Best Practices To Master Technical SEO

Regarding SEO optimization, it is mistakenly considered a keyword addition, creating backlinks, and writing meta descriptions. However, more is needed to generate organic traffic as search engine crawlers index mobile-optimized websites, load at speed, provide site architecture, and other factors considered.

It means businesses lose users to competition and huge revenue when behind-the-scene elements of website SEO are missed. It is referred to as technical SEO. Technical SEO focuses on a website's technical elements that are more than creating and marketing high-quality content. It starts with a website audit using different SEO audit tools that reveal all the technical aspects that must be optimized to make search engines crawl and index the website.

Mainly, technical SEO optimization aims to deliver the best user experience and ensures that users engage with the website content maximum. Technical SEO is an umbrella for various practices that create a solid technical foundation for the website. Thereby making the website gain visibility in SERP and generate high organic traffic.

This blog will closely examine all the elements that form an essential part of technical SEO. Let’s dive in!

Eight best practices for technical SEO

Knowing the basics of technical SEO is not enough to boost search engine ranking. Here are the best practices that allow businesses to optimize their website for technical SEO.

Make the website mobile-friendly

Mobilegeddon- the biggest Google update that has shaken the online world with algorithm changes and factors responsible for website ranking is unforgettable. Its impression has become a new norm in the form of an essential mobile responsive website. Otherwise, the website is penalized and won't gain high rankings.

Various mobile-friendly testing tools, such as GTmetrix, Bing's test tool, Google's mobile-friendly test, and HubSpot's website grader, help businesses check if their website meets mobile-friendliness criteria. Also, they help gain deep insights into improvements that optimize the website for mobile.

Optimize website speed

Website performance is the topmost factor contributing to website ranking by Google. Also, it's not tolerated by the users because if the website takes more than 3 seconds to load, the bounce rate increases to 32%. Identifying and fixing all the issues that negatively impact website loading speed is good.

Businesses can use the Google Page speed insights tool to check the website speed and get recommendations for all the technical issues that are making the website slow to perform. The recommendations include minimizing plugin usage, image compression, optimizing CSS files, CDN leverage, and caching use.

Create a user-friendly URL structure

The format of URLs also plays a vital role in influencing website ranking. Under technical SEO, SEO companies revise the URL structures following the best practices. It includes creating short and descriptive URLs using lowercase letters in words that are separated with '-.' The use of targeted keywords is recommended while avoiding unnecessary words.

After defining a permanent link structure, URLs are optimized multiple times to keep the website ranked high.

Keep the website structure clean

Like users, if the website structure is easy to understand and navigate around, Google crawlers can hassle-free crawl the website's hierarchical structure from the homepage to other linked pages. When the website structure is optimized in a way that the website gets accessible in just three clicks from the homepage, it's considered good.

Also, grouping linked pages under specific category pages is good if more pages are related to one topic. Adding a breadcrumb menu with proper schema is also helpful and recommended by Google, which makes it easier to go to previous pages and hints to crawlers about website structure.

Use XML sitemap

If you want to inform Google about all the pages on your website and their latest updated information, then an XML sitemap is the best solution. Google crawlers use XML sitemap as a guide to know about website structure and essential pages and categories.

Marketers can submit the XML sitemap to Google, which is auto-updated when new posts are published. There's one thing to ensure: avoid sitemap tag pages, which lack originality as it affects website ranking.

Use canonical tags

Content duplication is unhealthy for website SEO performance, so digital marketers should remove the duplicate content. Here, SEO tools will help in scanning content duplication issues. However, in some cases, webpage content duplication cannot be avoided, and having the same content on different pages confuses search engine crawlers as to index which page content and which does not.

That's where canonical tags facilitate specifying canonical URLs that tell Google which version of the web page should be crawled and indexed. Inspection tools help identify if the website provides canonical URLs or not so that necessary changes are made to technical SEO elements.

Search and fix broken links

Broken links result in a lousy user experience, and even a webpage loses value, which is terrible for the SEO score. Businesses should get the website reviewed to find the broken backlinks using tools like- W3C link checker and then take apt actions. The actions include correcting the broken link with the link that's working, showing the 404 page to the users, and redirecting the missing URL.

Optimizing the 404 page is all-important; that tells the users about the page not available in user-friendly language and provides suggestions for the related pages. Creating the same navigation structure and menus allows users to switch to other pages easily.

SSL implementation fairly

Want to make the website secure by establishing a safe connection between web servers and browsers? If so, SSL implementation is a must-have, which ensures fraudsters cannot hack the information sent to the website. It's easily viewed in the URL that begins with HTTPS and has a lock symbol.

Google prioritizes SSL implementation for website ranking to ensure user information remains encrypted. SSL is quickly enabled and activated following a migration procedure. It starts with URL redirection from HTTP to HTTPS, canonical tags are updated accordingly, URL updation on the sitemap, and a new instance is set up.

Conclusion

The importance of SEO cannot be overlooked in the webbed world. Technical SEO is the backbone of SEO optimization that's incomplete without it. Technical SEO ensures that the website is crawled and indexed by search engines as expected, hassle-free. Getting technical SEO right requires the expertise of SEO companies that are following the best practices and strategies while using the right tools. It allows businesses to improve online visibility and maximize organic traffic while aligning with user experience. So, consider this 8-point technical SEO checklist to let your website harness its full potential.