Beginner's Guide to Technical SEO

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What Technical SEO is NOT
• What Technical SEO Actually Is
• 1. Indexation
• 2. Site Speed
• 3. Website Structure
• Tools and Resources
• Conclusion

Introduction

Welcome to the wonderful world of Technical SEO 🤓 If you're a startup owner, a beginner blogger, or a digital marketer, understanding the basics of Technical SEO can significantly impact your website's visibility and performance. In this guide, we'll break down what Technical SEO is, what it isn't, and share some tips and tools to help you get started.

Reference: This guide is inspired by the video "Technical SEO is NOT" by NPDigital, which you can find below:

What Technical SEO is NOT

Before we get into what Technical SEO actually is, let's clarify a few common misconceptions:

• Meta-Descriptions - These are summaries of your webpage content, visible in search engine results. While important, they're not part of technical SEO.
• H1s - These are your main headings within a webpage. Again, crucial for on-page SEO but not technical SEO.
• Title Tags - These are the titles that appear on the search engine results page (SERP) and browser tabs. They play a role in on-page SEO, not technical SEO.

What Technical SEO Actually Is

Technical SEO involves optimizing your website so that search engines can easily crawl and index it. Here are the three key areas to focus on:

1. Indexation

Indexation is all about ensuring that search engines can find and understand your web pages. Here's what to consider:

• Canonicalization - This helps prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the preferred version of a web page.
• Status Errors - Fixing 404 errors and other HTTP status codes that can hinder the crawling process.
• Robots.txt Files - These files tell search engines which pages to crawl and which to avoid.
• Crawl Budget - Managing the number of pages search engines should crawl to ensure important pages are indexed.
• Rendering - Ensuring that your pages render correctly for both users and search engines.

2. Site Speed

Site speed is crucial for user experience and search engine rankings. Focus on the following:

• Core Web Vitals - Metrics that measure loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.
• Field Data - Real-world data collected from actual users.

3. Website Structure

A well-structured website makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your pages. Key components include:

• Sitemaps - XML sitemaps help search engines find all the pages on your site.
• URL Structure - Keeping URLs short, descriptive, and consistent.
• Internal Links - Linking to other pages within your site to help distribute page authority.
• Structured Data (Schema Markup) - Adding schema markup to help search engines understand your content better.

Tools and Resources

To help you with your Technical SEO efforts, here are some valuable tools:

• Google Search Console - this is a free tool that helps you keep an eye on, manage, and fix your site's visibility in Google Search results. To find out more about how to setup and use Google Search Console check out this beginner friendly guide.
• Ubersuggest - A complete SEO tool that assists with keyword research, site audits, and more. Interested in trying out Ubersuggest? Here’s a guide for you.

Conclusion

Technical SEO might feel overwhelming at first, but by concentrating on these important aspects, you can greatly boost your website's performance and visibility. No matter if you're a startup owner, a new blogger, or a digital marketer, getting the hang of Technical SEO is crucial for your online success.