In the dynamic world of digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), there’s a quiet hero working diligently behind the scenes. It often goes unnoticed, overshadowed by the buzz of content creation and link-building strategies. This unsung hero is known as technical SEO, and its importance cannot be overstated with an estimate 117% ROI.
Technical SEO is important because it lays the groundwork for your website’s success. Imagine your website as a treasure trove of information in a vast digital landscape. While your content represents the valuable artifacts within, technical SEO serves as the map, guiding search engines to discover and appreciate your digital treasures. In this article, we’re going to unveil the secrets of why technical SEO isn’t just important; it’s absolutely indispensable.
In the following paragraphs, we’ll uncover nine compelling reasons why technical SEO matters and how it can be the driving force behind your digital success. So, let’s embark on this journey to unlock the power of technical SEO and understand why it’s a game changer in the world of online visibility and user engagement.
The Starting Point Of Technical SEO Checks
I always like to start by doing a Google search of ‘site:mywebsite.com’. This shows you what Google has indexed for your site and the prioritization it gives your content.
If you don’t see your most valuable content displayed at the top of the results, and instead see weird or random pages, archive pages, or worse sub-domains with staging sites, you have some improvement to do on the technical seo side.
>>> A common technical problem is the indexing of staging sites that later get deleted leaving 404 error pages in the Google search results.
Now let’s get into the reasons why.
Point by point!
1. Search Engine Visibility: Technical SEO ensures that search engines can easily access and index your website’s content. When your website is well-optimized technically, search engines can crawl your pages more effectively. This means your content is more likely to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs), increasing your online visibility.
How to Check:
- Use tools like Google Search Console to check for crawl errors and indexing issues.
- Conduct a site audit with SEO tools (e.g., Screaming Frog) to identify any technical issues that may hinder search engine visibility.
- Monitor your website’s performance in search results for targeted keywords to gauge its visibility.
2. Ranking Improvements: Many technical SEO elements directly impact search engine ranking factors. For instance, page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and secure HTTPS connections are all considered ranking factors by search engines like Google. By optimizing these aspects, you can enhance your website’s chances of ranking higher in search results, attracting more organic traffic.
For page speed, having a fast webhost is essential. I recommend Cloudways or A2 Hosting. You can see how they compare to other hosts in this test I did. I am further enhancing the page speed of all my sites with WP Rocket and Imagify.
How to Check:
- Analyze your website’s current search engine rankings using SEO tools.
- Evaluate page load speed with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.
- Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check mobile responsiveness.
- Ensure your website is using HTTPS by checking the URL in the browser.
3. User Experience Enhancement: Technical SEO indirectly enhances user experience. When users have a positive experience, they are more likely to engage with your content, stay longer on your site, and convert into customers or leads. A fast-loading, mobile-responsive, and secure website provides a smoother and more enjoyable browsing experience for your visitors.
How to Check:
- Collect user feedback and conduct usability testing to identify issues.
- Analyze user behavior data (e.g., bounce rate, time on site) in Google Analytics.
- Test your website on different devices and browsers to ensure a consistent experience.
4. Duplicate Content Prevention: Technical SEO helps identify and resolve duplicate content issues, which can harm your website’s rankings. Duplicate content confuses search engines and can lead to lower search visibility. By implementing canonicalization and other technical techniques, you ensure that search engines index the correct pages and avoid penalizing your site for duplicate content.
How to Check:
- Use SEO tools to scan your site for duplicate content issues.
- Implement canonical tags to specify preferred versions of pages.
- Regularly audit your content to identify and consolidate duplicates.
5. Structured Data for Enhanced Visibility: Technical SEO includes structured data markup, such as schema.org. This markup provides additional information to search engines about your content, enabling rich snippets and enhanced search results. These visually appealing results can significantly improve click-through rates, driving more organic traffic to your site.
How to Check:
- Use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to validate your markup.
- Verify that structured data is correctly implemented on key pages.
- Monitor search results for rich snippets and enhanced results related to your content.
6. Indexation Efficiency: Creating XML sitemaps and submitting them to search engines helps them find new/updated content and understand the structure of your website. This improves indexation efficiency, ensuring that new or updated content is discovered promptly. Better indexation means your content is more likely to appear in search results when relevant queries are made.
How to Check:
- Verify that your XML sitemap is correctly formatted and up to date.
- Monitor Google Search Console for indexation issues or errors.
- Regularly submit updated sitemaps to search engines.
7. Adaptation to Mobile-First Indexing: With the rise of mobile internet usage, Google has transitioned to mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of a webpage for ranking and indexing. Technical SEO ensures your website is mobile-friendly, ensuring you’re prepared for this shift and can maintain or improve your search rankings.
How to Check:
- Confirm that your website is responsive and displays well on mobile devices.
- Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to assess mobile compatibility.
- Ensure that both desktop and mobile versions have equivalent content.
8. Security and Trust: Technical SEO includes securing your website with SSL (HTTPS). This not only protects user data but also contributes to user trust. Secure websites are favored by both search engines and users, and Google considers HTTPS as a ranking factor.
How to Check:
- Check your website’s URL to verify that it uses HTTPS.
- Review SSL certificate validity and installation.
- Periodically scan for security vulnerabilities using website security tools.
9. Local SEO Benefits: For businesses targeting local audiences, technical SEO plays a crucial role in local search visibility. Elements such as structured data and local schema markup help search engines understand your location-based content, potentially leading to better local rankings and increased foot traffic to your physical locations.
How to Check:
- Implement local schema markup on location-based pages.
- Ensure accurate business information (name, address, phone number) is consistent across your website and local listings.
- Monitor local search rankings and user reviews for your business.
Technical SEO and On-Page SEO: Understanding the Distinction
In the vast landscape of search engine optimization (SEO), it’s crucial to differentiate between two foundational pillars: technical SEO and on-page SEO. While both are integral to your website’s success in the digital arena, they serve distinct roles in optimizing your online presence.
Technical SEO, as the name implies, is all about the technical underpinnings of your website. It focuses on ensuring that your site is structurally sound and easily accessible to search engine crawlers. Technical SEO deals with elements such as website speed, mobile-friendliness, security (HTTPS), structured data markup, and indexation efficiency. It’s the invisible force that ensures search engines can smoothly traverse and understand your website, making it more likely to rank higher in search results. In essence, technical SEO provides the foundation upon which on-page SEO strategies can flourish.
On the other hand, on-page SEO revolves around the visible and content-centric aspects of your website. It’s the art of optimizing individual web pages to improve their search engine rankings. On-page SEO encompasses keyword research, content creation, meta tags, headings, and internal linking. This facet of SEO focuses on delivering valuable, relevant, and engaging content to your audience, making it not only search engine-friendly but also user-friendly. While technical SEO sets the stage and ensures your website’s structural integrity, on-page SEO takes the spotlight by crafting compelling, informative, and keyword-optimized content that resonates with both users and search engines. Together, these two SEO pillars work in harmony to elevate your online presence and drive organic traffic to your site.
Technical SEO is vital because it forms the foundation for a successful online presence.
It directly impacts search engine rankings, user experience, and the overall performance of your website. By optimizing the technical aspects of your site, you not only enhance your visibility in search results but also provide a better experience for your visitors, which can ultimately lead to increased conversions and business success.