When most people think of SEO, they picture keywords, blog posts, and backlinks. And while those are important, they don’t mean much if your site is slow, disorganized, or invisible to search engines.
That’s where technical SEO comes in.
As a developer who builds and optimizes websites for small businesses and agencies, I’ve seen firsthand how technical SEO can make or break your online visibility. It’s not the flashiest part of digital marketing—but it’s often the most foundational.
If your site isn’t performing like it should, here are the essential technical SEO strategies I recommend (and implement) to improve performance and search rankings.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO focuses on how well your website is structured and how easily search engines can crawl, index, and understand your content. Unlike content SEO (which is about what you say), technical SEO is about how your site works behind the scenes.
It includes things like:
- Site speed and performance
- Mobile optimization
- URL structure
- Crawlability and indexability
- Schema markup and structured data
- Core Web Vitals
- XML sitemaps and robots.txt
When these elements are set up properly, your site becomes easier for Google to understand—and easier for users to navigate.
1. Improve Site Speed and Core Web Vitals
Speed isn’t just a user experience factor—it’s a Google ranking factor. A slow website leads to higher bounce rates and lower engagement.
I optimize speed by:
- Compressing images and using next-gen formats like WebP
- Minimizing JavaScript and CSS bloat
- Leveraging browser caching and lazy loading
- Hosting sites on fast, reliable servers or CDNs
And yes—Core Web Vitals matter. I regularly fix issues with Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), and Interaction to Next Paint (INP) to improve both user experience and rankings.
2. Fix Crawl Errors and Broken Links
If search engines can’t crawl your site, they can’t index or rank it.
I always start with a technical audit to identify:
- Broken internal and external links
- Redirect chains and loops
- Crawl errors in Google Search Console
- Missing or incorrect canonical tags
Cleaning up these issues helps search engines access your content more efficiently—and keeps your authority flowing where it should.
3. Optimize Your Site Structure and URLs
A logical, well-organized site structure helps both users and search engines.
Key best practices:
- Use short, clean URLs with keywords (e.g.,
/services/plumbing-los-angeles) - Organize content into logical categories and subpages
- Use breadcrumbs and internal linking to connect pages naturally
If your site structure is a mess, even the best content will underperform.
4. Make Sure Your Site Is Mobile-Friendly
Google uses mobile-first indexing—so if your site doesn’t look or function well on a phone, you’re already at a disadvantage.
I build all websites with responsive design, test them on real devices, and make sure touch targets, font sizes, and page layouts work seamlessly on mobile.
Pro tip: Don’t just “resize” your desktop layout—rethink it for mobile usability.
5. Implement Schema Markup and Structured Data
Schema helps search engines understand your content more clearly—and it can improve how your site appears in search results with rich snippets.
Depending on the business, I might add:
- LocalBusiness schema
- Product and service details
- FAQs and How-To schema
- Review and rating markup
- Breadcrumbs and site navigation schema
It’s one of those things that doesn’t take long to implement but pays off in increased visibility and click-through rates.
6. Maintain Your XML Sitemap and Robots.txt
Every well-optimized site should have:
- A valid XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
- A properly configured
robots.txtfile that allows search engines to crawl what you want indexed
I always double-check these files during site launches or SEO audits—they’re easy to forget, but critical for controlling how search engines access your site.
Need Help With the Technical Side of SEO?
You don’t need to become a developer or SEO expert to benefit from technical SEO—you just need someone who knows what to look for and how to fix it.
Reach out today and I’ll run a technical audit of your website, identify the bottlenecks, and show you how to improve your site’s performance—for users and for search engines.
