⚙️ Technical SEO

Site Speed (Page Load Time)

Why it matters: Google uses page speed as a ranking factor. Fast websites rank higher than slow ones. Plus, visitors leave if pages are slow.

How to improve:

• Compress images (use tools like TinyPNG)
• Enable browser caching
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
• Minimize CSS/JavaScript files
• Remove unnecessary plugins
• Use good hosting (cheap hosting = slow)

How to test: Google PageSpeed Insights (free tool)

Mobile-Friendly Design

Why it matters: Most people use phones. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites. If your site doesn't work on phones, you'll lose rankings.

What to check:

• Website looks good on phones and tablets
• Buttons are big enough to tap
• Text is readable without zooming
• No broken layouts on mobile

How to test: Google Mobile-Friendly Test (free)

SSL Certificate (HTTPS)

What it is: The "S" in HTTPS. It means your website is secure.

Why it matters: Google prefers secure websites. Also, browsers show a warning if your site isn't secure, which scares visitors away.

How to get it: Contact your web hosting provider. Most offer free SSL certificates today.

XML Sitemap

What it is: A file that lists all pages on your website for Google

Why it matters: Helps Google find and index all your pages, even if they're not well-linked

How to create:

• Use a sitemap generator (free online tools)
• Or use WordPress plugins (Yoast SEO)
• Submit to Google Search Console

Location: Usually at example.com/sitemap.xml

Robots.txt File

What it is: A file that tells Google which pages to crawl and which to skip

Why it matters: Prevents Google from crawling unimportant pages (saves crawl budget)

What to include:

• Allow search engines to crawl important pages
• Block internal search pages, duplicate pages, admin pages
• Link to your sitemap

Location: example.com/robots.txt

Broken Links & 404 Errors

What it is: Links to pages that no longer exist

Why it matters: Broken links hurt user experience and tell Google your site isn't well-maintained

How to fix:

• Use a broken link checker tool
• Fix links to point to correct pages
• Set up 301 redirects for deleted pages
• Create a nice 404 error page

Duplicate Content

What it is: Same content appearing on multiple URLs

Why it matters: Google gets confused which version to rank. It dilutes your ranking power.

How to fix:

• Use canonical tags (tell Google which version is original)
• Set preferred domain (www or non-www)
• Fix duplicate category pages
• Remove printer-friendly versions

URL Structure & Redirects

Good URL structure:

• Keep URLs short and simple
• Use hyphens (not underscores)
• Lowercase only
• Use 301 redirects when moving pages

Core Web Vitals

What it is: Google's metrics for page experience (we cover this more in detail later)

The three metrics:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): How fast your main content loads
• FID (First Input Delay): How fast page responds when you click
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): How much content jumps around

How to test: Google PageSpeed Insights

Crawlability Issues

What to check:

• JavaScript not blocking crawling
• All important pages are accessible
• No noindex tags on pages you want indexed
• Internal links are working
• Navigation is clear

How to find issues: Google Search Console (Coverage report)