Technical optimization of websites is an extensive, multifaceted topic related to adapting the portal to Google’s guidelines. SEO optimization is the most critical stage of positioning. Increasing visibility in the Google search engine is complicated, relatively slow, and… adequate. Technical SEO improves the architecture by modifying the HTML code. Thus, the technical optimization of websites has a direct impact on positioning results. It is a great way to attract customers for owners of e-commerce stores or service websites.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is an element of Website positioning. To put it simply, positioning is based on two pillars:
activities outside the domain – link building (off-page SEO)
actions within the environment – all issues related to the website (on-page SEO).
The second term is understood as work on both the content placed on the website and technical aspects, such as code optimization, ensuring the proper website structure, loading speed, graphics compression, adaptation to various devices, and many other elements. Technical SEO is responsible for this last set of activities.
SEO Optimization And Positioning
With activities related to the technical optimization of the website or online store, you gain a considerable part of the website’s potential. Acquiring the most valuable links will only help a little if the website does not support the positioning process with its structure and adaptation to the requirements of the search engine. On-page SEO and off-page SEO must go hand in hand to improve the position in the search rankings. Otherwise, the effects of positioning can be moderate at best and, in more competitive industries, challenging to notice.
A large part of SEO Services activities is not only working strictly with the search engine algorithm and web crawlers but also activities related to improving the user experience related to the website as such. Optimizing the content or speeding up the website loading time will be appreciated by Google and users, thanks to which they will be more likely to visit and use the website.
Technical SEO How To Improve The Website?
The number of topics must be addressed during technical SEO activities is extensive. Let’s go through the list of activities that make up the technical optimization of the website.
Tags
It is a markup placed in the page code that allows search engine crawlers to better understand the site’s content. The meta title is an essential factor in website positioning. It is responsible for the title displayed in search results (so-called SERPs) – so it should contain previously selected keywords.
Meta Description
A description of the page’s content as displayed in Google search results. In itself, it is not a ranking factor in the strict sense, but it largely depends on whether the user, seeing the page in the SERPs, decides to click. A well-chosen meta description (i.e., matching the page’s content and encouraging to click) can significantly increase the CTR indicator, letting the algorithm know that the page is valuable to users.
HTML Headers
Including headers in your website, content serves a dual purpose. From the user’s perspective, their use increases the readability of the content – it separates blocks of text and indicates what a given fragment is about. For search engine bots, headers and their gradation (from H1 to H6) are essential information about the content structure. It is worth placing critical phrases in the HTML headers and ensuring the correct division of content fragments – from the positioning and technical SEO perspective, this is one of the essential activities.
Meta Robots
Meta robots is a tag responsible for issuing instructions to web crawlers. With its help, we can indicate to the bots whether the page will be indexed, whether the crawler should consider the links on the page (follow/nofollow attribute) and whether the search results should include the so-called. Snippets (snippets of text intended to answer the question asked in the entered phrase) and many others.
The instruction in the meta robots tag above tells the bots to follow the links (follow) but not to index the images (noimageindex).
Canonical Links
Canonical links are mainly set when the same content is on several subpages. To indicate to the bots which subpage of several similar ones is the “right one,” a canonical URL is set on all other pages. Thanks to this, only the search results display the original subpage.
Alt Attributes
The alt attribute is a description of the image invisible to the user, which in the context of SEO is intended to indicate to the bot what is in the picture. Alt is also used so that visually impaired or blind people can hear a description of the file’s contents when interacting with the page. Each image on the site should have the alt attribute correctly set to provide as much data as possible to Google crawlers.
Friendly Urls
The address sklep.domena.pl/okiennice sounds better than sklep.domena.Pl/category/213772547374 – both for the user and search engine crawler. It is shorter, easier to enter, and immediately explains the content of a given subpage. It is also an excellent place to use the desired keywords, affecting the search results position.
Internal Linking
Internal linking is, apart from adding a sitemap in Google Search Console, an additional way to show the bots the structure of the page and links between individual subpages. Thanks to this, crawlers can freely move around various site elements. In addition, placing internal links, for example, on a company blog, encourages users to read other entries, which increases the time spent on the site and reduces the bounce rate.
Relevant HTTP Headers
HTTP headers are used for communication between the web browser and the website server. Setting appropriate redirects (e.g., 301 or 302) or error codes are essential for technical SEO.
Hreflang
Hreflang is used for pages with several language versions. The correct setting of the hreflang attribute means that the website is displayed to visitors in the right language by the query entered into the search engine.
