Technical SEO: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is essential for increasing the visibility of your website in search engine results. While many aspects contribute to a successful SEO strategy, technical SEO is a fundamental component that often gets overlooked. In this comprehensive guide, we will break down technical SEO for beginners in a straightforward manner.

1. Website Speed: Website speed plays a critical role in SEO. Search engines like Google favour websites that load quickly because they provide a better user experience. Slow-loading pages can lead to higher bounce rates and decreased rankings. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix speed issues.
2. Mobile-Friendliness: With the rise of mobile devices, Google prioritises mobile-friendly websites. Ensure your site is responsive and adjusts to different screen sizes. Test your website’s mobile-friendliness using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
3. XML Sitemaps: XML sitemaps help search engines understand the structure of your website. Create and submit a sitemap to Google Search Console to ensure all your pages get indexed.
4. Robots.txt File: The robots.txt file tells search engines which parts of your website to crawl and index. Make sure it’s correctly configured to avoid excluding important pages from search results.
5. Canonical URLs: Canonical URLs are essential for avoiding duplicate content issues. Set the canonical tag on pages with similar content to indicate the preferred version.
6. SSL Certificate: Security is a ranking factor. Ensure your website has an SSL certificate to establish a secure connection between your server and the user’s browser. Websites with “https://” are preferred by search engines.
7. Structured Data Markup: Structured data markup helps search engines understand the content on your website better. Implement structured data to enhance your search engine listings with rich snippets.
8. 404 Errors and Redirects: Regularly monitor your website for 404 errors (page not found) and implement 301 redirects for broken links to maintain a seamless user experience and preserve SEO equity.
9. Image Optimisation: Optimise images by reducing file sizes and using descriptive file names and alt text. Compressed images improve page speed and accessibility.
10. H1 Tags and Header Tags: Use H1 tags for main headings and H2-H6 tags for subheadings to structure your content. This makes it easier for search engines to understand the hierarchy and relevance of your content.
11. Mobile Page Speed: Mobile users expect fast-loading pages. Prioritise mobile page speed optimisations, such as lazy loading of images and reducing server response times.

In conclusion, technical SEO is the foundation of a successful SEO strategy. By implementing these basic technical SEO practices, you’ll improve your website’s visibility in search engine results, provide a better user experience, and ultimately drive more organic traffic. Remember that SEO is an ongoing process, so regularly audit and update your website to stay competitive in the digital landscape.

It’s quite easy, but if you are having a hard time, email me at aditya@denary.agency