In addition to the two important concepts of On Page SEO and Off Page SEO, which form the basis of SEO. There is another concept called Technical SEO .
We know that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization . It means site optimization for search engine. We must design our site so that the search engine can navigate its contents well and our pages are indexed correctly.
On Page SEO means the work we do to produce better content and make the content structure of the site stronger. That is, the things that the user sees directly. Off Page SEO are signals from outside the site (most often backlinks) that affect the search results and credibility of our site.
But there is an important question. If both our On Page Seo and Off Page Seo are excellent, surely we will get a good position in Google?
The answer is no
Let’s say you have prepared a great article about “Mobile phone buying guide with a budget of 2 million Tomans”. But in your site settings, you have closed the access of the search engine to the site pages. Now, having a big technical problem, your interesting content is not noticed by the search engine and your efforts are wasted. This is where we enter the discussion of technical SEO.
If we consider SEO as an analogy. Its 3 sides are: On Page SEO, Off Page SEO and technical SEO
What is Technical SEO?
The principles that ensure that our site is well understood by the search engine and can be indexed in the best and fastest possible way are called technical SEO.
In fact, the name of technical SEO defines its nature. When we say technical SEO, it means we have nothing to do with the content of the site or the links we receive. All of our focus is on technical SEO discussions. This means that our site does not have any serious problems in the eyes of Google or any search engine.
Google has a series of standards that must be followed by sites, such as not having broken links. It also has a series of suggestions that help the site grow. Like having a sitemap or sitemap .
What does technical SEO or technical SEO include?
I have prepared a list of important things in technical SEO, which we will review together, but keep in mind that for the site to shine in the search results, the site’s technical defects must be fixed as much as possible.
1. Use a default domain
Take a look at our page address. Our address is https://DGding.com . You don’t see WWW in our URL. That is, the default domain of DGding site is DGding.com .
See, a site can be accessed in 2 ways:
- www: for example www.DGding.com
- Without www: for example DGding.com
We need to choose a default domain for our site and proceed accordingly. In fact, the default domain means that we choose how our site will be seen in the search results. We chose the version without www. You may be wondering which one is better?
We have to tell you very easily that none of them. There is no problem with both modes and the choice of each depends only on your taste and interest. Whatever mode you choose, there is no problem in terms of SEO.
Some important sites with www:
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.facebook.com
• www.google.com
Some important sites without www:
• twitter.com
• digg.com
Why is the default domain important and should we have a default domain?
Unfortunately, Google considers www.DGding.com as a separate site and DGding.com as a separate site. This is where problems like duplicate content come to us. Also, our pages may lose their rank or value. So we have to choose a mode. Because other than that, the search engine may sometimes index a domain that we don’t want.
How to choose a default domain?
I suggest you 2 ways
to register your site in Google Search Console : Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that provides useful information to site administrators. We can define our default domain as a Property in the search console.
Using a 301 redirect : With the help of a redirect, we can specify our domain. For example, if you enter the address www.DGding.com in your browser, a 301 redirect will be performed and the DGding.com page will be opened for you.
How to do this will vary depending on your content management system, but if you’re using WordPress, it’s pretty easy. Just enter your management dashboard and select the General option from the Settings section. Now type your default domain in WordPress address and site address.
2. Robots.txt file
Search engines have robots known as crawlers or spiders. These bots are programs that crawl the web and find web pages. These pages are stored in search engine databases and are shown to the user when needed.
Nothing needs to be done for the site to be visible in a normal state, and if the site does not have serious problems, the robots will visit the site at different time intervals.
But having a file called Robots.txt can help the site. This small file, which is placed on the site’s host, tells the search engine how to index the pages. With the help of this file, you can block the access of the search engine to certain pages of the site, such as the admin login page, etc.
How to create a robots.txt file?
- I wrote a simple case of the Robots file below. If your website is WordPress and does not have a robots file, you can copy the text below into an editor like Wordpad and save it as Robots.txt. Then upload the file to your host.
User-Agent: *
Allow: /wp-content/uploads/
Disallow: /wp-content/plugins/
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Disallow: /readme.html
Sitemap: http://www.example.com/post- sitemap.xml
Sitemap: http://www.example.com/page-sitemap.xml
- You can also use this tool to create a custom Robots file: Create robots
- If your site is WordPress, the famous Yoast plugin can create robots.txt for you. Just follow the steps below.
