Technical SEO refers to the development, evaluation, and refinement of your website’s technical elements to improve its visibility in search results. Technical SEO can be complex, but it’s important because technical issues with your site both impact on your website’s ranking in search results and also degrade user experience (UX). The technical aspects of a website are essential for search engines to crawl and index it correctly. Technical SEO involves optimizing the website’s structure, code, and server configuration, among other things.

In this section, we cover the following topics:

• Site Speed and Performance
• URL Structure and Organization
• Schema Markup

Site speed and performance are crucial factors in SEO, as they impact user experience and can affect how search engines rank your website.  If your potential users are left waiting for a slow page load, they’ll simply move to the next best option.  Unfortunately, today’s searchers have a VERY low tolerance for sluggish sites. As a result, your website’s loading speed affects its search engine ranking. Here are main points to consider and pursue when addressing your website’s performance:

• The importance of server response time: In addition to optimizing the speed of your website’s pages, it’s also important to consider the server response time. This is the time it takes for the server to respond to a request from a user’s browser. A slow server response time can significantly slow down your website’s loading speed, so it’s important to choose a reliable hosting provider with fast servers. Yes, there are many cheap options for hosting.  However, the incremental amount of your monthly savings for a low-end provider won’t outweigh the cost of lost consumers.
• The impact of third-party scripts: Third-party scripts, such as those used for analytics, plugins, or advertising, can also impact your website’s performance. Often times, third-parties are minimally concerned with pages that aren’t their own.  As a result, they can embed heavy or process-intensive scripts onto your site. These scripts can slow down your website’s loading speed, especially if they are not optimized or if they are not served from a fast and reliable server. It’s important to regularly audit the third-party scripts on your website and remove any that are not essential.
• The benefits of using a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN is a network of servers distributed across the globe that can cache and deliver your website’s content more efficiently. By using a CDN, you can reduce the load on your website’s server and improve the speed and performance of your website for users located in different parts of the world.
• The importance of image optimization: Large images with big files sizes can significantly impact your website’s loading speed, especially if they are not optimized. By compressing and resizing images, you can reduce their file size and improve your website’s loading speed. There are several tools and plugins available that can automate image optimization and make the process easier. We prefer to use .png formatted files (instead of jpeg) as they tend to maintain quality while reducing file size.
• The impact of website architecture: The architecture of your website can also impact its speed and performance. A well-organized website with a clear hierarchy and logical navigation can make it easier for users to find what they are looking for and can improve their overall experience on your website. It can also make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your website, which can improve your rankings in search results.

In summary, site speed and performance are crucial factors in SEO, and there are several additional considerations that can impact your website’s speed and performance beyond just optimizing page speed. By considering factors such as server response time, third-party scripts, CDN usage, image optimization, and website architecture, you can improve your website’s speed and performance and provide a better experience for your users.

URL structure and organization is an often-overlooked aspect of technical SEO. The URL structure and organization of a website impact its usability and search engine visibility. Let’s jump right in with a summary of some best practices for optimizing your URL structure and organization:

• Use descriptive and relevant URLs: Your URLs should be descriptive and relevant to the content on the page. Avoid using generic or meaningless URLs, as they provide little context to search engines and users.
• Keep URLs short and simple: Shorter URLs tend to perform better in search results, as they are easier to read and remember. Also, avoid using complex URLs with special characters, as they can be difficult to parse and understand.
• Use hyphens to separate words: When creating URLs, use hyphens to separate words instead of underscores or spaces. This helps search engines understand the content of the page and makes the URL more readable to users.
• Use a hierarchy: It’s essential to structure URLs consistently and hierarchically to make it easier for search engines to crawl and understand the website’s hierarchy.
• Use a consistent URL structure: Consistency is key when it comes to URL structure. Use a consistent format for all URLs on your website, such as domain.com/category/post-title or domain.com/post-title.
• Implement canonical URLs: If you have duplicate content on your website, such as multiple versions of the same page, use canonical URLs to tell search engines which version is the original and should be indexed.
• Use breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs are a navigation aid that can help users understand where they are on your website and how to navigate to other pages. They also provide additional context to search engines, which can help improve rankings.
• Avoid using session IDs in URLs: Session IDs are unique identifiers that are added to URLs to track user sessions on a website. However, they can cause issues for search engines, as they create multiple URLs for the same content.

By following these best practices, you can create a well-organized and easily navigable website that is optimized for search engines and users alike.

There are several different types of schema markup that can be implemented on a website, depending on the type of content being displayed. Some common types include:

These elements are equally important to Technical SEO success but they don’t warrant a full section:

• Ensure your website is mobile-friendly: More than half of all website traffic comes from mobile devices, so it’s important to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile users. Use responsive design to ensure that your website displays correctly on all devices.
• Improve website speed: Website speed is an important factor in search ranking, and a slow website can negatively impact user experience. Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to analyze your website’s speed and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Use HTTPS: HTTPS is a secure protocol that encrypts data transmitted between your website and users. Using HTTPS can improve your website’s security and give users confidence in your website.
• Optimize your website’s structure: Use a logical website structure to help search engines understand the hierarchy of your content. Use descriptive URLs, header tags, and breadcrumb navigation to signal to search engines the relationships between pages.
• Use XML sitemaps: XML sitemaps provide search engines with a map of your website’s pages and their relationships. Submitting an XML sitemap to search engines can help them crawl and index your website more efficiently.
• Ensure your website is accessible: Accessibility is an important consideration for all websites. Ensure that your website is accessible to users with disabilities by using alt tags for images, providing text alternatives for audio and video content, and ensuring that your website can be navigated with a keyboard.

By optimizing your website’s technical elements, you can improve your website’s visibility in search results and provide a better user experience for your visitors. However, technical SEO can be complex, so it’s important to work with a knowledgeable professional or agency to ensure that your website is properly optimized.