In today’s increasingly competitive digital world, optimizing your website for search engines is a crucial step to success. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) isn’t just about quality content; the technical aspects of SEO also play a vital role. This is where a Technical SEO Audit comes into play. This audit is a systematic process of evaluating the technical elements of your site that affect its performance in search results.
A Technical SEO Audit not only helps you identify issues that may be hindering your rankings, but it also provides valuable insight into how search engines index and display your site. With a better understanding of the technical factors that affect rankings, you can make more informed decisions in your SEO strategy.
In this article, as the #1 Technical SEO Agency in Indonesia, we will discuss the important steps you need to take in conducting a Technical SEO Audit, as well as how to fix common issues that are often encountered.
What is Technical SEO?
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| What is Technical SEO? |
Before discussing the issue of technical SEO, what comes to mind when you hear technical SEO? eported from Yoast, technical SEO is the process of optimizing various technical aspects of a website. Its function is to increase the ranking of the page in search engines.
So, technical SEO is not related to keywords, but rather to various technical elements on a website. By utilizing technical SEO, your website will work faster. In addition, your website will also be easier to browse by search engines.
Some things that are included in technical SEO include: Crawling, indexing, rendering, and website structure. These things greatly affect the appearance of your website on the search results page. So, what are the technical aspects in question? There are several aspects that you need to pay attention to. Some of them are XML, Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Sitemap, HTTPs, and Hreflang tags.
Meanwhile, those that are not included in technical SEO include: analytics, keyword selection, backlink building, and social media strategies. When it comes to website optimization, technical SEO is the first step in creating a better browsing experience.
Why is a Technical SEO Audit Important?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is unique and not just about keyword optimization, but there are important elements and components that must also be optimized, including Technical SEO. Therefore, there are several reasons why Technical SEO Audit is Important, namely:
- Improve Ranking: By identifying and fixing technical issues, you can improve your site's ranking in search results.
- Improve User Experience: A well-optimized site provides a better user experience, which can increase conversion rates.
- Ensure Effective Indexing: Audits help ensure that all important pages on your site can be indexed by search engines.
Common Technical SEO Issues & How to Fix Them
Common technical SEO problems are often overlooked by website owners. Here are some technical SEO problems that you should know and how to fix them:
1. Not using HTTPS
Using HTTPS is very important for a website. Not using HTTPS is the first technical SEO problem. For example, when your website is not secure in search engines, it will display a page with a gray background color with a warning "website is not secure".
This can cause visitors to immediately exit your website. The first step to make improvements is to check whether your website is using HTTPS or not. To do this, please type the name of your website in the browser. If you see the message "secure", it means that HTTPS is installed on the website. To fix this, you can convert your website by using an SSL certificate.
2. Website is not indexed properly
The second technical SEO problem is a website that is not indexed properly. A website that is not indexed properly cannot be found when searched by search engines. Therefore, it is important to make sure that your website is indexed in search engines.
A quick way to check this is to type site:yourwebsite.com in Google. Then, Google will display all pages that have been indexed. If the results do not reflect the number of pages on the website, there is a problem.
To check this, you can use the robots.txt file. Robots.txt gives access to the crawler so that it can crawl your website. If your website is indexed, but there are fewer than expected results, do an audit of the indexed content and compare it to the pages you want to rank.
3. No sitemap
The next technical SEO problem is the absence of an XML sitemap. An XML sitemap can help Google search bots better understand your website pages. So, the website can be easily crawled by search engines.
If your website sitemap does not have a sitemap, you can create your own sitemap or hire a website developer to do it. The easiest option is to create an XML sitemap. If you are using a WordPress website, there is the Yoast SEO plugin, which can automatically generate a sitemap automatically.
4. Missing or incorrect robots.txt
A missing or incorrect robots.txt file is a dangerous thing. To determine if there is a problem with the robots.txt file, type the website URL in the browser with the robots.txt ending.
If you find "user-agent: * disallow", it means there is a problem with robots.txt. To overcome this, consult with the web hosting where you subscribe.
5. Slow page speed
If your website does not load in less than 3 seconds, it means your website is slow. Visitors will of course leave your website. Website speed is very important, not only for good user experience, but also for Google.
To make sure your website is fast enough, you can use Google PageSpeed Insight. Ways to overcome a website that is slow to access can vary greatly. Starting from compressing images, increasing browser cache, increasing server time, to minifying Javascript.
6. Duplicate content
Using HTTPS is very important for websites. Not using HTTPS is the first technical SEO problem. For example, when your website is not secure in search engines, it will display a page with a gray background color with a warning "website is not secure".
This can cause visitors to immediately exit your website. The first step to make improvements is to check whether your website is using HTTPS or not. To do this, please type the name of your website in the browser. If you see the message "secure", it means that HTTPS is already installed on the website.
To fix this, you can convert your website by using an SSL certificate.
In the blogging world, duplicate content is quite easy to find. Duplicate content is content that often appears on more than one page on the internet. The page is actually a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) link or an authentic website address.
