Search engine optimization (SEO) is a multifaceted process. Every successful SEO strategy will include various components, such as creating quality content and creating links. However, these components alone are not enough to push the website to page one. Even with the best content and lots of backlinks, websites that are not technically optimized are not able to fulfill their full potential. Technical SEO is an integral part of every marketing strategy and can act as a platform on which other strategies are allowed to develop.
To better understand, consider this definition of technical SEO by Page One Power: "Technical SEO is a branch of the broader SEO industry that focuses on analyzing the technical features of websites that interact with search engine crawlers. In general, the purpose of technical SEO is to make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site. "Technical SEO functions to optimize the website infrastructure, which in turn helps the website rank better in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Without it, a site may often experience problems with indexing and ranking, and fail in terms of usability.
Learn More About Technical SEO
Although technical SEO may seem complex at first, you can master it by building a strong foundation. You want to start broad, and then go deeper into various aspects of technical SEO. A rough syllabus for learning technical SEO will cover starting with basics such as web development and simple computer programming. Then, you will move on to learning about popular SEO tools and applying all your knowledge in real time practice.
One tool you must understand is Google Search Console. This platform is free and allows you to identify technical problems quickly and efficiently, resulting in a faster solution. After the initial components are mastered, you can learn certain aspects of SEO such as how search engines work and various technical components. This last phase is the most important, because it will make you well acquainted with the important aspects of technical SEO. Let's explore what some of these are, and the important factors you must have to familiarize yourself with:
Indexing and Crawl
One of the first things you want to do is make sure that your site can be indexed and crawled. Your robots.txt file is primarily responsible for telling search engines how to index and crawl your site. These files contain commands that tell bots whether they should crawl a certain page or not. You need to review your robots.txt file to make sure it doesn't block important pages so you don't lose the chance to gain authority over them.
The crawling of your site is also affected by duplicate pages and content. Even though search engines might not punish you for having them, duplicate pages make your website very confusing. As mentioned in our previous article, SEO Technical Requirements Hierarchy, Google may not index pages when there are more authoritative versions for the same content. Basically, duplicate content ultimately has to compete for visibility, ultimately affecting your website and causing loss of traffic. This is a good practice to identify duplicate content on your site and have it removed or reworked.
Finally, you want to check your site for error codes. Each error code means something different and can confuse crawlers about your site. Page error codes must not be ignored. Review your site for error codes and make sure damaged pages are quickly repaired, so that it doesn't negatively affect your overall SEO efforts.
Website Structure
The structure of your website is another important topic in technical SEO. To optimize the structure of your website, you should consider the sitemap, URL structure, and your internal liaison organization. When all this is structurally good, your general SEO efforts will become more effective.
To give a quick overview, a site map is a navigation guide for your website. This helps humans and bots enter through your site, explaining their organization and structure. Sitemaps are very useful for simplifying the indexing process. In an article on Search Engine Watch, SEO expert Aleh Barysevich recommended that site maps be updated regularly, concisely (under 50,000 URLs), and free of error codes, page redirects, and blocked resources.
Website URLs - located on the internet - can be arranged in two ways: subfolders and subdomains. In the case of SEO, subfolders tend to be more useful. URL structure can also vary by country. For sites that target audiences in different countries, experts at Moz recommend choosing the URL structure "which makes it easy to target their domains or pages to certain countries." For example, this might include "using top-level country domain code, such as '.ca' for Canada."
Finally, you want to review the internal link structure of your website. Most SEO professionals know the value of external links but often overlook the many benefits of efficient internal links. Internally linked and ingenious websites can spread link equity on all pages effectively and increase the authority of pages that receive less traffic.
The right internal links also help organize your content better, grouping them into logical topic groups. When you create an internal link network for your website, be sure to use descriptive anchor text and information that directs humans and bots appropriately. Remember, use contextual links if possible - this often has more SEO value than those in the header, footer, and sidebar.
Cellular Hospitality
According to Moz, more than half of the web traffic currently comes from mobile devices. Considering this, it should come as no surprise that at the end of 2018, Google began using mobile-first indexing for most pages on SERPs. In the Search Engine Watch article, Barysevich explains the meaning of mobile-first indexing: “Mobile-first index means that Google now crawls the web from a cellular perspective: the mobile version of the site is used for indexing and ranking even for search results displayed to desktop users. If there is no mobile version, Googlebot will easily crawl the desktop version. "
While cellular responses are not required for sites to be moved to index, it plays a role in determining how your site will rank on mobile and desktop SERPs. With this in mind, it's important that your website has a mobile-friendly design.
If you are not sure about your page response, use Google's mobile-friendly test tool to find out. This tool evaluates websites based on different criteria such as viewport configuration, text and button size and plugin usage. You can also track the mobile performance of your website through Google Search Console.
Conclusion
Depending on the size of your website, you can choose to outsource your technical SEO audit. However, if you decide to evaluate your site yourself, you should review the main elements included in this article to improve your technical SEO.
