Technical SEO: What It Is and How to Improve It on Your Website

Technical SEO is one of the fundamental pillars of search engine ranking, although it often goes unnoticed compared to content SEO or link building. It refers to the set of optimizations that ensure a website can be crawled, indexed, and properly understood by Google and other search engines. Without a solid technical foundation, even the best content can remain hidden from users.

In this guide, you’ll learn what Technical SEO is, why it’s crucial for your website’s visibility, and which are the most important actions to improve it. We’ll cover everything from page speed and site architecture to security, mobile adaptability, and the use of structured data.

1. What is Technical SEO and why is it important?

Technical SEO focuses on the internal aspects of a website that directly influence crawling and indexing. Some of the most relevant include:

• Clear URL structure and navigation.
• Optimization of the robots.txt file and XML sitemap.
• Proper management of redirects and canonical tags.
• Page speed and Core Web Vitals.
• Mobile adaptability.
• Security through HTTPS.

A well-implemented technical foundation makes it easier for search engines to do their job and improves user experience.

2. Crawl and indexing optimization

The first step towards solid Technical SEO is ensuring the right pages are being crawled and indexed:

• Properly configure your robots.txt file.
• Create an updated XML sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console.
• Avoid duplicate content by applying canonical tags.
• Regularly check coverage in Search Console.

3. Improving page speed and Core Web Vitals

Google considers page speed a key ranking factor. A slow site affects user experience and rankings. To optimize it:

• Use a caching plugin in WordPress.
• Compress images and use modern formats like WebP.
• Implement lazy loading.
• Minify CSS and JavaScript files.
• Consider using a CDN.

4. Security and mobile experience

Google prioritizes secure websites that provide a good mobile experience. To achieve this:

• Enable an SSL certificate and always use HTTPS.
• Ensure the design is fully responsive.
• Avoid elements that hinder navigation on small screens.

5. Implementation of structured data

Marking up with Schema.org helps Google better interpret your page’s content and display rich results in the SERPs. You can implement structured data for:

• Articles or blogs.
• Products and services.
• Local businesses.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).