SSL Certificate
The SSL certificate ensures encrypted communication between the user and the website. In today’s digital world, a security certificate is a simple necessity, and web browsers very clearly warn the user against entering sites without an active SSL certificate. By resigning from the encrypted connection, you leave most traffic that would otherwise appear on the website. Google also places great emphasis on implementing the characteristic green padlock at the website’s address.
Page Speed
Most users will give up visiting a website if it takes too long to load – search engine algorithms know this, which is why page loading speed is a significant ranking factor. It depends on many elements – including the speed of hosting, the type of CMS (Content Management System) used, the amount and quality of the code, or the size of the images placed on the website.
The Most Critical Aspects From The Technical SEO Perspective Are
- Time to load the page from the server
- Resource size on the page
- JavaScript execution time
Adaptation To Mobile Devices
Many users browse the Internet using smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. It is not only about reading information but also about using online stores and making transactions, filling out contact forms on service websites, or subscribing to the newsletter.
For this reason, for a website to be considered fully functional, it must display adequately not only on large desktop and laptop screens but also on smaller displays. Moreover, Google has been using the “mobile first” doctrine for years, i.e., it assumes that matching to mobile devices is more critical in page positioning than the full desktop version of the website.
Schema.Org Structured Data
Many users browse the Internet using smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. It is reading information and using online stores and making transactions, filling out contact forms on service websites, or subscribing to the newsletter.
Using Schema.org markup, an SEO specialist can mark different types of data on a website, affecting the page’s appearance in search results. Structured data is responsible for the so-called rich snippets, i.e., fragments extended in the SERPs – these are additional information enriching the title and meta description of the subpage.
For news portals, it can be a panel in the form of a carousel with the latest news from the site; for specialized blogs, a section with frequently asked questions on related issues; and for brands, for example, a panel with a logo and fundamental data, such as the date of establishment. Regarding products on e-commerce platforms, it can be the number of items in stock or the rating of a given product among customers. When correctly set, they can be displayed in Google search results next to the meta description of the subpage.
Implementing structured data significantly makes the page’s appearance more attractive in search results, thanks to which it can increase organic traffic. Among the most crucial schema tags are the following.
Sitemap Xml
A sitemap, or sitemap, is a .xml file that shows the crawlers all relevant URLs from a technical SEO perspective. The sitemap is essential when using Google Search Console – thanks to these instructions, the search engine understands the page’s structure better.
Robots Txt
It is a text format file that tells web crawlers which URLs to look for. Thanks to this file, you can turn off, for example, the indexing of images, which in some cases will prevent the server from being overloaded with too intensive activities of the Google crawler.
CMS Systems And Technical Optimization
Although the guidelines for technical SEO activities are common to most websites, their scope is always determined individually. Different CMS systems on which the website is based require different solutions. Some have been designed to be “seo-friendly” fresh after installation and natively work well with web robots; others require special plugins, and positioning others requires developing your methods to increase the website’s visibility in search results.
E-Commerce And Technical Optimization
Organic traffic from search engines is usually the basis of doing business for online stores. That is why e-commerce website owners greatly emphasize SEO and related activities. Many of the popular CMS systems used in e-shops (WooCommerce or Shopper) “get along” well with optimization activities – otherwise, our specialists can create dedicated solutions.
Website Technical Analysis Tools
The work of an SEO specialist dealing with the technical optimization of the website is based on many advanced tools supporting data analysis. Positioning requires regular monitoring of both the website and competing pages. It is also responding to market trends in the client’s industry, which are reflected in user behavior and algorithm changes introduced by Google.
Fortunately, SEO experts have strong digital allies beyond their knowledge and experience. Below are a few (out of many!) tools that our SEO specialists use during SEO technical SEO work.
Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is an advanced tool that allows you to download SEO-related data and filter it. The program works great, especially when analyzing large, complex websites with many subpages and URL addresses.
Google Pagespeed Insights
Thanks to GPI, the SEO specialist can see general information about the site’s speed and detailed data on the site’s compliance with Google’s technical guidelines, i.e., Core Web Vitals metrics. Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift are essential ranking factors.
Mobile Optimization Test From Google
A tool that allows you to check whether the website is adapted to mobile devices. In addition, you can find information about loading resources or JavaScript console messages there.
Google Rich Results Test
The official Google Schema.org structured data test – you can use it to see how the Google robot interprets the Schema markup used on the page.
Google Search Console
A powerful SEO command panel in which a specialist checks the most critical information about indexing subpages or keywords. The sitemap is also added there so the web crawlers better understand the site’s structure.