum expected standards?

• Broken Page: It refers to a removed page that wastes crawl efforts by search engine bots.

The Role of XML Sitemaps in Content Discovery

Think of an XML sitemap as a technical SEO map that leads search engines directly to your valuable content. It acts as a signpost that guides Google's crawlers toward the most important pages on your site. So when you submit a sitemap via Google Search Console, you are extending an invitation for search engines to come and index your offerings.

Here's a word of caution, though. Your aim should be for the xml sitemap to accurately represent all current pages of your website. Also, be careful not to send them orphan pages, or pages that block search engines.

Leveraging Robots Meta Tag and Robots.txt

Enter the world of robots.txt like a technical SEO pro. This file is a gatekeeper that directs search engines to the important pages and signals what shouldn't be crawled, followed and indexed.

It's important to frequently update (and check) this file to prevent blocking access for search engine bots to key pages. This is a classic mistake web designers often make when they take a website live.

Another thing is, robots meta tags serve as discrete influencers on a per-page basis. They guide the actions of search engines and indicate if they should pay attention or disregard certain content.

But most importantly, if you mistakenly restrict access to vital resources like CSS and JS files, you might harm how well search engines understand your website's functionality. In technical SEO terms, it would be equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot!

On-page elements of your website give you the opportunity to make a strong first impression for both users and search engines. It's a chance you shouldn't ever miss!

OSO - On Site Optimization

OSO - We use the acronym "OSO" for On Site Optimization. Clients like it, so we're using it here too.

Some basics of Technical SEO with respect to OSO.

OSO - Title Tags

Your title tags must immediately draw attention to your keywords and provide a preview of the content that follows.

Each webpage must have a unique title tag to avoid duplicate content issues and ensure it stands out.

OSO - Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions must be persuasive enough for users to want to click through (should act as a call-to-action or CTA). In some instances, we ask our Google Ads specialists to help write them because these descriptions are like Ads.

The description should be short and to the point, between 150 and 160 characters. Check them in a tool like Yoast SEO (in WordPress), which ensures the full message is conveyed without being truncated in search results.

Optimizing URL Structure for Clarity and Relevance

This isn't so much technical SEO, but good SEO Copywriting is important to maintain coherence in your website. It's because your URLs serve as navigational markers on the web. These URLs benefit visitors and search engines if they're clear and descriptive... especially when they incorporate keywords.

Implementing Structured Data for Rich Snippets

Structured data translates the content of your webpage into schema markup. They help search engines digest your data easily.

For e-commerce websites, it can convert a simple listing into an eye-catching rich snippet that displays prices and star ratings. Put simply, it offers users visual cues of content quality right there in the search results.

Now, there is a range of Rich Snippets available. To use them effectively, the first step here should be to achieve a page one ranking. And the second step involves monitoring the results as well as seeing what snippets Google is generating.

Afterward, your technical SEO consultant can make a play for it based on your keyword rankings and page.

In the online world, your site speed is important because pages with sluggish loading speed tumble down in the search engine rankings.

This factor is vital for holding on to visitors who would otherwise abandon a lagging webpage. Google has made its position clear about it: page loading speed significantly influences rankings, and their PageSpeed Insights tool acts as your guide. This tool delivers to you both scores and advice to boost your website's velocity.

When you focus on Core Web Vitals (a metric suite from Google Search Console - GSC) and remove unnecessary weight from your pages, you accelerate content delivery. This action also rolls out a warm welcome to search engine crawlers (like GoogleBot).

The truth is, optimizing speed can be one-off but is often most effective as an ongoing process with routine evaluations and tweaks. A dedication to improving performance will yield rich rewards not only in terms of enhanced user experience (UX) but in turn also contributes positively toward SEO.

Accelerating Page Load with a Content Distribution Network

Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) help deliver your website's content all over the world much faster based on users' locations. These networks act as local experts or fixers for the internet.

CDNs operate out of sight to ensure that irrespective of where your viewers are located, your web pages continue to load at rapid speeds. And it becomes possible because CDNs are serving assets (images and files) from a nearby computer.

Minimizing Server Response Time

Every millisecond is important when it comes to web server response time. It plays a significant role in improving your website usability.

By doing image optimization and redirects minimization, you are removing valuable milliseconds from your site's load time. It provides users with the speed they require and as a result, improves the ranking potential of your pages.

It is imperative that your website adapts to accommodate the transition to mobile usage.

The introduction of Google's mobile-first indexing puts your web page's mobile version in the limelight. So if your website isn't optimized for mobile, it'll prevent your potential customers from entering before they have had a chance to experience what you offer.

That's why optimizing your site for mobile devices is important to increase your visitor engagements. These people use their smartphones and tablets as primary access portals to your website.

Responsive Design and Mobile Usability

Responsive design means your website will automatically change its components' shapes according to the display sizes of your visitor's devices. It ensures that every element including buttons, text, or images, resizes and repositions smoothly. The goal here is to provide a user experience equally smooth on both mobile devices and desktops.

Here's the thing, though. Performance optimization works alongside responsive elements. This kind of optimization looks for any surplus content that might slow your website down on portable gadgets.

Meanwhile, a mobile-first approach places priority on meeting the needs of users by designing websites with mobile users in mind. These sites look aesthetically pleasing, and are inherently simple to use when viewed on smaller screens.

This strategy often includes implementing features such as resizable text and menus designed for touch input. These properties upgrade usability for those accessing your sites via smartphones.

Such thoughtful improvements in mobile user-friendliness make your site easier to digest by visitors. It also leads to longer stays or at least more satisfying stays for them.

Google notices when your visitor's dwell time increases (because they track it) and the user's likelihood that they keep searching for answers will decrease (also tracked by Google).

