Technical SEO is a core component of SEO. Here is a 10 technical SEO checklist and tips to instantly boost your website traffic.
The term technical SEO refers to improving your website for indexing, crawling, and other technicalities. It is the crucial element of search engine optimization. You might have created amazing and unique content for your website. However, suppose you fail to incorporate the technical SEO aspects. In that case, Google might not rank your website on its first page. The more your website appears on the top results page, the more traffic it will receive and much more conversions.
Ask a question to any business leader or entrepreneur about what more do they expect from their business? The most likely answer will be an increase in customers. After this, the next option on the bucket list will be driving traffic to their websites. If your website is among the top three sites on the search results, it will probably get 60% of the website traffic.
Many technical SEO tips exist to help you with the rankings on the search engine results page (SERPs). The article demonstrates some of these tips:
01. Optimize the Speed of Website
Make no mistake. Site speed matters. That’s why we have included site speed as the #1 in this technical SEO checklist.
If your website is taking too long to load, then this is a red flag. Your website’s speed matters a lot, specifically when it reduces the website traffic, thereby increasing the bounce rate. Hence, the loading speed of your website can let you either sink or swim.
You can optimize the website speed by:
- Selecting the JPG format for pictures on your site
- Avoiding pop-ups and unwanted ads
- Compressing the CSS or HTML files
02. Create a Responsive and Mobile Friendly Website
Google has declared that it will make use of mobile-first indexing for ranking websites. Therefore, a mobile-friendly web design that responds promptly is one of the essential tips. By no means has it implied that the desktop version is not necessary. However, the mobile version will be a priority.
For this reason, your mobile website should include engaging elements and provide a good user experience. Also, you can take advantage of Google’s mobile-friendly tool to check your mobile website’s performance.
03. Conduct SEO Audits
A regular SEO audit is necessary to figure out the reasons as to why there has been a decrease in traffic. Audit in the SEO vocabulary refers to the website’s analysis to check the errors, rectify them, and set new goals.
The following steps will guide on how to conduct the technical SEO audit:
- Have you mentioned meta descriptions on all webpages?
- Have you used organic keywords?
- Does your website include backlinks?
- Which portion of your website has UX problems
- Is the URL address of your website brief and easy?
04. Optimize Using Authentic Keywords
Avoid using common keywords for your content. Try focusing on the long-tail keywords since they are specific. If you want to rank your content high on the results page, use keywords in the title. Another technique is to insert keywords at the start of the sentence or in the heading, make sure that it appears naturally.
You can also search for the keywords that your competitors are using.
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When doing so, you may want to consider using residential rotating proxies. These proxy servers can change your IP address automatically, which can be helpful if you want to avoid being detected by your competitors.
The use of rotating proxies can help you stay anonymous. When proxies rotate, your IP address changes, making it more difficult for competitors to track you down. Rotating proxies can also help you avoid being banned from certain websites. If you’re using the same IP address all the time, there’s a chance that you could be banned from a site if you’re detected.
Remember not to use a keyword stuffing strategy for your website. It will only raise doubts for Google or other search engines, as it may appear as invalid content.
05. Create High-Quality Content
Although it is necessary to write longer content, you should manage to keep the quality content. Make sure that you have covered every specific detail of your topic. The more comprehensive your article is, the more beneficial it is to users.
Another way is to extend the current content of your website. Why start from the ground when you can add new information in the existing blog post. In this way, you can optimize the content and increase the chances of ranking high with a modified look.
06. Use Canonical URL Address to Prevent Duplicate Content Issues
Google can penalize you if it finds duplicate content on your website, directly impacting your rankings. Therefore, after producing content for your website, you need to find areas of the same content.
Nonetheless, to avoid such issues, you can take advantage of canonical URLs. These addresses serve as a convenient tool when you want to copy the same content on your website.
07. Add Internal Links and Fix the Broken Ones
Internal links are the ones that direct to another webpage from your website. After you have developed the site’s content, you can add links to other articles, blogs, stats, etc. Google emphasizes the number of internal links and uses the link text to understand the topic.
You don’t want your users to get stuck on broken links. Such types of links will create an impression of a negative user experience (UX). Users will not choose your website for any of the search queries. Thus, it is necessary to keep tabs on all links and replace them with new ones; if found errors.
08. Post on Social Media
The likelihood of a new website ranking on top of the search engine result page against common keywords is difficult. That is where social media networks come in handy. You can make use of social media platforms to gain website traffic and authority. Social media sites can prove to be an opportunity to build a reputation for your brand and form a customer base.
Additionally, you can collaborate with popular influencers for your product or service. These influencers can play a vital role in spreading the news about your product and the link to your website. Hence, increasing the traffic to your site.
09. Make Use of YouTube SEO
Most people fail to realize that YouTube also serves as a search engine. A separate keyword tool by YouTube exists for websites that want to rank higher and gain traffic through videos.
Here are some of the tips on how to make use of YouTube SEO:
- Title – Make an eye-catching video title that grabs the attention of users instantly. Try to insert words at the beginning of the title and add a subtitle after placing a colon.
- Description – Write a short yet concise description of the video. Don’t try to spam it with excessive keywords.
- Thumbnails – Create customized thumbnails for each video with organic persuasive images.
10. Optimize Website Landing Pages
If you increase the number of landing pages on a website, it will draw more traffic. A proper design and well laid-out landing webpage can attract users, increasing the chances of sales. Local landing pages help people find the answers to their search queries within the premises of a particular location.
Final Words on Technical SEO Checklist
Have you been struggling to double the traffic on your website? These technical SEO checklist and tips can serve as gateways for increasing traffic and improving the rankings. Though, all of these tips might be so much to take in at a time. However, the quicker you adapt your website to technical SEO strategies, the quicker you will observe significant changes.