Technical SEO refers to the process of optimizing a website’s technical aspects to enhance its visibility and ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs). Technical SEO focuses on improving website performance, user experience, and search engine crawlers’ ability to understand and index website content. Technical SEO involves implementing various strategies and best practices, including website structure, site speed optimization, mobile responsiveness, XML sitemaps, canonicalization, and more. By addressing these technical aspects, websites can ensure they are search engine-friendly and meet the criteria necessary for ranking higher in search results.
Warning: much of the below is technical in nature. Your content management system should handle most of these items, whether by default or with the help of a plugin. If you have questions or require clarification, do not hesitate to contact us.
Key considerations to ensure your webpages have strong technical SEO:
- Website Structure and Navigation: A well-organized website structure with clear navigation helps search engines understand the hierarchy and relationships between different pages. It should be logical, intuitive, and support easy user navigation.
- Page Speed Optimization: Page loading speed is a critical factor for both user experience and search engine rankings. Optimizing images, leveraging caching, minifying code, and utilizing content delivery networks (CDNs) are some techniques that can enhance page speed. Each of these should be attainable with built-in tools in popular Content Management Systems and if not, you should be able to achieve these goals via the installation of plugins.
- Mobile Responsiveness: With the increasing use of mobile devices, search engines prioritize mobile-friendly websites. Implementing responsive design ensures that your website adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes, improving user experience and search engine rankings. Most content management systems and their themes/templates will offer this by default and you should not need to take on any of this effort yourself.
- XML Sitemaps and Robots.txt: XML sitemaps help search engines discover and index website content more efficiently. Additionally, a properly configured robots.txt file helps control which parts of the website are accessible to search engine crawlers. Your website content management system should generate this on its own. To check and for more on site maps, view our post Explaining XML Sitemaps and Robots.txt.
- Canonicalization: Duplicate content can harm search rankings. Canonical tags help indicate the preferred version of a page (or the priority version) when there are multiple versions with similar content. Implementing canonical tags ensures search engines understand which page should be indexed and displayed in search results.
- Schema Markup: Adding schema markup (structured data) to your website provides search engines with additional context about your content. This can enhance the visibility and appearance of your listings in search results, increasing click-through rates.
- URL Structure and Redirects: Creating descriptive, keyword-rich URLs that are easy to read and understand is beneficial for both users and search engines. Additionally, implementing redirects (such as 301 redirects) for outdated or moved pages ensures a smooth user experience and preserves link equity.
Incorporating technical SEO as part of your broader SEO strategy is crucial for achieving higher search engine rankings and improving user experience. By considering website structure, page speed, mobile responsiveness, XML sitemaps, canonicalization, schema markup, URL structure, and redirects, you can set a strong foundation for success on your SEO journey.
Shelbee Szeto
Writer and digital media professional based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is most often found contributing to San Francisco Download on technology and business news.
