The world of SEO is ever-changing, and keeping up with these changes can be challenging, especially regarding the technical aspects.
Yet, the importance of technical SEO cannot be overstated; it is the foundation of your website’s visibility on search engines. At Head45 LTD, a leading digital marketing agency Cardiff, we excel in providing robust technical SEO solutions that can help increase your website's traffic instantly. In this article, we share 8 technical SEO tips to help you boost your search engine visibility and, consequently, your website traffic.
1. Improve Website Speed
In the digital era, where everything is just a click away, waiting for a web page to load can feel like an eternity. According to a report from Google, 53% of mobile users will abandon a site that takes up to three seconds to load. Consequently, if your website isn’t up to speed, you could lose significant traffic.
Website speed is not just crucial for user experience; it also significantly impacts your SEO. Search engines, like Google, use page speed as a ranking factor. A slow website can hurt your rankings, making it harder for potential customers to find you.
Improving website speed involves several technical aspects: optimizing images, enabling browser caching, reducing server response time, using content distribution networks, and minimizing the number of plugins. Implementing these strategies can significantly enhance your website speed, keeping your users happy and boosting your SEO Cardiff.
2. Enable HTTPS
HTTPS, an acronym for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, acts as a protective conduit for communication between the web server and the user's browser. Enabling HTTPS signifies your website is secure, building trust with your users. Users today are more concerned about their online security than ever before. If your website isn't secure, it can scare away potential customers.
Besides building trust, HTTPS is also a ranking factor in Google's algorithm. Google wants to direct its users to safe websites. By enabling HTTPS, you're not just ensuring the safety of your users' data but also improving your chances of ranking higher on search results.
Migrating your website from HTTP to HTTPS involves purchasing an SSL certificate, installing and activating it on your server, and updating all your internal links to HTTPS.
3. Optimise for Mobile
Mobile traffic has surpassed desktop traffic in recent years, making mobile optimization crucial for your online presence. With Google's shift to mobile-first indexing, the search engine giant now prioritizes the mobile version of websites for indexing and ranking.
Mobile optimization ensures that mobile users have an experience optimized for their mobile devices. This doesn't just mean ensuring your website is responsive and displays correctly across all devices but also that site navigation, load times, and usability optimize for mobile.
Mobile optimization involves designing your website with mobile in mind; for example, making buttons larger for easy touchscreen navigation, ensuring your images are responsive, and structuring your site with mobile users in mind. To enquire about website design in Cardiff, contact head45 experts today!
4. Use Schema Markup
Schema markup, a form of structured data, is a powerful SEO tool that can help your website stand out in the SERPs. It provides search engines with additional information about your content, helping them understand it better. This could result in rich results, like star ratings, images, or other text appearing directly in the search results, making your listing more attractive to users.
Implementing schema markup could significantly increase your visibility on SERPs and improve your click-through rates. This can lead to more traffic and, potentially, higher conversions.
There are different types of schema markup for various content types, including articles, products, events, and more. Implementing schema markup involves adding structured data to your site's HTML. While it can be technical, various tools can help you generate schema markup, making the process easier.
5. Fix Broken Links
Both users and search engines find broken links extremely disruptive and off-putting. They disrupt the user experience, causing frustration and potentially leading users to abandon your website. From an SEO perspective, broken links can hinder the search engine bots' ability to crawl your website, impacting your site's indexing and ranking on the search results.
Fixing broken links is a vital part of technical SEO. You can use various tools to identify broken links on your website, including Google Search Console. Once identified, you should fix these links either by updating the link if the page has moved or removing the connection if the page no longer exists.
Ensuring your website is free of broken links can lead to a smoother user experience and improved SEO performance. So, you should pay attention to your SEO strategy.
6. Create an XML Sitemap
An XML sitemap serves as a roadmap of your website, guiding search engine bots through all the essential pages on your site. It's beneficial for complex websites or websites with hundreds or thousands of pages. With a sitemap, search engines may find it easier to crawl and index all your pages.
Creating and submitting an XML sitemap to search engines can help ensure all your pages get crawled and indexed. Various tools can help you generate an XML sitemap. Once generated, you should submit your sitemap through Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
Remember, having a sitemap doesn't guarantee that all your pages will get indexed, but it does ensure that search engines are aware of all your pages.
7. Use SEO-Friendly URLs
URLs play a significant role in SEO. A well-structured, SEO-friendly URL is easy for users and search engines to understand. It should be descriptive and include your target keyword.
SEO-friendly URLs can help improve your website's crawlability and indexing. Moreover, since the URL is displayed in the search results, a descriptive URL can entice users to click on your listing, improving your click-through rates.
8. Implement Structured Data
Structured data, or schema markup, is a powerful SEO tool that tells search engines more about your content. It's like a dictionary for search engine bots, providing additional information and helping them understand your content better.
Structured data can lead to rich results, like ratings, images, or additional information appearing directly in the search results. These rich results can make your listing stand out, improving your click-through rates and driving more traffic to your website.
Implementing structured data involves adding the structured data code to your website's HTML. There are various structured data types, so you should choose the one that best fits your content. Remember, implementing structured data doesn't guarantee you'll get rich results, but it makes your website eligible for them.
Conclusion
Technical SEO can seem daunting, especially if you're new to digital marketing. However, it's an essential aspect of any successful SEO strategy. Just to remind you, your website's technical health can improve your online visibility.
That's where we come in. At Head45 LTD, your premier marketing agency in Cardiff, our expert team can handle all aspects of technical SEO for you. We will ensure your website is technically sound, providing a seamless user experience and meeting Google's guidelines.
Are you ready to take your website's visibility to the next level? Please contact us today and let our SEO experts do the heavy lifting for you, so you can focus on what you do best – running your business.
