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Technical SEO is the foundation of a well-optimized website. While on-page and content-related SEO elements help drive traffic, technical SEO ensures that search engines can crawl, index, and understand your site efficiently. In this guide, we’ll explore six essential technical SEO tips that will help improve your website’s visibility and performance in search results.
1. Verify Your Site in Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is an essential tool for monitoring and maintaining your website’s presence in Google’s search results. If you haven’t verified your site yet, do so using one of the following methods:
- HTML file upload
- Meta tag verification
- Google Tag Manager (GTM) or Google Analytics (GA4)
- DNS-based authentication (for advanced users)
Useful Pro Tips For Verifying Site In Google Search Console
- If you’re verifying your site for the first time, data may take 5-7 days to appear in GSC. Check back later to analyze insights.
- Connecting GSC to Google Analytics provides deeper insights into search performance and user behavior. Follow this guide to link your accounts.
- It’s also very important to note that https and http are different sites, and would report different data in GSC. The same is true for www and non-www.
- Ensure that GSC is set up for your primary domain—the one receiving the most traffic. If multiple properties are generating traffic, consolidate them by enforcing a single primary domain and protocol. This prevents confusion for both search engines and users, improving site consistency and SEO performance.
2. Are All Pages Indexed?
Ensuring your important pages are indexed is critical for SEO. Here’s how to check:
- Go to GSC > Indexing > Pages to view indexed and non-indexed pages.
Monitor the trend of indexed pages on your site. Is the number increasing or decreasing? If search engines are indexing fewer pages than you have, there may be a technical issue affecting your SEO. You can see why specific pages aren’t indexing by visiting the Why Pages Aren’t Indexed area under Pages. This provides insight into which pages are indexed, why some might not be, and any issues preventing proper discovery. Some possible reasons for pages not being indexed include:
- Page with redirect
- robots.txt restrictions
- meta robots tags
- Audit server settings (403 errors can block content access)
XML Sitemaps
It’s also recommended to submit an XML sitemap under GSC > Sitemaps to help Google discover pages faster. This sitemap is a file that lists all important pages on your website and ensures Google can find and prioritize your key pages.
3. Check Site Structure
Pay close attention to your website’s structure, including how pages, categories, and tags are organized. A poorly structured site can lead to duplicate content, causing valuable pages to get buried while low-quality content wastes your crawl budget.
A well-structured site improves user experience and search engine crawls. Use GSC > Indexing > Pages to analyze site structure:
- Ensure key pages aren’t orphaned (missing internal links)
- Review crawl depth (important pages should be easily accessible)
- Fix broken links that affect site navigation
Screaming Frog is a great tool to audit site structure by running a scan to check for things like:
- Meta title and descriptions
- Anchor text on internal links
- Alt attribute on images
- 301 or 404 reports on internal links
Export the crawl data to excel and manipulate it to find and filter any odd keywords being used at higher volumes.
4. Keyword Distribution & Content Optimization
Analyze search queries and content keywords in the following ways:
- Check the Google Search Console > Performance > Search Results > Queries tab for keyword performance
- Use third-party tools (e.g., Ahrefs, Semrush) for content gap analysis
- Ensure title tags, meta descriptions, and headers are optimized for relevant keywords
GSC used to provide a “Content Keywords” report to show you how your site is identified by keywords, but unfortunately that tool is no longer available.
5. Crawl Stats & Site Performance
Google Search Console’s Crawl Stats report (GSC > Settings > Crawl Stats > Open Report) provides insights into how frequently Googlebot is crawling your site and whether there are any performance issues. Key metrics to watch include:
- Total Crawl Requests – How often Google is crawling your site
- Average Response Time – A slow server response can negatively impact indexing
- Crawl Distribution – Shows what content Googlebot prioritizes
If crawl requests are dropping or response times are high, you may need to optimize your site’s technical structure, reduce unnecessary redirects, or improve server performance.
6. Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals have become a crucial ranking factor, influencing both user experience and SEO performance. Google evaluates these metrics to measure the responsiveness, visual stability, and speed of your site. The key metrics include:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance (aim for under 2.5 seconds).
- First Input Delay (FID): Measures interactivity (should be under 100ms).
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability (aim for a score under 0.1).
To analyze your Core Web Vitals performance go to GSC > Experience > Core Web Vitals.
We recommend also using PageSpeed Insights (Run a test). It provides detailed performance insights, including load speed, interactivity, and visual stability, helping you identify areas for improvement. Optimizing these factors can enhance user experience and positively impact search rankings.
How to Improve Core Web Vitals
- Optimize images using next-gen formats (e.g., WebP, AVIF)
- Use lazy loading to defer offscreen images
- Minimize JavaScript and CSS render-blocking resources
- Implement caching strategies for faster load times
- Utilize a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to reduce server response times
Optimize Your Website for Long-Term SEO Success
Technical SEO is an ongoing process that ensures search engines can crawl, index, and rank your website effectively. By verifying your site in GSC, optimizing site structure, addressing indexing issues, refining keyword distribution, and improving Core Web Vitals, you create a solid foundation for long-term search success.
Regularly monitoring these technical elements and making necessary adjustments will help maintain optimal website health and search visibility.Need expert SEO assistance? SL Development specializes in optimizing websites for search engines, improving site speed, and ensuring technical best practices are in place. Contact SL Development to enhance your website’s performance today!
Founder of SL Development. Obsessed with the web and love working in SEO and PPC. I’ve spent my career implementing enterprise digital marketing campaigns, leading the digital division of a marketing agency, building a company and countless hours consulting business owners about their websites and advertising.
