Technical SEO

What is technical seo?

Technical SEO means optimizing the behind-the-scenes parts of your website. These are the elements that help search engines like Google understand, crawl, and index your site. A well-optimized technical setup makes your site faster, easier to find, and more search engine–friendly.

It ensures that your site meets the technical needs of modern search engines. The goal is better rankings and more visitors from search engines. Core parts of technical SEO include crawling, indexing, rendering, and site structure.

Crawling
Indexing
Site Structure

Why Technical SEO Is Important for Ranking:

Technical SEO is crucial. Even the best content won’t rank if your website has technical problems. Search engines need to find, crawl, and index your pages before they can appear in results.

If your technical setup is weak, your site might not get indexed at all. A strong technical base also makes sure your pages are fast, mobile-friendly, secure, and free of duplicate content. These factors matter for both users and search engines.

While perfection isn’t needed, helping Google access your site easily gives you a much better shot at ranking. It builds a strong base that supports every other SEO effort.

Technical SEO vs. On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO

SEO has three main areas, and each plays a unique role in getting your site ranked:

Focus: Website structure and backend settings.
Purpose: Helps search engines crawl, understand, and index your pages.
Key tasks:
- Crawlability and Indexing – Making sure search engines can access and store your pages.
- Site Architecture – Structuring your site for easy navigation.
- Page Speed – Fast-loading pages improve rankings.
- Mobile-Friendliness – Your site must work well on phones and tablets.
- HTTPS Security – Protects visitor data and builds trust.

On-Page SEO

Focus: Page-level content and HTML elements.
Purpose: Optimizes each page to match what users and search engines want.
Key tasks:
- Content Optimization – Write useful content that meets user needs.
- Keyword Research – Target the terms people are searching for.
- HTML Tags – Use clear titles, meta descriptions, headers, and image alt text.
- User Experience (UX) – Make your site easy and pleasant to use.

Off-Page SEO (Link Building)

Focus: External signals that build trust and authority.
Purpose: Improves your site’s reputation in the eyes of search engines.
Key tasks:
- Backlink Acquisition – Get quality links from trusted websites.
- Domain Authority – Boost your site’s overall trust score.
- Social Signals – Engagement on platforms like Facebook and Twitter helps too.

How to Improve the Technical SEO of Your Website

Improving technical SEO takes effort but pays off with better rankings and more traffic. Here’s how to do it:

Crawlability

Search engines must find and read your content.

Internal Linking: Link deeper pages from stronger ones. This helps search engines crawl them. Felix Norton increased his traffic by 250% using this method.
Robots.txt: This file tells search engines what to crawl. Make sure it’s not blocking important pages.
XML Sitemaps: Sitemaps help search engines find all your pages. Use tools to check for broken or redirected links.
Crawl Budget: Too many slow pages can cause Google to stop crawling. Set crawl rates in Google Search Console.

Website Structure

A clean layout helps users and crawlers navigate your site.

Flat Site Structure: Make sure all pages are just a few clicks apart.
Consistent URLs: Keep URLs clean and logical to help both users and search engines.
Breadcrumbs: These show users and crawlers the path from the homepage to a specific page.
XML Sitemap:
Submit a well-structured XML sitemap to search engines to ensure all important pages are indexed properly.
Avoid Broken Links:
Regularly check and fix broken links to maintain user trust and prevent crawl errors that can hurt SEO.

Indexing

Check Indexing Issues: Use Google Search Console’s reports to find pages that aren’t indexed.
Noindex Tags: Add these to low-value or duplicate pages.
Canonicalization: Use canonical tags to show Google which version of a page to index.
XML Sitemap Submission:
Submit your XML sitemap in Google Search Console to help Google discover and index all important pages efficiently

Content Quality

Remove or improve weak content to boost site authority and rankings.

Fix Thin and Duplicate Content
Use tools like Semrush, Screaming Frog, or Raven Tools to identify low-value or duplicate pages.
Check for Plagiarism
Use Copyscape or Grammarly to ensure content is original. Google prefers unique content from the original source.

Page Speed

Fast websites rank higher and convert better.

Reduce Page Size: Compress images and remove extra code to speed things up.
Limit Third-Party Scripts: Each script adds load time. Remove what you don’t need.
Use a CDN: Test load times with and without a CDN to see what works best.

Security (HTTPS)

Use HTTPS to protect data and build trust. Sites with HTTPS show a lock icon in the browser and get better treatment from Google.

• Protects User Data: HTTPS encrypts data between the browser and server, preventing theft or tampering.
• Builds Trust: A padlock icon in the address bar signals safety, boosting visitor confidence.
• Improves SEO: Google favors secure websites, giving them a slight ranking boost.

Advanced Technical SEO Improvements

1. Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Schema helps search engines understand your content. It can also boost your click-through rate by showing rich results in search.

Use Cases: Add FAQ Schema, Review Schema, or Date Schema. Bill Widmer increased his clicks by 15.23% this way.

2. Hreflang for International Sites

If your site serves multiple countries or languages, hreflang tags help show the right version to users. Use tools like Aleyda Solis’ Hreflang Generator.

3. Ongoing Maintenance

Keep your site healthy with regular checks.

Fix Broken Links: Broken links stop Googlebot and frustrate users. Use Semrush or Screaming Frog to find and fix them.
Redirect Chains: Clean up redirect paths to avoid loss of link equity and crawl budget. Neil Sheth fixed this to grow traffic by 228%.

4. Core Web Vitals

These are Google’s key metrics for user experience:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – Measures load time.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Measures visual stability.
First Input Delay (FID) – Measures responsiveness.

Fix these to improve both rankings and user satisfaction.

5. Reclaim Lost Links

When you change URLs, use 301 redirects. This preserves your backlinks and prevents loss of link value. It’s the fastest link-building tactic you can do.