There is a deeper, more technical side to search engine
optimization (SEO) on your website that is just as crucial, if not more, than quality content and
strong backlinks.
Even if you’re not the one implementing this technical
SEO foundation, it’s still good to have some idea of what is going on in
order to ensure you are getting quality work done on your website.
1. Robots.txt File
If you work with a developer, you may have heard this term
before.
The robots.txt file provides a directive to search engines
and every website needs one in the root directory (i.e.,
example.com/robots.txt). This file must be formatted correctly, meaning it only
blocks files or directories you don’t want indexed and it should be included in
your XML sitemap.
When redesigning your website, it’s common to have the dev
site blocked in robots.txt using disallow:/.
One common mistake made by unqualified “professionals” is
forgetting to remove this disallow before the redesigned site is launched –
which makes your entire website unindexable by Google, meaning it won’t show up
in search.
How to check:
- Google
Search Console > Crawl > robots.txt Tester
2. Canonical Linking
Sometimes your website has different page URLs that have
similar or nearly identical content. Many websites use canonical link elements
to ensure that the preferred version of the page is the one that shows in
search.
There are some guidelines to follow with canonical link
elements. They should reference a URL that does not redirect and is indexed and
the URL needs to be the full path (i.e., http://www.example.com/).
As a business owner, you might not think about the different versions of pages
on your website – especially when dealing with ecommerce. However, a savvy web
developer should be looking out for these canonical errors and bringing it to
your attention or fixing the problem.
How to check:
3. Redirects
When you sell out of a product, or decide to remove a
product or service, that page URL should be redirected rather than being left
as a 404 error (missing page). Although there are different types of redirects,
for SEO purposes, a 301 redirect is recommended, which tells the search engines
that the page has permanently moved.
Nowadays, it’s important to have your redirect go straight
to the final destination, instead of creating a redirect chain.
For example, if Page A redirects to Page B then redirects to
Page C, there is a redirect chain.
Instead, Page A should redirect to Page C and Page B should
also redirect to Page C.
How to check:
- Screaming Frog report
- Redirect-checker.org
4. Page Speed
Google cares about the speed of your website… almost as much
as your visitors.
It’s been shown that if a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load, 40% of
people will abandon the website. Even a 1 second delay can cause a 7% reduction
in conversions.
Google is very similar with this. Large, slow-to-load pages
run the risk of being crawled only partially or skipped completely. Google
recommends above the fold content load no slower than one second and a general
rule of thumb is to ensure the entire page load within four seconds.
There are many things that can be done to speed up slow
loading pages, such as:
- Compressing
images
- Leveraging
browser caching
- Minifying
JavaScript and CSS
The majority of these items will require the help of a
developer.
How to check:
- Google PageSpeed Insights
5.
Mobile-Friendliness
Especially with the introduction of Google’s mobile-first
index, mobile-friendliness is something every website must strive for. It helps
improve the searchability of your site and also is a huge benefit for user
experience.
Responsive
design allows for your website to look great on any device and makes it
easier for visitors to engage and convert.
How to check:
- Google Mobile-Friendly Tool
- Google Search Console
Conclusion
Even if you’re not someone who deals with SEO, especially
the technical side of SEO, understanding these basic concepts of it can help
ensure your website and your business are running the best they can be. If
you’re unsure whether these tasks are being done, simply run through this
checklist with your developer or web team.
Just know that not all SEO companies have the expertise and
knowledge to optimize your technical SEO. That’s why hiring an in-house team
that consists of developers, designers and SEO professionals will give you the
best results.
If you’re interested in learning more about the ways your
website could be better optimized, call
Sales & Marketing Technologies today at (407) 682-2222 for a free strategy
session.