This technical SEO guide helps you identify and resolve common hidden issues, including slow page speeds, mobile usability problems, duplicate content, broken links, crawl errors, and more. We’ll explain why each issue matters, how to fix it, and what tools you can use.
By the end, you’ll have a comprehensive technical SEO checklist to keep your website at the top of search results and improve its rankings.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO focuses on the backend structure and technical aspects of your website to make it easy for search engines to crawl, index, and understand your content.
Unlike content optimization or link building, technical SEO is about:
- Improving site speed
- Securing the site with HTTPS
- Fixing crawl errors and broken links
- Optimizing for mobile
- Adding structured data
- And much more
When done right, technical SEO enhances user experience, improves rankings, and protects your site from sudden traffic drops.
Why Technical SEO Is Important?
Here’s why every business website needs technical SEO for better results:
- It helps search engines discover and index your pages efficiently.
- Boosts rankings by improving site speed and mobile usability.
- Reduces bounce rates by providing faster and smoother navigation.
- Ensures your site can handle growth in traffic without losing performance.
- Builds trust through secure browsing (HTTPS) and a reliable UX.
A website with solid SEO can outperform its competitors, even when they have similar content.
Technical SEO Guide: How to Find & Fix Hidden Site Issues
Let’s break down the most common technical SEO issues and provide practical solutions to address them.
1. Improve Mobile SEO & Usability
Google uses mobile-first indexing for every website, so your site must perform flawlessly on smartphones and tablets.
Problems to watch for:
- Text is too small to read
- Elements are too close together
- Content wider than the screen
How to Fix it:
- Utilize responsive design frameworks, such as Bootstrap or CSS Grid.
- Test your site using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
- Increase font sizes and space elements, and ensure clickable areas are large enough.
2. Optimize Site Speed for Better Rankings
A slow-loading site speed frustrates users and negatively impacts your website’s rankings.
Common issues:
- Large uncompressed images
- Render-blocking scripts
- Missing caching headers
How to Fix it:
- Compress images (use tools like TinyPNG or WebP format).
- Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
- Enable browser caching and use a CDN.
Pro tip: Regularly check site speed with Google PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals.
3. Secure Your Site with HTTPS
HTTPS is a confirmed ranking factor and reassures visitors.
Website Problems:
- Expired SSL certificates
- Mixed content (HTTP assets on HTTPS pages)
How to Fix it:
- Install and renew SSL certificates.
- Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.
- Update internal links, sitemaps, and canonical tags to use HTTPS.
4. Find and Fix Duplicate Content
Duplicate content splits the site’s ranking signals and confuses search engines.
Sources of duplication:
- URL parameters (e.g., ?ref=)
- HTTP vs HTTPS and www vs non-www
- Similar product descriptions on e-commerce sites
How to Fix it:
- Use canonical tags to point to the preferred URL.
- Apply 301 redirects for duplicate URLs.
- Rewrite content to be unique where possible.
5. Optimize Internal Linking Structure
Strong internal linking helps search engines understand your site’s hierarchy and pass authority.
Common Problems:
- Orphan pages (no internal links pointing to them)
- Too many links on a single page
- Weak anchor text like “click here”
How to Fix it:
- Link new pages from related blog posts or category pages.
- Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text.
- Keep important pages within three clicks from the homepage.
6. Add Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Structured data helps search engines to better understand your pages and can display rich results.
Content Examples:
- Product schema for e-commerce
- FAQ schema for blog posts
- Review the schema for testimonials
How to add:
- Use JSON-LD format for schema.org.
- Validate using Google’s Rich Results Test.
- Only add schema where it makes sense.
7. Submit and Maintain XML Sitemaps
A clean sitemap makes crawling easier.
Common Problems:
- Missing sitemap
- Outdated URLs
- Including non-indexable pages
How to Fix it:
- Create a sitemap.xml and submit it to Google Search Console.
