Technical SEO is arguably the most critical factor to improving organic search performance and SEO. This addresses the configuration of your website on a site-wide level, including the way the site is coded, the server configuration, and other elements which affect how easily search engines can view and index pages.
The primary goal of technical optimisation is to discover all potential obstacles that search engines might be encountering while crawling your website, which could prevent content from being indexed efficiently or effectively. There’s a huge cross-over with on-page content that could be root of some of your issues too.
This is first area that I address or audit that I deliver for any client as all other tactics and actions could be wasted if there are issues. Technical SEO is also my favourite part of SEO, whether it’s falling down a rabbit hole to discover a hidden issue that was having a major impact on performance, or helping clients with drastic website changes to set them up for future success, there’s always a lot of value to provide here.
I’ve worked with a lot of tech SEOs over the years and the best consultants have always had one thing in common. They are able to clearly and concisely explain the issue and proposed solution so that the client and their web developers understand its importance or significance, sometimes not just in terms of SEO.
This is where I can help. My approach to technical SEO is really about prioritising and understanding what’s possible for your business, not just uncovering issues.
New Website Builds
If your business is considering or in the process of building a new website, it’s critical to have SEO involvement as soon as possible. I’ve seen plenty of businesses invest a lot of money in a new website, only to see it flop once it’s live.
Website SEO Migrations
I’ve seen it all when it comes to website migrations, and getting involved after it’s already gone terribly wrong is the worst. This is your insurance policy to making sure SEO value and organic traffic is maintained when your new site goes live.
Technical Audits
As technical SEO is the first area that I focus on, it often makes sense for businesses to invest in a technical audit first. You might not need me to say if your website is good or bad, but auditing from an SEO perspective is entirely different.
Case Study: 427% increase in ranking keywords after website migration
Frequently asked technical SEO questions
What are the most common technical SEO issues you encounter, and how do you fix them?
The most common issues that I find are related to how a website or platform has been set up. Even the best off-the-shelf solutions and platforms that have a focus on SEO can have issues as it all depends on how Google crawls and indexes your pages, which is often overlooked.
How do you ensure our website is mobile-friendly and meets Google’s technical requirements?
The industry has changed a lot since mobile-friendliness became a critical factor for Google. The vast majority of platforms and websites are well-equipped for responsive design, but my focus is to always make sure that mobile experience is the priority given how a lot of people search and what Google looks at.
What role does site speed play in technical SEO, and how do you address it?
Site speed is often the main factor that a lot of businesses focus on. This is obviously important for users and search engines, but I’m yet to see many websites that are rich in information that also have great scores when it comes to site speed. It’s important to prioritise and remove unnecessary barriers that are slowing down the site, but there are lots of other factors that may be more important.
What are your strategies for optimising website crawling and indexing?
The pages that users see or visit on your website versus what Google crawls and indexes can be different. It’s important to make sure the most important pages for organic search get the attention they need from search engines and it’s handled efficiently to avoid index bloat or wasting crawl budget that your site is assigned.
How do you address and resolve issues related to duplicate content and canonicalisation?
Duplicate content, as it’s generally referred to, can be a necessary evil depending on your website and platform. There are several ways to avoid duplicate content from an SEO perspective and preventing Google from crawling and/or indexing these pages, even if they are still required for users. Canonicalisation is often my last resort as this can be ignored by search engines.
