Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the strategy that takes your content to the top of Google’s organic search results. In this age of artificial intelligence, Google’s algorithm updates have made it necessary for businesses to refine their SEO approach. Spammy, low-value content is out; authentic, helpful content that addresses user needs is in. But no matter how well-written and informative your content is, structural and technical SEO issues can ruin your chances of search success.
Technical SEO is crucial so that search engines can find, crawl and index your website. A website’s speed and mobile-friendliness are two of its greatest ranking factors, and this kind of SEO improves both.
SEO is one of the strategies Anchor Digital uses to help your brand achieve higher rankings and more conversions. Here is the Anchor guide to the easiest and most common technical SEO mistakes to make and how you can avoid them for SEO success.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is different to standard SEO practices like analytics and keyword research, although both will help your rankings. Technical SEO is the process of ensuring a website meets a search engine’s technical requirements for crawling, indexing and rendering. It includes both user experience factors like making your site faster and easier to read on mobile devices, as well as components like page titles and tags, HTTP header responses, and SEO sitemaps.
This kind of SEO is a make-or-break factor for your website performance. If search engines can’t find your pages, it doesn’t matter how helpful your content is. The people that need your answers won’t be able to find them.
Common Technical SEO Mistakes
The mistakes you’re most likely to make as far as technical SEO goes include:
No HTTPS security
If your site isn’t properly secured, it will display a grey background when you type your URL into Chrome. Or worse, a red background with a “not secure” warning. To check this, type your domain name into Google Chrome: a lock icon accompanied by the statement “secure” means your site is safe. To convert your site into HTTPS, you’ll need a certificate from a Certificate Authority.
Site isn’t indexed correctly
If a site isn’t indexed properly, Google isn’t aware that your pages exist, and it won’t appear in search results. You can check your site status by typing “site:yoursitename.com”, which allows you to see all your site’s indexed pages. If your site doesn’t come up at all, it’s time to add your URL to Google.
Duplicate content
Duplicate content pages can confuse web crawlers and prevent web users from seeing the right version of your content. The reasons for duplicate content include multiple versions of e-commerce URLs with the same products and the same content appearing in multiple languages. You can address these kinds of issues with measures like proper configuration, rel=canonical headers and the correct use of hreflang tags.
No XML sitemaps
XML sitemaps tell Google which sites on your page should be indexed and provide vital information like when a page was last modified. To check if your webpage has a sitemap, type the URL into Google and add “/sitemap.xml” to the end. If you end up on a 404 error page, you know it’s time to create a sitemap yourself or hire a web developer.
Neglected page speed
Page speed is how fast the page or its contents load, and it’s a ranking factor on both desktop and mobile devices. Page speed matters a lot. If a page doesn’t load within three seconds, most users will leave your site. Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool can help you detect any issues with speed.
Multiple homepage variants
Having multiple versions of a live page confuses both users and Google. Different versions of your URL, including HTTPS and HTTP, should successfully lead to your webpage. If they don’t, you’ll need to set up 301 redirects.
Missing alt tags
Alt tags tell Google’s bots what a page is about. Running a regular technical SEO audit will help you make sure these tags aren’t missed.
Broken links
Broken links have poor SEO in every case and negatively impact a user’s experience. Regular technical SEO analysis can help prevent them before they occur.
Ignoring mobile optimisation
Google uses mobile-first ranking on every site now, with the mobile version of the site the only one that counts towards rankings. Response design, the dynamic serving method and separate URLS for both desktop and mobile are key ingredients in strong mobile optimisation.
How to Fix SEO Mistakes
Some simple steps you can take immediately to fix issues with your SEO include:
Fix duplicate content issues
You can use a technical tool like SEMrush, Ahrefs or Screaming Frog to find and fix duplicate pages on your site.
Make sure crawlers can only see one version of your site
If users and crawlers can access more than one version of your website, it leads to duplicate content errors and reduces how effective your backlink profile is. Use only one version of your website and redirect the other one to that.
Improve page speed
To reduce your load time, compress your images, use a content distribution network and remove needless characters and whitespace from your code.
Check your robots.txt file
A robots.txt file is a text file that you as a webmaster can use to instruct search engine bots on crawling your site. A robots.txt file has to be stored in the top-level directory of a website, is case-sensitive and can benefit from giving bots directives on crawling your site.
Fix broken links
Broken pages and links negatively impact user experience and affect the crawlability of your website. It’s important to set up the right page redirects and fix broken links.
How to Avoid SEO Mistakes
The right technical steps can help prevent SEO issues before they occur. These include:
Optimise for Core Web Vitals
The Core Web Vitals are the metrics Google uses to measure user experience. These include the time a webpage takes to load its largest element, the time it takes to react to a user’s first interaction, and the unexpected shifts in the layouts of various elements.
Make your site architecture SEO-friendly
Your site architecture (or “site structure”) is the way pages are grouped together on your site. A well-organised site structure with every page just a few short clicks away from your homepage helps make your site more SEO-friendly.
Submit your sitemap
An XML sitemap makes it easier for Google to index your webpage by listing important pages on your site and how to find them. To help your visibility, locate your sitemap and submit it to Google via the Google Search Console (GSC).
Understand how to index
Having some knowledge of how pages are indexed and how to effectively index will help you out a great deal. This includes robots directives, canonisation, indexing and HTTPS.
Run technical SEO audits
A technical SEO audit identifies and resolves issues related to the technical elements of your site. Ideally, it should be conducted at least once a year and include everything from the XML sitemap to the pages that return 404 errors. Because an SEO analysis requires specialist technical expertise, your best bet is to leave it in the hands of a good marketing agency.
How a Marketing Agency Can Help Your SEO Performance
The right marketing agency can help your SEO strategy in a number of ways, not just in the technical aspects of SEO. Some SEO skills of a good marketing agency include:
Keyword research
Identifying the high-value keywords your audience is looking for.
Content creation
Creative agencies can produce content that engages users and leads to conversions.
On-page optimisation
Including title tags, links and headers.
Link-building
An agency can target high-quality backlinks that increase your brand authority and improve your rankings.
Competitor analysis
You might not have time to keep tabs on what your competitors are doing. But for an agency, it’s part of their strategy.
Analytics and reporting
A marketing agency can provide detailed reports on your SEO strategy and adjust courses when necessary.
Avoid SEO Mistakes with Anchor Digital Marketing
A hybrid creative marketing agency, Anchor Digital offers a full spectrum of services to bring your ideas to life.
Our SEO services take an integrated approach to both the technical and on-page aspects of SEO, with both backend knowledge and keyword research you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. We offer a straightforward approach that’s optimised for human readers while pleasing the bots, and provide transparent testing and reports for the best outcome.
Our other digital services take a similar approach, merging the technical and the creative. Whether your brand requires graphic design, web design or deeper level identity work, our team can draw on a range of different skills and disciplines to create the strategy to fit your brand.
Whether you need an SEO audit or a comprehensive SEO strategy, contact the Anchor team.
