9 Foundation Elements of Technical SEO for Greater Profit

Implementing technical search engine optimization (SEO) is difficult because of its many components. Many of them require technical knowledge, making matters more complicated.

This article covers the following Chicago technical SEO agency tips:

1. Be mindful of page speed.
2. Solve known crawling errors.
3. Fix broken links with redirects.
4. Add alt tags to rich media.
5. Use 404 pages correctly.
6. Remove duplicate content.
7. Boost website security with SSL.
8. Structure your site for searches.
9. Have a sitemap and robots file.

There’s a lot to cover, so get ready to take notes! Let’s go!

Watch this video to learn how Digital Authority Partners tackles Technical SEO!

1. Be Mindful of Your Page Speed

Conducting an audit is the first step to maximizing profits from applying technical SEO. Start by checking your website’s page speed and Core Web Vitals. According to Google, a report for these statistics tells you “how your pages perform, based on real-world usage data.”

You can easily accomplish this with Google PageSpeed Insights, which includes an information page for every statistic presented. All you have to do is paste the URL of the web page you want to assess and click "Analyze." You could even check a competing page’s statistics for reference.

2. Solve Known Crawling Errors

Before your content appears on search engine results pages (SERPs), crawler bots must visit and index your web pages. Crawling means combing through your website page by page to discover everything. Indexing is like bookmarking them for later.

But errors can happen along the way, preventing bots from indexing your site and keeping your pages from appearing in SERPs. Maybe the page is not live, the content is missing, or you changed a URL without redirecting to a new one. Fix errors that can be fixed so that bots have a full assessment of your site.

3. Fix Broken Links With Redirects

As mentioned, unexpected errors arise when backend changes (e.g., URL replacement) happen. Broken links are one of these, and they can seriously hurt your SEO score if you continue to leave them on your website. It is not exclusive to internal links in content, either.

Outbound external links can become broken on the other website’s end, which is a good reason to be extra cautious about who you cite as a source. That does not guarantee the absence of any broken links, though, so be sure to check with Ahrefs Free Broken Link Checker regularly.

4. Add Alt Tags to Your Rich Media

Although images, videos, and other rich media are on-page elements, they are still subject to technical SEO through meta tags (which also cross over to on-page SEO in some cases). The problem with rich media is that search engines do not see them like people do.

In fact, search engines do not see them at all, and so they have no idea what value they add to the written content or whether it even makes sense to add them there. Filling in image alt tags with relevant and specific phrases helps crawler bots understand rich media in the right context.

5. Use 404 Pages Correctly

Although 404 errors are undesirable for any website, that does not mean they are harmful 100% of the time. These errors allow you to flip the script and build your user experience (UX) in a more positive direction. But avoid 404s if possible.

A 404 page usually intends to inform visitors that the page was moved or deleted. What most do not do with their 404 pages is direct the person to similar content or suggest other pages where they can restart or continue searching. Ensure you have text that does so.

6. Remove Duplicate Content

Google, the top online search provider, has recently been making moves to remove or discourage content that is not unique, helpful, or truthful from reaching the top of its SERPs. That means they penalize shallow content, especially ones coming from plagiarism or spin.

This rule is not limited to potential criminal activity (e.g., theft) because Google doesn't like duplicates. That refers to any content you reupload without modification and to content that is too close or similar to content you already have. Originality is always best when it comes to content.

7. Boost Website Security With SSL

Security is another critical aspect of technical SEO that many website owners overlook. Getting a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate adds another layer of protection for your website and users without costing a lot or being overly complicated to obtain or install.

Some content management systems (CMS) include SSL as part of specific subscription or service packages. The increased awareness of online safety practices, such as browsers adding the option to prefer SSL versions of websites, means ignoring this is bad technical SEO.

8. Structure Your Site for Searches

A website is similar to a building in that you have to plan its architecture; otherwise, you end up with pages that even crawler bots struggle to navigate. That negatively affects how they index your content. Remember, crawling is a necessary precursor to indexing.

This can be highly challenging for beginners and those without much time on their hands to begin with, so consider getting help from a Chicago technical SEO agency if necessary. Overall, the goal is to make sure every page has multiple links and is easier to find through these links.

9. Have a Sitemap and Robots File

Lastly, creating a sitemap and a robots.txt file wraps up your technical SEO strategy nicely. These are among the best technical SEO practices because they allow you to speed up and control crawling and indexing by directing crawler bots to where they need to go.

For instance, you can use your robots.txt file to stop bots from following certain links or indexing certain pages while keeping them on your website. An XML sitemap is especially useful for UX. Apart from submitting them to search engines, you can add them to your site for navigation.

Summing Up

Following technical SEO best practices is essential for making your website and business more profitable. Without it, your website becomes unusable or frustrating for users and search engines. Thankfully, Chicago technical SEO agency tips can help you overcome these issues.

Some are feasible to accomplish independently, such as managing your page speed and links through free online tools. However, some of the more complex ones are probably best left to an expert, especially when you are in a time crunch and need them resolved as soon as possible.

Need help optimizing your website’s technical SEO to boost profitability? Contact Digital Authority Partners to learn how we can help.