Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a topic that often comes up when talking about websites. Search engines have their own intrinsic algorithms that they use to determine the quality of a website and how to rank it. While there are many elements to SEO, technical SEO is where the groundwork is laid for your website in dealing with these algorithms.
Technical SEO, in simple terms, is the process of ensuring that a website meets the technical requirements of modern search engines, such that it optimises the technical elements. This helps the search engines to crawl through your website and index it more efficiently. So, what does technical SEO entail? Let’s find out.
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is used to enhance a website’s infrastructure so that search engine bots can crawl through and index the pages on your website more efficiently. Technical SEO is a process that involves the auditing and optimising of the technical elements of a website so that it has a better chance of ranking higher on Search Engine Results Pages (also known as “SERPs” or “SERPs”). Improving the efficiency of your website’s performance for search engines across the board requires high technical SEO skills.
The main elements of a solid technical SEO for a website include improving page load time, making it easier to crawl through for search engines, and providing search engine algorithms with enough information about your website to index it accurately. Technical SEO primarily focuses on improving various elements on your website that can help improve its image in the eyes of search engines and ultimately put you ahead of the competition.
So, why would you want to prioritise technical SEO? Technical SEO allows search engines like Google to know that you have a credible website of high value, which makes it important for them to rank your page higher on their search engine list. It is any company’s dream to be on the first page of the search results, and search engines primarily want to provide their users with the best possible, most relevant information according to their keyword search. Technical SEO is, therefore, the backbone when it comes to ensuring your website meets the needs of the user.
Why is Technical SEO Important?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) continues to be an absolutely essential part of any digital marketing strategy. As much as we like talking about the newest and latest digital marketing tactics, SEO is a reliable anchor and will be so for the foreseeable future.
You can create a very high-quality website with the best content, and it will still not rank high if your technical SEO is not up to the mark. Why? Search engine algorithms should be able to find your pages in order to crawl through them and understand their content in order to index them for the right search queries.
Simply put technical SEO relays to search engines data on what your pages are about. This includes providing information about content, internal and external links, metadata, image descriptions, and much more. However, this is just scratching the surface. There are many more elements, such as mobile optimisation, duplicate content, page loading speeds, and a multitude of other factors that go into technical SEO. This does not mean that you have to perfect your website’s technical SEO to rank high. But having it optimised makes the job of search engines easier and helps get you a higher ranking on SERPs.
When designing a comprehensive SEO strategy, however, most digital marketers spend their time mainly on a few things. Choosing high-ranking keywords to target is obviously an important step. Integrating these into high-quality pieces of content may be your next goal. At the same time, the building of backlinks is also critical. All these techniques, like on-page and off-page SEO strategies, are necessary elements.
However, technical search engine optimisation is equally important to create strong SEO. Focusing on your website architecture and ensuring that Google can properly crawl through your website goes a long way in allowing your website to rise in the search rankings. For example, if Google‘s search results give a high ranking to a webpage that is difficult to navigate, slow or even unresponsive, the users will inevitably search somewhere else to find the answers they require. So if your web page is secure, able to load quickly, and has no dead links, Google’s crawlers will give it an extra boost in search rankings.
You may be asking, what is the reason for this? Well, it is evident that a strong technical foundation for your website will ensure the readers are satisfied with the information provided, and you are almost always guaranteed a revisit from them.
Why Should You Optimise Your Site Technically?
It is important to keep your site technically optimised for search engines and visitors alike. Search engines strive to provide the users with the best results for their search queries. This is why Google’s bots crawl through all your web pages and evaluate them on various factors. Technical factors in this process include page loading speed, understanding of the content, structured data, and much more. This helps search engines get a proper picture of what your webpage is all about.
Similarly, technical SEO also plays a huge role in user experience. A fast website with reliable navigation and an easy-to-use interface will hold the attention of the visitors. Having a rigid technical foundation for your website can significantly improve your website’s user experience.
4 quick and useful tips on optimising your site
1) Compatibility
More and more users are browsing the Internet on their smartphones; therefore, the optimising of your website can begin with ensuring that your website is compatible with mobile devices.
2) Speed
The speed of your website plays a pivotal and integral role. Users are usually on the go and do not have the time or patience to wait for websites to load. To get a basic audit of your website’s current speed, you can make use of a very helpful tool like Pingdom or Google PageSpeed Insights.
3) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
Furthermore, you need to ensure that you include a secure sockets layer (SSL), which provides extra security for your visitors. Visitors are more reluctant to browse a site that is not secure, as they want their data protected at all times. SSLs are to protect data and verify identities, therefore helping to improve user trust and experience.
4) Sitemaps
Finally, it is advisable to submit your sitemap to search engines. Sitemaps are essentially an index of your pages on your website and are critical as they allow search engines to find and index your website.
Conclusion
Technical SEO will not automatically increase your ratings and get you to the top of Google, but it certainly goes without saying that if you ignore this vital foundational step, it will most definitely not happen at all. Your website and content will be punished by search engines for being slow or buggy, thereby preventing you from achieving your digital marketing goals.
Get an experienced SEO agency to formulate a winning SEO strategy for your business that also includes technical SEO to get the most out of your marketing efforts. Technical SEO is very important to help your website rank higher on the search engines.
