Within the field of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), multiple disciplines target different areas of a website’s performance. Content SEO is primarily focused on the production of original and valuable content designed to rank highly. So, what is technical SEO?
Key Takeaways:
Technical SEO encompasses a wide range of tasks that significantly impact search rankings. Some key areas of technical SEO include:
- Crawling and Indexing
- Redirects
- Hreflang Tags
- Analytics
- Structured Data
- Website Migration
- Site Structure
- Dynamic URLs
- Canonical Tags
- Robots.txt
- Sitemaps
- Site Speed Audits
Keep reading to explore the critical aspects of technical SEO.
What Are the Key Areas of Technical SEO?
Technical SEO involves various tasks that, when carried out correctly, can have a significant impact on a website’s performance in a Search Engine’s Results Page (SERP). Below are some key areas that SEO professionals focus on.
Crawling and Indexing
For a website to rank highly, search engines must crawl and index its URLs. A search engine such as Google crawls a website using a spider, which discovers the URLs contained on that website. When URLs are discovered, they are added to the search engine’s index. Carrying out a search is essentially browsing the index of a search engine. To improve the technical SEO of your website, the process of crawling and indexing must be considered when optimising content, and evaluating website structure and navigation.
Find out more in one of our detailed blogs on crawling and indexing:
- How to Manage Crawl Budget for Larger Websites
- What Is Crawling and Indexing in SEO?
- What Does Google See When it Crawls Your Site?
Redirects
Redirects are a fundamental aspect of technical SEO, and typically involve pointing users and search engines away from an old URL to a new one. This could be done for a number of reasons, such as if you are migrating to a new website, you will need to implement redirects for all the URLs on the old website that are changing. This will preserve the SEO value of your old URLs and point both users and search engines to your new content.
Find out more about redirects by reading one of our detailed blogs:
- Everything You Need to Know about Redirects
- Is a 301 or 302 Redirect Better for SEO
- What Is Redirect Mapping
- What Is Cloaking in SEO and What are Sneaky Redirects
Hreflang Tags
A key focus for websites that are in multiple languages is hreflang tags or ‘attributes’, which are used to specify the language and geographical targeting of a website or page. By specifying this information to a search engine, you can ensure that the most suitable version is served to the correct users.
Find out more about hreflang tags by reading our detailed:
Analytics
For SEO campaigns, a vital component of a successful strategy employs the use of a suitable tracking program. Google Analytics is a free tracking platform which is often favoured by digital marketers, as there is a plethora of data to be collected from users that visit your website. To enhance your Analytics data, you can use a tool like Google Tag Manager to set up enhanced events that are unique to your business. This allows you to make informed decisions depending on how users are interacting with your content.
Find out more about Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager by reading one of our detailed blogs:
- 5 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with GTM
- GA4 Glossary of Terms
- How Does GA4 Attribute Traffic to Different Channels
Structured Data
Structured data, commonly found in the form of schema, is a standardised format of information that can be added to your website and helps to improve a search engine’s interpretation of your content. For example, schema can be used to signify on-page FAQs, product reviews, business address and much more. Structured data can be added using Google Tag Manager, or by editing your website’s HTML.
Find out more about structured data by reading one of our detailed blogs:
Website Migration
Producing and relocating to a new website can be a major task for any business. To ensure the new website retains the old website’s SEO value, an SEO migration must be completed. A successful migration will ensure that all rankings, authority, and indexing signals are preserved so that website visibility is not lost. To achieve this, there are a number of technical SEO techniques you will need to have experience with, including redirects and redirect mappings.
Find out more about website migrations by reading our detailed blog: How Can I Migrate My Website Without Losing SEO?
Site Structure
As we know, a search engine must crawl and index a website to provide accurate rankings for each URL. The way that a website is structured has a significant impact on this process, and will ultimately determine how quickly and easily a crawler can navigate each page. By evaluating and refining your website’s structure, the hierarchy of pages can be simplified, and put into a more logical order. This will help to speed up the crawl process and reduce crawl budget utilisation.
Find out more about how website structure affects SEO by reading our detailed blog: Is Site Structure Important for SEO?
Dynamic URLs
Most URLs on your website will likely be static. However, there may be some pages that are dynamic. This just means that as a user interacts with a page using a dynamic URL, the URL parameters can change. Dynamic URLs can cause issues for SEO, as they can create duplicate content, are less user-friendly, and can negatively impact a website’s backlink profile. The advantages of using dynamic URLs include:
- Fast data retrieval
- Advanced sorting features
- Flexibility and scalability
- Simplified content management
- Personalised user experience
Learn more about dynamic URLs by reading our dedicated article: Are Dynamic URLs Bad for SEO?
Canonical Tags
A canonical tag is a way of telling a search engine which URL it should prioritise for indexing. For example, if two pages have similar content but you want page A to rank above page B, you can canonicalise page B to page A. This will tell a search engine which page represents the master copy of a page, and the preferred page for indexing.
Read more about canonical tags by reading one of our detailed articles:
Robots.txt
In simple terms, a robots.txt file simply tells a search crawler which URLs on your website it can access. This can help to reduce your website being overloaded by requests. The robots.txt file should not be used to specify which pages should not be indexed, however, which can be done using noindex tags.
Learn more about Robots.txt by reading our detailed blog.
Sitemaps
Another key aspect of technical SEO is having familiarity with sitemaps. Sitemaps are files that detail all URLs on a website, including any images, videos, and other files and the relationship between them. These lists help search engines to crawl and index all the content on your website, and understand the hierarchy. Sitemaps can be in a number of formats, but the most common is an XML sitemap.
Find out more about sitemaps by reading one of our detailed blogs:
Site Speed Audits
The performance of your website is a core ranking factor for Google. By auditing your website’s speed and performance, you can identify technical areas that require improvement. Making changes to your website that improve its performance not only enhances user experience, but can also help you to achieve higher rankings. To run a quick test of your website’s speed, try using Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
Learn more about how to audit your site speed performance by clicking here.
Follow and Nofollow Links
When acquiring backlinks for your website, it is likely that you will encounter both ‘follow’ and ‘nofollow’ links. A link with the ‘follow’ attribute essentially means that link equity is passed from the referring domain to the source, helping to enhance authority. A link with the ‘nofollow’ attribute, on the other hand, does not pass link equity.
Read more about the difference between follow and nofollow links by clicking here.
Contact the Experts for Technical SEO Support
At Wildcat Digital, our team is proficient in all aspects of technical SEO that can provide your website with the boost it needs to reach higher rankings. Contact us today to find out more, and arrange a free consultation for SEO services.
Andy Blanchard
Senior SEO Executive