- Regularly updated to include only indexable, important URLs.
- Remove outdated or redirect URLs.
8. Fix Crawl Errors and Broken Links
Broken links create a bad user experience and waste crawl budget.
Website Problems:
- 404 errors
- Broken internal/external links
- Redirect chains
How to Fix it:
- Use Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find errors.
- Redirect broken URLs to the most relevant page.
- Remove or update outdated links.
9. Optimize Meta Tags (Titles & Descriptions)
Titles and descriptions affect click-through rates.
Content Optimization Problems:
- Duplicate titles
- Missing meta descriptions
- Overly long titles
How to Fix it:
- Write unique titles under ~60 characters.
- Add keyword-rich meta descriptions under ~160 characters.
- Include the brand name for trust.
10. Improve Site Architecture & URL Structure
Logical site structure makes navigation and crawling easier.
Site Problems:
- Flat or messy site architecture
- Deeply nested webpages (more than four clicks away)
How to Fix it:
- Use clear categories and subcategories.
- Create breadcrumb navigation.
- Keep URLs short, keyword-focused, and descriptive.
Advanced Technical SEO Tips that You Should Avoid
These are some advanced technical SEO tips that you should avoid to improve your website’s ranking. Here are some SEO tips:
- Add hreflang tags for multilingual sites.
- Block irrelevant pages with robots.txt.
- Audit Core Web Vitals and fix performance issues.
- Monitor the site regularly with Google Search Console.
- Disallow harmful backlinks if needed.
Top Technical SEO Tools For Your Website
Here are the top technical SEO tools for complete site audits:
- Google Search Console: Crawl stats, indexing issues.
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Broken links, redirects, duplicate content.
- Ahrefs & SEMrush: Keyword tracking, site audits, competitor analysis.
- Google PageSpeed Insights: Page speed and Core Web Vitals.
- Structured Data Testing Tool: Validate schema markup.
FAQs: Technical SEO Guide
Q1: What are the technical SEO Aspects?
Technical SEO is the practice of enhancing a website’s technical foundation to enable search engines, such as Google, to crawl, index, and comprehend its content easily.
This includes optimizing factors such as:
- Page speed and load times
- Mobile-friendliness and responsive design
- Secure browsing with HTTPS
- Fixing crawl errors and broken links
- Proper use of structured data (schema)
- Clean site architecture and URL structures
Q2: Why is technical SEO important?
A solid technical SEO strategy is essential for:
- Making sure search engines can discover and index your pages without barriers
- Improving site speed, which directly impacts rankings and user satisfaction
- Delivering a seamless mobile experience is now a ranking factor with Google’s mobile-first indexing
- Increasing site security through HTTPS, which boosts trust and authority
- Preventing duplicate content issues and wasted crawl budget
- Supporting structured data so your pages can appear with rich results (like FAQs, reviews, etc.)
Q3: How often should I audit my site’s technical SEO?
Regular audits help you identify problems early, such as broken links, crawl errors, slow-loading pages, or outdated sitemaps, and maintain a healthy site.
- Every 3–6 months as part of regular maintenance
- After any major website changes (like redesigns, new CMS, or adding large numbers of pages)
- When you notice traffic drops, slower page loads, or crawling/indexing issues in Google Search Console
Q4: Do small websites need technical SEO?
Yes, even small business websites or personal blogs benefit from:
- Faster loading times, which reduce bounce rates
- HTTPS to build trust with visitors
- Proper indexing to ensure your pages appear in search results
- Fixing technical issues that might silently block ranking opportunities
Build a Future-Proof Website with Technical SEO
A technical SEO guide helps you identify hidden issues, including site speed and HTTPS, as well as duplicate content and internal linking. The right technical SEO tools help you audit your site, fix errors, protect it, enhance user experience, and improve your site’s performance.
Start your technical SEO checklist today with DGSOL digital marketing agency UK and build a site that truly performs on search engines!
