What is technical SEO?
Technical SEO is all the work on your website that users never see. Google sees it. On-page SEO is the part of search engine optimisation that users can see.
Imagine your website as a house. Technical SEO is the foundation. It keeps the house firmly planted, so it doesn't sway. Without a solid foundation, you can build something as beautiful as you like, and the result will often be mediocre.
If you want a website that ranks solidly in Google's algorithms, technical SEO is therefore an important element.
Areas of work in technical SEO
Technical SEO covers a wide range. Here are some of the most important areas of work:
- URL structure: Build a URL structure that is logical, clear and relevant for both users and search engines. Remember your canonical tags where relevant.
- Sitemap: Create your sitemap and keep it up to date. It tells search engines about your content and which pages they should index.
- Fast loading time: Optimise your page loading time. It gives a better user experience and a better ranking in the search engines.
- Responsive design: Make sure your website works optimally on all devices: desktop, tablet and mobile.
- HTTPS: Use a secure HTTPS connection. It protects users' data and gives search engines more trust in your website.
- Image optimisation: Optimise the images on your website. It improves loading time and helps search engines understand your content.
- Troubleshooting: Run troubleshooting tests at regular intervals. That way, you detect and fix technical errors and issues on your website.
- Indexing: Your pages need to be indexed before they can rank highly for your keywords. If that doesn't happen automatically, submit the pages for indexing yourself.
- Redirects: Avoid “dead links” and error pages. Set up redirects from the pages where you've changed the URL structure.
Good tools for technical SEO
SEO specialists often disagree when the conversation turns to the best SEO tools. There's a sea of options, and most of them do exactly the same thing. Experiment and find your own “go-to” tools.
Examples of tools you should try:
If you want to know more about good tools for your SEO strategy, read our colleague's post “Seven cool SEO tools, the webmaster's most important tools”. The post goes into depth on several of the tools on the list.
Does your website have toxic backlinks?
Your website's backlink profile has never mattered more than it does now. In December 2022, Google rolled out its “link spam update”. If your website gets links from harmful websites, Google can now penalise your rankings heavily.
Facts about the “December 2022 Google Link Spam Update”
- The update targets spam and low-quality links that affect the search results.
- The update focuses particularly on links that someone has created to manipulate rankings in the search results.
- Google says that websites with poor content or poor link practices can expect to lose visibility in the search results.
Want to know more about toxic links? Then read our colleague's blog post “Toxic backlinks, poison for your website's SEO”. He goes into depth on what toxic links are and how they affect your SEO. And not least, he shows you how to get rid of them.
Get help from a specialist
If technical SEO seems like too big a project to take on, you can always get help at Amplify. We have the tools and the knowledge it takes. With them, we give your website the best possible conditions for reaching the top rankings on Google.
Contact one of us on 70 60 50 28, info@amplify.dk or via our contact form.