Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is made up of several components, all that can be either confusing, intimidating, or just seem like “a lot of work.” At Connections Marketing, we’ve tried to simplify the practices of SEO by breaking it up into a series of three main parts: a trilogy.
Part one of the trilogy was about on-site SEO, and we covered how elements on your website can impact your Google ranking. Part two of the trilogy focused on off-site SEO, discussing how your Google ranking is impacted through factors found outside of your website.
If you missed part one or two of the trilogy, or just need a refresher before continuing, be sure to check them out, on our blog.
Today we will focus our efforts on the third practice – technical SEO. Read along to have the following questions answered:
- What does technical SEO really mean?
- Why does it matter?
- What are some tips to implement it?
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO speaks to the development or the infrastructure of your website. Technical SEO allows us to determine if Google can properly crawl and index your site.
When auditing a site for technical SEO, we review these technical aspects:
- Crawlability – We first determine if Google is able to access your page and all of its content.
- Indexability – Just because Google can crawl your website, does not mean that Google is able to index all of your content. Google says that a page has been indexed if it has been visited by the Google crawler, known as Googlebot. The Googlebot analyzes content and meaning, and stores it in the Google index. This is Google’s way of trying to figure out what your website is about.
- Accessibility – We determine how accessible your website is to everyone, regardless of disabilities.
- Rankability – Based on the first three steps, we determine where Google has ranked your website.
- Clickability – Based on your Google ranking, we analyze who has clicked on your link and visited your website.
Paying attention to technical SEO is not only important for Google indexing but it is also important for user experience. Everyone has experienced a “bad’ website, which usually results in exiting out of that website and finding a better performing one.
Common technical issues that can easily deter a user include:
- Slow loading speeds
- Unsecured websites
- Websites that are not mobile friendly
By focusing on the technical aspects of your website, users will have a positive experience, thus Google will be more likely to rank your website, because as we say here at Connections Marketing, if users like your website, Google will like your website.
Improve Your Technical SEO With These Tips
Technical SEO can be very “technical”, so unless you are familiar with web development, you may need to reach out to an expert for assistance. However, here are a few things you can do to improve and monitor your website’s experience.
Enable HTTPS on Your Website
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https) for your website basically ensures that your website is secure.
Most company websites have a place for users to enter personal information such as names, credit card numbers, birth dates, addresses, etc. If you want your website to be a safe place for users, start by enabling https.
Also many search engines are now making it more clear to users when a website is not secure. If your website does not have https enabled, you will have a “not secure” message next to your URL. So don’t scare users away from staying and converting on your website. Enable https.
Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly?
According to Google, more than 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website is not mobile-friendly, chances are you are losing out on possible prospects who could have converted. Check your website on your phone and see if it’s easy to navigate, loads quickly, and all images, videos, etc. display properly. You can also run your website through Google’s Mobile Friendly Test.
Sign Up for Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool that tracks your website activity and alerts you when something unusual arises.
Let’s say that there is a crawling issue on your website, Google will identify this issue and notify you so you can get a hold of the issue before it impacts your Google rankings.
Sign up for Google Search Console by clicking here.
Speed Up Your Website
When you are living life in the fast lane, you’ll reach your desired destination quicker; your website speed is no exception.
If Google is coming to your website every so often, and every so often your website is down or glitching, this will dramatically affect your rankings. Speed up your website by reviewing its content, ensuring it is optimized and also reviewing your server’s capabilities. Slow servers can often cause technical issues for both Google and users.
Hire a Technical SEO Expert
Improving your technical SEO is not just a recommended tactic that you should be implementing – it is crucial if you want your website to be noticed and your business to grow through more website traffic and higher conversion rates.
However, technical SEO is found to be the most complicated SEO practice; even the most qualified SEO experts often need to work alongside a developer to execute this practice properly.
This is why many business owners are behind when it comes to technical SEO. It is a difficult SEO practice to understand and implement on your own, unless you are also an expert in development.
Fortunately, the team at Connections Marketing is made up of SEO experts and web developers. These two departments work together to give your website the technical makeover that it needs, and assist you by checking all of the technical aspects that make up your website.
If you would like to learn more about our SEO services or if you are interested in a FREE website audit, contact us today!