Technical SEO Liverpool

Technical SEO refers to the process of optimising the infrastructure of a website to improve its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s crucial because it ensures that search engines can crawl, index, and understand your site effectively. Without a solid technical foundation, even the best content may struggle to rank well in search results.

We recommend conducting a comprehensive technical SEO audit at least once every six months. However, for larger or more complex websites, quarterly audits may be beneficial. Additionally, it’s important to perform spot checks and monitor key metrics regularly to catch and address any issues promptly.

Key technical SEO elements to prioritise in 2024 include:

• Core Web Vitals optimisation
• Mobile-first indexing compliance
• Page speed optimisation
• Structured data implementation
• JavaScript SEO
• HTTPS security
• Crawl budget optimisation
• Schema markup for rich results

To improve page speed:

• Optimise and compress images
• Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
• Leverage browser caching
• Use a content delivery network (CDN)
• Reduce server response time
• Eliminate render-blocking resources
• Implement lazy loading for images and videos
• Consider using next-gen image formats like WebP

Mobile optimisation is crucial for technical SEO, especially since Google’s switch to mobile-first indexing. It involves:

• Implementing responsive design
• Ensuring fast page load times on mobile devices
• Creating mobile-friendly navigation
• Optimising images and videos for mobile
• Avoiding the use of Flash or other mobile-unfriendly technologies
• Implementing Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) where appropriate

To address duplicate content:

• Use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page
• Implement proper URL parameters handling
• Avoid creating multiple pages for similar content
• Use 301 redirects for moved or consolidated pages
• Implement hreflang tags for multilingual sites
• Create unique meta descriptions and title tags for each page

Core Web Vitals are a set of specific factors that Google considers important in a webpage’s overall user experience. The three Core Web Vitals are:

1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance. To optimise:
   • Improve server response times
   • Optimise and compress images
   • Implement lazy loading for below-the-fold content
2. First Input Delay (FID): Measures interactivity. To optimise:
   • Minimise JavaScript execution time
   • Break up long tasks
   • Optimise your page for interaction readiness
3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability. To optimise:
   • Use set size attribute dimensions for images and videos
   • Ensure ad elements have a reserved space
   • Add new UI elements below the fold

HTTPS is crucial for SEO and user trust. Google has confirmed that HTTPS is a ranking factor, and browsers now mark non-HTTPS sites as “not secure.” To implement HTTPS:

• Obtain an SSL certificate from a reputable provider
• Install the SSL certificate on your server
• Update internal links to HTTPS
• Set up 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS
• Update your sitemap and robots.txt file
• Inform Google of the change in Search Console

Structured data is a standardised format for providing information about a page and classifying its content. It benefits SEO by:

• Enabling rich snippets in search results
• Improving the chances of appearing in featured snippets
• Helping search engines understand your content better
• Potentially improving click-through rates from search results

To implement structured data:

• Choose the appropriate schema markup for your content
• Use JSON-LD format for implementation
• Test your structured data using Google’s Rich Results Test
• Monitor performance in Google Search Console

To optimise crawl budget:

• Remove or noindex low-value pages
• Fix crawl errors and broken links
• Improve site speed and performance
• Use your robots.txt file effectively
• Create and maintain an up-to-date XML sitemap
• Implement proper internal linking
• Consolidate similar or thin content pages
• Manage URL parameters effectively

Common technical SEO issues include:

• Slow page load times: Optimise images, leverage caching, and minimise code
• Duplicate content: Use canonical tags and create unique content
• Broken links: Regularly audit and fix or redirect broken links
• Poor mobile experience: Implement responsive design
• Improper use of robots.txt: Ensure it’s not blocking important content
• Lack of HTTPS: Implement SSL across your entire site
• Missing or poorly implemented structured data: Use appropriate schema markup
• Crawl errors: Address issues reported in Google Search Console

JavaScript can impact SEO if not implemented correctly, as search engines may struggle to render and index JS content. To optimise JavaScript-heavy sites:

• Implement server-side rendering (SSR) for critical content
• Use dynamic rendering to serve static HTML to search engines
• Ensure your site works with JavaScript disabled
• Minimise render-blocking JavaScript
• Implement lazy loading for non-critical JavaScript
• Use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console to see how Googlebot renders your pages

Some effective tools for technical SEO audits include:

• Google Search Console: For indexing and crawl error reports
• Screaming Frog: For comprehensive site crawls and audits
• SEMrush: For site audits and competitor analysis
• Ahrefs: For backlink analysis and site audits
• GTmetrix: For page speed analysis
• Google PageSpeed Insights: For Core Web Vitals and speed optimisation
• Mobile-Friendly Test: For mobile optimisation checks
• Schema Markup Validator: For structured data validation

Log file analysis can provide valuable insights for technical SEO:

• Identify which pages search engines crawl most frequently
• Discover crawl errors or blocked resources
• Analyse crawl budget usage
• Identify potential duplicate content issues
• Monitor crawl frequency of new or updated content
• Detect and investigate unusual bot activity
• Verify the impact of robots.txt changes