Introduction To Technical SEO
Have you ever wondered why your beautifully designed website isn’t climbing up the search engine rankings? Well… there’s a good chance that technical SEO has something to do with it (or a lack of!).
In a hurry? Here’s the short version:
- Technical SEO is the behind-the-scenes setup that helps search engines properly crawl, index, and display your website.
- Good structure, fast loading, and mobile-friendly design improve rankings and keep users engaged.
- Schema markup and new tools like llms.txt help search engines and AI better understand your site.
- Slow, broken, or hard-to-navigate sites miss out on valuable search traffic, even with great content.
- Regular audits and clear site structure prevent issues, improve performance, and support long-term growth.
Technical SEO is the ‘behind the scenes’ work that actually helps search engines discover, read, rank, and serve your website to users. When executed well, it can make a huge difference to your website traffic, visibility, and even your conversion rates.
Statistics like this show how vital it is for your website to appear high in search engine rankings.
We have touched on technical SEO in previous blog posts. For a broader look at SEO overall and how technical SEO fits in, you might want to start with our introduction to SEO before digging into this article.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is all about examining and optimising your website’s infrastructure. It’s not about your page’s content (on-page SEO) or the backlinks pointing to your site (off-page SEO). It is, instead, about everything that helps a search engine crawl, index, and better understand your website. This includes (but is not limited to) the site speed, mobile friendliness, code cleanness, page structure, and secure connections.
All of these elements can work together to improve how well your site performs in search engines as well as how easily users can interact with it. As the majority of all search traffic comes from Google (Statistica), ensuring your website meets these technical standards is essential.
In the current day, as search evolves, structured data and schema have an even more important role to play in technical SEO. The current rise of large language models (LLMs) such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s Chat GPT increasingly relies on structured snippets to generate answers.
Correct schema implementation can directly influence whether your content is featured in rich results and used as a source in AI’s responses.
llms.txt for AI Understanding
Just this year, an innovation has emerged as an industry standard to directly support AI’s models – llms.txt. This file format is designed to help AI assistants better understand (and reduce misinformation from) your site by highlighting your most important content in a machine-readable way.
So, if you are building your site from scratch or even redesigning your site, you should really consider how your web design choices affect technical SEO from the start.
Why Is Technical SEO Important?
It Builds the Foundation for SEO Success
Search Engines Must Crawl and Index Your Content
User Experience Signals Influence Rankings
“According to Google, sites that meet Core Web Vitals standards see a 24% lower abandonment rate.”
Benefits of Technical SEO
Improves Organic Visibility and Ranking Potential
It may seem simple but the effort pays off:
Appearing ‘somewhere’ on page one of the results is no longer enough; your site needs to be technically strong to reach the top. Check out our web development services if you’re looking to optimise your site infrastructure.
Speeds Up Your Website for Better UX and SEO
Tired of waiting? No one likes to wait. A technically sound site reduces bounce rates and keeps users engaged by loading quickly. Faster loading sites also rank better in the major search engines, especially with the importance of Core Web Vitals Metrics.
According to Google, 53% of mobile visitors will abandon a page that takes longer than 3 seconds to load (Scientia Mobile).
Ensures Mobile Responsiveness Across Devices
If your site isn’t working well on mobile phones and tablets, you’re missing out. Mobile-friendly websites enhance user satisfaction and are prioritised in mobile-first indexing.
Mobile sites that load within 5 seconds earn up to twice the ad revenue compared to slower ones (Google)
Boosts Security and Trustworthiness
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is an internet communication protocol that encrypts data between a browser and a website to ensure privacy, security, and trust.
Using HTTPS and monitoring your site’s health doesn’t just protect users, it also lets search engines know your site is trustworthy. Secure sites are more likely to rank higher, achieving user confidence, especially for e-commerce and data-sensitive websites.
Google confirmed as early as 2014 that HTTPS is a ranking factor (Google). If you need help switching to HTTPS, our hosting and maintenance plans include SSL certificates.
Prevents Costly Errors and Simplifies Maintenance
Website problems are easier to fix, and content is easier to update with clean code and a clear structure. A technically well-maintained site is also less likely to suffer from broken functionality or unexpected ranking drops due to unnoticed issues.
For businesses with complex setups, we offer tailored website management and troubleshooting services.
How to Audit and Maintain Technical SEO
Run Regular Technical SEO Audits
There are a myriad of tools available to help you identify errors and opportunities for errors. They may be some of the most expensive, but over the years, we have found tools like Semrush and Ahrefs to be the most effective to use.
Applying a consistent monitoring and maintenance schedule allows you to catch issues early on (or before they have negative effects) and keep your site’s performance high.
Don’t forget you don’t need these tools if you book a one-off technical SEO review with us.
Track SEO KPIs and Performance Metrics
Keeping tabs on relevant metrics such as crawl errors, site speed, and mobile usability gives you an indication of where your site may be lacking.
Reviewing your analytics and search performance regularly allows you to spot trends and act on changes.
Plan for Long-Term Maintenance and Scalability
As with all SEO, technical SEO is not just a one-time fix. As your site changes and grows, so does the need for routine check-ins and updates.
Best practice is to document these changes, staying on top of the current best practices for technical SEO and evolving the strategy you use over time.
It’s also worth knowing that 44% of SEO professionals say technical fixes can take up to 3 months to show results (SEO.com). Patience and consistent monitoring are key.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
Technical SEO might sound a bit intimidating, but it’s really just simply making your website work better for both users and search engines.
Focus on crawlability, indexability, as well as your site’s speed and structure.
Use the right tools (or SEO experts!), stay consistent with your audits, and you will have a website that not only ranks better but runs smoother too.