Technical SEO is an integral part of the overall Search Engine Optimization process, used to optimize the site’s infrastructure instead of the site’s content. Here, the site is being optimized for crawling and indexing, though technical SEO can also contribute to increasing search visibility.
Those interested in becoming digital marketing experts will need to understand technical SEO, which covers a broad range of topics from creating sitemaps and optimizing Meta tags to building a consistent URL structure and incorporating structured data. This blog post aims to explore some of the key concepts of technical SEO, highlighting their intricate uses as well as impact on the overall SEO process.
Why an Organized Site Structure is a Crucial Part of Technical SEO
One of the most important aspects of technical SEO includes creating an organized, “flat” site structure—ensuring that every page is accessible within a few clicks. This is done to avoid “orphan pages,” which describe pages that are not connected to any internal links, potentially interfering with indexing maintenance.
Before being indexed, your site’s navigation and overall structure has to be interpreted and evaluated by the search engine. Having a well-structured website can make it easier for these search engines to understand and quickly index the site, which can help it rank higher in search results. Revising how individual pages are linked within a big site and enforcing flat site architecture can go a long way in improving the technical SEO.
Understanding How Crawling and Indexing Affects SEO Ranking
In order for websites to appear in search results, they must first be crawled and indexed by the search engine. This means that websites have to be organized into the search engine’s database before being visible when users type specific queries. Here, technical SEO works in tandem with other SEO aspects (such as on-page or off-page SEO) in order to boost rankings.
Students taking a technical SEO course will learn about creating XML sitemaps—an XML document that lists the available pages or posts of your website, including information page title, publication date, and last updated date. This information makes it the perfect guide for search engines, allowing them to effectively crawl the site. Sitemaps should be kept up to date, listing your website’s most important pages, posts, and categories. While optimizing an XML sitemap can be fairly straightforward, it should not be overlooked—particularly as it impacts SEO rankings.
Learning About Structured Data through SEO Specialist Training
As you start your SEO specialist training, you can expect to learn different ways to enhance a website’s performance at a deeper, more intricate level. Structured data is a great example, becoming increasingly more popular in digital marketing as it helps search engines contextualize your website’s content.
Notably, this is more about the technical aspect of adding specific code to a page than it is about optimizing the page’s content. For instance, digital marketers can choose to include a breadcrumb menu that uses code (also known as schema markup) to help search engines understand the site’s structure—simultaneously enhancing the user’s experience when looking at search results. Incorporating structured data can help improve the way your site appears on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) as well as increase your site’s Click Through Rate (CTR).
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