So, if the same content appears on more than one page of a website, a content can be said to be duplicate content. Duplicate content can make it difficult for search engines to decide which version is most relevant to a particular search query.
7. Missing alt tag
Alt tags are very important in image search. Although search engines have algorithms to search for images. Alt tags can provide a textual description of the image that allows search engines to find the image that the user is looking for. That's why the image alt tag must contain keywords that match the image.
The way to fix this, of course, is to do a regular SEO audit. Its purpose is to monitor image content according to SEO rules.
8. Broken links
Good internal and external links are a characteristic of a quality website. At least, that's what Google likes. However, over time, content can change and links that were once good can become broken. Broken links, of course, provide a bad user experience. Plus, your content can be seen as low-quality.
How to do technical SEO audit step by step?
Now that you know the important reasons for optimizing technical SEO, now we will share the steps to conduct a Technical SEO Audit that you can do yourself. However, if you don't understand, you can ask an SEO Agency to do an SEO Audit and Technical SEO.
1. Prepare the Required Tools
Before starting the audit, make sure you have the necessary tools. Some useful tools include:
- Google Search Console: To monitor search performance and crawl issues.
- Google Analytics: To analyze visitor traffic and behavior.
- PageSpeed Insights: To check page speed.
2. Check Indexing Status
The first step in the audit is to check the indexing status of your site. Use Google Search Console to see which pages are indexed and which are not.
- Actions You Can Take: If any pages are not indexed, check for issues with robots.txt or the noindex tag. If necessary, make changes to ensure all important pages are indexed.
3. Evaluate Page Speed
Page speed is an important factor in technical SEO. Use a tool like PageSpeed Insights to measure your page speed.
- Actions You Can Take: If your page speed is slow, check for images, scripts, and other elements that may be affecting load time. Compressing images, using caching, and optimizing code can all help improve speed.
4. Check URL Structure
Clean, well-structured URLs are essential for SEO. Make sure your URLs are easy to read and contain relevant keywords.
- Actions You Can Take: If any URLs are long and confusing, consider changing them to be simpler and more descriptive.
5. Review XML Sitemap
XML sitemaps help search engines find and index pages on your site. Make sure your sitemap is up to date and doesn’t contain irrelevant pages.
- Actions to Take: Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and check for errors. Remove any URLs that no longer exist or are irrelevant.
6. Analyze Duplicate Content
Duplicate content can confuse search engines and hurt your SEO rankings. Use a tool like Copyscape to identify duplicate content on your site.
- Actions to Take: If you find duplicate content, consider merging the pages or using a canonical tag to indicate which page should be considered the primary version.
7. Check Mobile-Friendliness
With the rise in mobile device usage, it’s important to make sure your site is responsive and user-friendly on small devices.
- Actions to Take: Use a tool like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check if your site is mobile-friendly. If not, consider using a responsive design or creating a mobile version of your site.
8. Review HTTPS Usage
Site security is a major factor in SEO. Make sure your site uses HTTPS to protect user data and increase trust.
- Actions to Take: If your site isn’t already using HTTPS, consider converting to HTTPS by installing an SSL certificate.
9. Analyze Internal Linking
Internal linking helps search engines understand your site’s structure and distributes page authority. Check to see if you have enough internal links between important pages.
- Actions to Take: If you find a page that doesn’t have internal links, add links from other relevant pages to increase its visibility.
10. Check 404 Status and Redirects
404 (Not Found) pages can hurt user experience and SEO. Use a tool like Screaming Frog to check for pages that are generating 404 errors.
- Actions to Take: If you find 404 pages, create 301 redirects to relevant pages or fix broken links.
How do you perform a technical SEO audit?
1. Implement Fixes
Once you’ve completed your audit and identified the issues, the next step is to implement the necessary fixes. Create an action plan for each issue you find and prioritize them based on their impact on SEO and user experience.
2. Monitoring Progress
After making improvements, it’s important to monitor your site’s progress. Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to track changes in rankings, traffic, and user behavior. Perform regular SEO audits to ensure your site remains in optimal condition.
Performing a Technical SEO Audit is a vital step in maintaining the health and performance of your website.
Conclusion
By following the steps outlined, you can identify and fix common issues that may be hindering your SEO performance. Every element, from page speed to URL structure and indexing, has a significant impact on how your site is rated by search engines. It’s important to remember that an SEO audit is not a one-time event, but rather an ongoing process that should be done on a regular basis.
By regularly monitoring and fixing issues, you’ll ensure that your site remains relevant and competitive in the ever-changing digital marketplace. Additionally, the improvements you make will not only improve your search engine rankings, but will also improve the user experience, which in turn can increase conversions and visitor loyalty.
The best way to deal with broken links is to run a regular website audit. A website audit will help you find pages that contain broken links. Then, you can fix those links with new, accessible links. With dedication and commitment to SEO best practices, you can create a website that is not only engaging to visitors but also search engine friendly.