You can't do it without technical SEO if you want to rank your website higher in search results. Even though it might seem daunting to start a technical SEO journey, its effect on your website is worth the effort.
To better understand, consider this definition of technical SEO by Page One Power: "Technical SEO is a branch of the broader SEO industry that focuses on analyzing the technical features of websites that interact with search engine crawlers. In general, the purpose of technical SEO is to make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site. "Technical SEO functions to optimize the website infrastructure, which in turn helps the website rank better in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Without it, a site may often experience problems with indexing and ranking, and fail in terms of usability.
Learn More About Technical SEO
Although technical SEO may seem complex at first, you can master it by building a strong foundation. You want to start broad, and then go deeper into various aspects of technical SEO. A rough syllabus for learning technical SEO will cover starting with basics such as web development and simple computer programming. Then, you will move on to learning about popular SEO tools and applying all your knowledge in real time practice.
One tool you must understand is Google Search Console. This platform is free and allows you to identify technical problems quickly and efficiently, resulting in a faster solution. After the initial components are mastered, you can learn certain aspects of SEO such as how search engines work and various technical components. This last phase is the most important, because it will make you well acquainted with the important aspects of technical SEO. Let's explore what some of these are, and the important factors you must have to familiarize yourself with:
Indexing and Crawl
One of the first things you want to do is make sure that your site can be indexed and crawled. Your robots.txt file is primarily responsible for telling search engines how to index and crawl your site. These files contain commands that tell bots whether they should crawl a certain page or not. You need to review your robots.txt file to make sure it doesn't block important pages so you don't lose the chance to gain authority over them.
The crawling of your site is also affected by duplicate pages and content. Even though search engines might not punish you for having them, duplicate pages make your website very confusing. As mentioned in our previous article, SEO Technical Requirements Hierarchy, Google may not index pages when there are more authoritative versions for the same content. Basically, duplicate content ultimately has to compete for visibility, ultimately affecting your website and causing loss of traffic. This is a good practice to identify duplicate content on your site and have it removed or reworked.
Finally, you want to check your site for error codes. Each error code means something different and can confuse crawlers about your site. Page error codes must not be ignored. Review your site for error codes and make sure damaged pages are quickly repaired, so that it doesn't negatively affect your overall SEO efforts.
Website Structure
The structure of your website is another important topic in technical SEO. To optimize the structure of your website, you should consider the sitemap, URL structure, and your internal liaison organization. When all this is structurally good, your general SEO efforts will become more effective.
To give a quick overview, a site map is a navigation guide for your website. This helps humans and bots enter through your site, explaining their organization and structure. Sitemaps are very useful for simplifying the indexing process. In an article on Search Engine Watch, SEO expert Aleh Barysevich recommended that site maps be updated regularly, concisely (under 50,000 URLs), and free of error codes, page redirects, and blocked resources.
Website URLs - located on the internet - can be arranged in two ways: subfolders and subdomains. In the case of SEO, subfolders tend to be more useful. URL structure can also vary by country. For sites that target audiences in different countries, experts at Moz recommend choosing the URL structure "which makes it easy to target their domains or pages to certain countries." For example, this might include "using top-level country domain code, such as '.ca' for Canada."
Finally, you want to review the internal link structure of your website. Most SEO professionals know the value of external links but often overlook the many benefits of efficient internal links. Internally linked and ingenious websites can spread link equity on all pages effectively and increase the authority of pages that receive less traffic.
The right internal links also help organize your content better, grouping them into logical topic groups. When you create an internal link network for your website, be sure to use descriptive anchor text and information that directs humans and bots appropriately. Remember, use contextual links if possible - this often has more SEO value than those in the header, footer, and sidebar.
Cellular Hospitality
According to Moz, more than half of the web traffic currently comes from mobile devices. Considering this, it should come as no surprise that at the end of 2018, Google began using mobile-first indexing for most pages on SERPs. In the Search Engine Watch article, Barysevich explains the meaning of mobile-first indexing: “Mobile-first index means that Google now crawls the web from a cellular perspective: the mobile version of the site is used for indexing and ranking even for search results displayed to desktop users. If there is no mobile version, Googlebot will easily crawl the desktop version. "
While cellular responses are not required for sites to be moved to index, it plays a role in determining how your site will rank on mobile and desktop SERPs. With this in mind, it's important that your website has a mobile-friendly design.
If you are not sure about your page response, use Google's mobile-friendly test tool to find out. This tool evaluates websites based on different criteria such as viewport configuration, text and button size and plugin usage. You can also track the mobile performance of your website through Google Search Console.
Conclusion
Depending on the size of your website, you can choose to outsource your technical SEO audit. However, if you decide to evaluate your site yourself, you should review the main elements included in this article to improve your technical SEO.
You can't do it without technical SEO if you want to rank your website higher in search results. Even though it might seem daunting to start a technical SEO journey, its effect on your website is worth the effort.
