Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often viewed through three primary lenses: on-page SEO—focusing on the website content, off-page SEO which revolves around backlinks, and technical SEO. As its name suggests, technical SEO is all the website settings and technical details that ensure the website is crawlable, indexable, and fast. Without a solid technical structure, even the best content may never be discovered.
In this blog, we will dissect technical SEO to its fundamental parts and outline critical terms and concepts every marketer, developer, or business owner needs to know.
1. Crawlability
Crawlability is an essential attribute that determines whether a search engine can access and retrieve a website’s pages. Pages cannot be indexed or displayed in search results if they cannot be crawled.
- Crawl Budget: This refers to how many pages Googlebot will crawl on your site over a set period. Larger websites will have to learn to manage crawl budget so that critical pages are crawled first.
- robots.txt: A document created to instruct search engine bots on which pages or directories to avoid while crawling through a given site. Example:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin/
- Indexability
- After page crawling, the subsequent step is indexing, which means appending the page to the search engine’s database catalog. Pages that cannot be indexed will not show in the search result list.
- Noindex Tag: A meta tag that stops search engines from adding a page to the index:
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">
- Canonical Tag: Solves problems associated with having more than one duplicate version of a web page by designating which version is the authoritative one:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/original-page" />
- Site ArchitectureIt is easier for search engines to crawl through a well-structured website, and for users, it makes navigation simple.
- Flat Architecture: An arrangement where a considerable number of pages can be accessed within a few clicks from the homepage. Less hierarchical structures are more useful to SEO.
- Breadcrumbs: Navigational feature that displays to the user the sequence of pages visited leading down from the homepage of the website and facilitates search engines on understanding the structure of the site.
- URL StructureWhen it comes to SEO, URLs should be devoid of fluff, easy to read, and contain key phrases.
- SEO URLs: URL needs to be short, branded, and keyword rich. For example:✅
example.com/best-running-shoes❌example.com/page?id=1234 - Dynamic vs. Static URLs: Static URLs do not change and are more recognisable by search engines, whereas dynamic URLs contain parameters which may confuse crawlers if not structured properly.
5. XML Sitemap
An XML sitemap is a detailed page of files containing all important pages of your website, allowing search engines to systematically find and index content.
- Keep your sitemap updated automatically using your CMS or SEO plugin.
- Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
6. Site Speed & Core Web Vitals
Google assesses page speed as one of the primary factors that affect a website’s ranking, especially on mobile platforms.
- Core Web Vitals: A set of three metrics Google uses to measure user experience:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading time.
- First Input Delay (FID): Measures responsiveness of interactive elements.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual consistency.
- PageSpeed Insights
- GTmetrix
- Lighthouse
7. Mobile friendliness
Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning that it primarily indexes the mobile version of the page for both indexing and ranking.
- Implement responsive design so your site is usable and visually appealing regardless of the screen size.
- Do not employ disruptive interstitials (pop-ups) that hamper mobile UX.
8. HTTPS and Security
HTTPS is imperative for ranking and for the confidence of users.
- Safeguard your site with an SSL certificate.
- Check that all URLs are set to redirect from HTTP to HTTPS.
- Check your SSL set up with SSL Labs.
9. Duplicate Content
Duplicate content becomes problematic when it comes to search engines and can confound ranking signals.
- Signal the original version with canonical tags for a specific page.
- Stop using thin or boilerplate content.
- Merge pages of similar content where possible.
10. Structured Data and Schema Markup
The use of structured data assists engines in deciphering the relevance of the information on your content. Additionally, it can be used to improve listings with rich snippets (such as reviews, FAQs, or products).
- Apply Schema.org vocabulary to markup articles, products, recipes, events and more.
- You can verify with Google’s Rich Results Test.
Example (for a product):
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Product",
"name": "Apple iPhone 14",
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "4.7",
"reviewCount": "135"
}
}
11. Redirects
Redirects Preserves the SEO value of the content even when the pages are relocated or removed.
- 301 Redirect: Permanent redirect; passes most link equity.
- 302 Redirect: Temporary redirect; expires, preserving only partial SEO strength.
- Redirect Chains: Avoid multiple, successive redirects, as they are detrimental to crawl efficiency and page speed.
- Broken Redirects: Fix as soon as possible redirects that lead to dead or error pages.
12. hreflang Tags
For websites with multiple languages or regions, hreflang tags define which language or region for Google to serve a specific page to.
Example:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://example.com/us/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-fr" href="https://example.com/fr/" />
13. Canonicalization
Selecting the most appropriate URL among several options for a piece of content refers to canonicalization.
- Prevent duplicate content.
- Utilize preferred URLs in your CMS, via HTTP headers, or with canonical tags.
14. Log File Analysis
Reviewing the log files on your server will determine how search engines interact with and crawl your site.
- Determine the pages that are being crawled frequently and pages that are not being crawled at all.
- Find where a site is having crawl issues and maximize crawl budget utilization.
15. Crawl Errors & Index Coverage Reports
Follow up on your Crawl Errors on Google Search Console that include but are not limited to:
- DNS issues
- Server issues (5xx)
- Not Found (404)
Browse through the indexed pages; the ones included, excluded, or flagged and labeled in the index are are results of index coverage.
Performing audits consistently ensures that visibility is maintained and technical issues are resolved on time.
16. Pagination
Websites that have a large number of products or blog post archives often paginate their content ( page 1, 2, 3).
- Include rel=”next” and rel=”prev” to let search engines know, even if Google no longer encourages it, many people still prefer to use it for structure.
- Add canonical tags that direct to the main category page if necessary.
17. Faceted Navigation
Faceted Navigation is a filtering and sorting method of allowing users to sift through a product listing. For example, filter by brand, color, or size.
- Any listing has the potential to create thousands of URLs which causes not only
crawl bloat but duplicate content as well. - Use parameter handling through Google Search Console or use/request to modify robots.txt and use canonicals correctly.
18. Javascript SEO
If your site runs on a lot of javascript algorithms (React, Angular, or Vue for example) ensure that the content is properly rendered.
- Client-side rendering: Content may not instantly be visible to bots.
- Server-side rendering (SSR): Guarantees bots are provided with fully prepared HTML files.
- Use tools like Google’s URL Inspection Tool and Rendertron to check what Google is capable of viewing.
19. CDN (Content Delivery Network)
A CDN enhances your site’s load speed and performance by keeping cached copies of your site on servers around the world.
Benefits:
- Improved site speed
- Increase in uptime
- Cut down in burden on your origin server.
Popular CDNs: Cloudflare, Akamai, Amazon CloudFront
20. SEO Audits & Tools
Consistent audits are essential in maintaining the technical aspect of your SEO. Here are some recommended tools:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Crawl your site and analyze it from the perspective of a search engine.
- Ahrefs / SEMrush: Most effective in tracking technical aspects of the site’s health, broken links, and various issues.
- Google Search Console: Provides information, free of charge, about the website’s performance, its crawling and indexing.
Conclusion
Every other effort made in terms of SEO is largely dependent on a well functioning Technical SEO. A well structured website that is optimized and contains crawlable content, supported with fast loading times, and clear pointers to search engines are essential in ensuring that the content reaches the targeted audience, regardless of how valuable the content is.
With this knowledge, you will be able to manage a website that performs well, ranks high in search engines, and provides good user experience.