These factors will result in better rankings for your website.

Mobile Page Speed and User Experience

The speed of mobile pages dictates the tempo for contemporary users who insist on instant access to information. Accordingly, you can implement the AMP technology to effectively construct a rapid conduit for your content. This technology will deliver your content swiftly to users and maintain their engagement.

As you can see, you must avoid having slow website performance on mobile. Securing a good position in search engine rankings is similar to being in a competition where having a mobile page that loads quickly is mandatory.

Tools our SEO team use to diagnose Crawl Errors and Broken Links

Crawl errors and broken links are two common mistakes that tank your websites quickly. They're easy to overlook but they detract from the visitor experience. These (and technical issues like them) are the stumbling blocks I referred to at the top of this page.

However, there are some tools that we utilize to detect these crawl errors and broken links.

Technical SEO Tools we use include:

• Screaming Frog - SEO Spider: This is an awesome general purpose SEO tool, and if you're just getting started learning SEO it can be used on up to 100 urls for free.

• Ayima Redirect Path extension: This is a niche tool for finding redirect chains, a common problem on old websites that have had multiple versions over the years.

• Ahrefs: The SiteAudit crawler is an essential part of our Technical SEO audit service (see below). Aside: They also provide useful Keyword Research tools, help you do competitor analysis, and their Backlink Audits are first class.

• Google Search Console (GSC): The data GSC show you about your own website is excellent for understanding indexation, speed (via Core Web Vitals, mentioned above), keyword research and rankings. It is especially good at revealing (in charts) how these values have changed over time. You can use GSC only if you're a webmaster of a website.

• GTMetrix: This tool is similar to Google's PageSpeed Insights, but we prefer it. When it comes to finding why a website's speed is lagging, their "waterfall" tab provides exceptionally clear data.

• Sitebulb: As a secondary tool, it's a great one for sure! It reveals many of the same issues that Screaming Frog SEO Spider and the Ahrefs SiteAudit tool identify, but it goes a little further.

  • Sitebulb prioritizes technical issues well, certainly in-line with our views and experience in fixing common Technical SEO issues.

  • It has some great looking visualizations for you to see how the crawler gets around your website, or not!

We use these tools to review the technical SEO issues of target websites and sweep through the architecture of the whole website. We go right down to the structure of each individual web page so that every hyperlink connects to a relevant destination.

Semantic SEO overlap: "Relevant Destination" isn't quite tech SEO in the sense of being programming based. Rather, it is related to semantics, which involves understanding of the KW research, and the topical relevance of what is being said on each page. Plus, it also includes the related pages, that are, or should-be, linked to topically relevant pages. Internal links pointing from page to page is a huge driver of what a crawling search engine can infer (understand) about each web page and its place within the internal linking structure or semantic architecture.

For a thorough analysis of search queries from a technical SEO standpoint, these SEO tools accurately identify online cul-de-sacs. The tools then help you to repair those disruptions and preserve a flawless route for both visitors and search engine crawlers around your website.

You can compare handling broken internal links to fixing a roadway network. Doing so guarantees smooth and continuous navigation for anyone exploring your web pages. When you keep your pathways free, you signal to search engines that your domain/website is well looked after and worthy of earning visitors from search rankings.

Resolving Duplicate Content and Canonicalization Issues

You need a sound content strategy to avoid having the same content, because they can confuse search engines by presenting multiple, similar pages. So, let us introduce you to canonical tags. They serve as a hint for search engines and indicate which page is the primary source of content.

The goal here is to maintain one definitive version of your material for search engines. Because when a subordinate version seems like the best and (perhaps) most "linked to" version, search engines get confused easily.

Each time you implement hreflang and canonical tags together, coordinating everything precisely is vital to ensure they go along with each other.

Security is a fundamental expectation.

People expect safety and privacy when they browse on the internet. So if your website isn't secure, visitors will notice immediately, and many of them will leave. That's why securing your website is absolutely necessary these days.

Let's explore the effect of security on your website and how it also improves your search engine position.

The Impact of HTTPS on Rankings (2024)

As a minimum websites are expected to have an SSL, i.e. use HTTPS. Without it browsers will signal "not secure". You don't want to invest in a website, Technical SEO work and then see that!

ASIDE: If you're using WordPress it is wise to use a tool (or ideally a maintenance service) to scan and update your website regularly.

Addressing Security Concerns for Improved SEO

By adopting strong security protocols such as web application firewalls and implementing security headers, you can gain various advantages for your site. These include:

• Hardening your website against attackers. Be stronger than most and the next website they find will be an easier target.

• Reduce the likelihood of a security event, which would see your organic search performance take a tumble, even if it is only temporary.

• Ensuring safety of your users. It's especially important for ecommerce.

• Keep robust human centered security processes and policies, i.e. email security, password security etc.

Is your website trying to reach users around the world? Are you giving them, and the search engines what they need?

As your digital presence extends beyond borders into multilingual and multi-regional audiences, tech SEO services switch up to incorporate International SEO.

Hreflang Tags: Managing Language Targeting

Hreflang tags inform search engines about the linguistic and geographic orientation of every page, and where it should find alternative versions.

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We've covered a lot of ground, here's a quick wrap-up.

We've talked about the complex area of technical SEO in detail. You've also learned about the important tech SEO elements including the foundations of your site architecture and the nuances of mobile device compatibility.

Follow these strategies, and you'll not only speak the language of search engines, but also build a user experience (UX) that resonates across borders and devices.

We hope these insights help you refine your website, enhance your rankings, improve organic search results, and captivate your audience in the ever-evolving world of search via Technical SEO.