Technical SEO refers to the behind-the-scenes work that ensures your website is accessible, crawlable, indexable, and easy for search engines to understand- and thus, people to find. Unlike content and link-building strategies, technical SEO focuses on optimizing your site’s infrastructure—how it’s built, how it performs, and how it communicates with search engines.

It’s the foundation of SEO: no matter how great your content is, it won’t rank well if search engines can’t access or interpret it correctly. In this guide, you will learn what is technical SEO, and how to do technical SEO properly.

What is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO is the process of optimizing your website’s technical setup to help search engines crawl and index your pages efficiently. It involves improving aspects such as:

  • Website speed and performance
  • Mobile-friendliness and responsive design
  • URL structure and site hierarchy
  • Internal linking and navigation
  • Indexing and crawl control
  • Structured data and schema markup
  • Security (HTTPS)
  • Fixing errors like broken links or duplicate pages

The goal of technical SEO is to remove barriers that prevent your site from performing well in search results.

Why Is Technical SEO Important?

Now we know what is technical SEO, let’s see why it is so important for your website’s success:

  • Search engines must be able to access your pages – If your pages aren’t crawlable or indexable, they won’t appear in search results.
  • Performance affects rankings – Slow or unstable websites often rank lower due to poor user experience.
  • Mobile compatibility is essential – With mobile-first indexing, a site that doesn’t perform well on mobile devices won’t rank competitively.
  • Structured data enhances visibility – Technical markup helps search engines understand content and display rich results.

Without technical SEO, other efforts—like content writing and link building—can be severely limited in impact.

Here are the basic elements of technical SEO:

  1. Website Crawling and Indexing

Search engines use bots to crawl your website. If bots can’t access your pages or understand your content structure, those pages won’t be indexed or ranked.

Key considerations:

  • Use an XML sitemap to help search engines find all important pages.
  • Create a robots.txt file to control what should and shouldn’t be crawled.
  • Avoid blocking important content with JavaScript or incorrect meta tags.
  1. Site Speed and Performance

Website speed affects both user experience and search rankings. A faster site reduces bounce rates and increases engagement.

To improve performance:

  • Compress and properly size images
  • Use browser caching and a content delivery network (CDN)
  • Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
  • Remove unused scripts or plugins
  • Monitor performance regularly
  1. Mobile-Friendliness

Google primarily uses the mobile version of your website for indexing. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, it can hurt your SEO.

Ensure your site:

  • Uses responsive design
  • Has text that’s readable without zooming
  • Avoids elements that require Flash
  • Allows easy navigation on smaller screens

Pro tip: You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check how your pages perform on mobile.

  1. HTTPS and Site Security

Secure websites (using HTTPS) are a ranking signal and increase user trust. Ensure your site has an SSL certificate and all resources (images, scripts, etc.) are served securely.

Checklist:

  • Redirect all HTTP pages to HTTPS
  • Avoid mixed content (loading insecure elements on a secure page)
  • Regularly renew your SSL certificate
  1. URL Structure and Site Architecture

A clean and logical URL structure improves crawling and usability. Each page should have a unique, descriptive, and human-readable URL.

Tips:

  • Use hyphens, not underscores
  • Avoid long, complex query strings
  • Structure URLs by categories when relevant (e.g., /blog/seo-tips)
  • Keep hierarchy shallow to ensure important pages are close to the homepage

Ensure your site uses breadcrumb navigation and a clear internal linking structure to guide both users and search engines.

  1. Canonicalization and Duplicate Content

Duplicate content can confuse search engines and dilute ranking signals. Use canonical tags to specify the preferred version of a page.

Best practices:

  • Avoid duplicate versions of the same page (e.g., with or without trailing slashes, www vs. non-www)
  • Use to consolidate authority
  • Implement canonical tags for product variations or filtered URLs
  1. Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Structured data helps search engines understand the meaning and context of your content. It can also enhance your listings with rich snippets (e.g., reviews, FAQs, prices).

Use schema markup for:

  • Articles and blog posts
  • Products and prices
  • Reviews and ratings
  • FAQs or how-to guides
  • Events, recipes, jobs, and more
  1. Fixing Technical Errors

Errors can prevent search engines from indexing or ranking your pages. Regularly audit your site to identify and fix common issues:

  • 404 (Not Found) errors
  • Broken links
  • Redirect chains and loops
  • Server errors (5xx)
  • Pages excluded from indexing without reason
  • Orphan pages (pages not linked internally)

Use tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, or Ahrefs Site Audit for regular technical health checks.

Here are some extra tips on how to do technical SEO:

  • Use a flat site structure to keep important content within 2–3 clicks from the homepage.
  • Optimize for Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) to improve load speed and interactivity.
  • Make use of pagination and lazy loading where necessary, but make sure content is still accessible to crawlers.
  • Maintain consistent URL formats and avoid duplication across HTTP/HTTPS or www/non-www.
  • Regularly monitor indexing status and crawl errors in Google Search Console.
  • Create custom 404 pages that guide users back into your site instead of losing them.

Here are some of the common technical SEO mistakes to avoid:

  • Blocking important pages with robots.txt or noindex
  • Missing or incorrect canonical tags
  • Slow-loading pages due to unoptimized assets
  • Ignoring mobile usability issues
  • Poor internal linking that creates orphaned content
  • Failing to use an XML sitemap or update it regularly
  • Letting broken links accumulate over time

These technical SEO mistakes often go unnoticed by users but can silently prevent your content from ranking or being discovered at all.

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References

Case Studies

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Testimonials

Raiser completely changed the way we approach SEO and lead generation. What once seemed too complex and technical became manageable thanks to its user-friendly interface and powerful tools. We were able to analyze our site, fix issues, and implement targeted SEO improvements on our own. As a result, not only did our traffic grow, but the quality and quantity of our inbound leads increased significantly.

Rabia K.

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As an e-commerce brand, we struggled to understand why our website wasn’t performing for SEO. Raiser quickly highlighted key SEO issues and gave us clear, actionable steps. With improved site structure, faster load times, and smarter content optimization, we saw higher rankings, more qualified traffic, and a real boost in sales. Raiser didn’t just fix problems—it gave us the confidence to grow.

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Pazarium

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Erdinc D.

Franke Turkiye

Using Raiser SEO solutions, we were able to get our digital marketing operations in order. Understanding clearly what needs to be done for improvement with in-depth analysis and seeing the results of our work with regular, detailed reports helped us immensely in speeding up our website, making it more user-friendly, and getting better rankings in Google.

Hanno A.

Briisk

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