From the main menu of WordPress, enter the SEO section and open the tools section.
From this section, select the option to edit the file.
Then click on save settings to robots.txt.
3. Sitemap (XML Sitemap)
Based on Google’s definition, a sitemap is a file that collects information about all types of pages, files, videos, photos, etc. from the site and shows the relationships between them. Sitemap helps search engine crawlers understand your site better. A sitemap can contain useful information for search engines. But don’t forget one thing.
Having a sitemap is not always mandatory and not having it is not a disaster for the site.
Many active sites around the world have no sitemap. But this does not mean that Google ignores them. The opposite is also true. This means that having a sitemap is not a confirmation that all pages are indexed by Google. Google recommends Sitemap for the following:
- Have a very large site.
- The site has very diverse categories and the content is not well linked.
- Your site should be new and not have many backlinks.
However, Google has clearly stated that having a sitemap is useful for the site and can help improve the site. And it also rejects the misconception that having a sitemap that is not made correctly will cause a site penalty.
How to make a sitemap for your site?
- Create a free sitemap for your site with the help of sitemap creation tool .
- If your site is WordPress, you can create a sitemap with the help of Yoast plugin. Just follow the steps below:
Select the SEO option from the WordPress dashboard and enter the general section.
Select the features option from the top menu and check the site XML maps section. After activation, it turns bright.
To check if your site has a sitemap or not, select the question mark next to the site’s XML maps and an option called View sitemap will appear. You can read the site map by clicking on it.
4. Structure of URLs on the site
I will list here some URL related points that are important in technical SEO. Try to follow these points in the address of your pages:
- Use lowercase letters in the URL.
- Use the – character to separate words (instead of space or _ or etc.)
- Choose the address as short as possible to remember.
- Preferably use the keyword related to the post.
5. Optimized 404 page
When we ask a site for an address that does not exist, we encounter an error. A message will be displayed saying that the page you are looking for does not exist on this site. This page is called 404 page.
In general, seeing this page is not pleasant for the user and has a negative impact on his mind. Now, if our 404 page is so interesting that the user forgets what they wanted, we can return the game. A dedicated 404 page must meet several points. Keep the following points in mind:
- Tell the user in a friendly tone that the page he is looking for is not available on the site.
- Use an attractive graphic and beautiful design for the 404 page (it has a very positive psychological effect).
- Show the user some pages (preferably related).
- Make it easy to return to the previous page or the main page of the site so that the user is directed to other parts of the site.
6. Site speed
Every second of delay in loading the site has the following sad results:
- 11% decrease in website page views.
- 16% decrease in customer satisfaction.
- 7% failure in conversion rate.
I myself have a habit of opening the results in several tabs side by side when I do a search and comparing pages. I look at any site that opens faster. If the loading speed of a site is more than 6 or 7 seconds, there is a 90% chance that I will close that site.
Today, Page Speed or site loading speed is no longer a choice and is considered a condition for success in SEO . It is also an important topic in technical SEO. We need to show our site to the user as fast as possible, so that the user does not even have time to think about returning to the results page.
How to determine the loading speed of our site?
- Go to the Google Page Speed website (this service belongs to Google and is not available in Iran. You must change your IP before using it)
- Refer to the GTmetrix website (this service can be easily used in Iran and provides valid results)
How to increase the loading speed of our site?
Site loading speed is a very important signal in ranking sites by Google. The speed of the Internet is increasing day by day, web development technologies have improved, and users have become more bored day by day.
Be sure that if your site does not have a good speed, you will eventually lose your old users and regular customers. Read the following list carefully and implement its items on your site. Then scan the site once again with the tools I introduced above to see the effect of these works.
Optimize your photos as much as possible.
- Optimize your CSS and JavaScript files.
- Choose a suitable hosting plan.
- Enable Gzip on your site.
- Use Redirect carefully.
- Consult a web developer.
- And …
7. Optimizing the site for mobile (Mobile Friendly)
Today, we all know that mobile has become an inseparable part of people’s lives. Google has officially announced that it gives special importance to sites that are optimized for mobile. One of the most important things in technical SEO is the mobile-friendliness of the site. We need to make our site display well in different sizes.
Google has designed a service that shows whether a site is optimized for mobile or not. Enter the relevant page with the help of the link I put and test your site: testing the site’s optimality for mobile
How to optimize your site for mobile?
This work requires knowledge of programming and website design . I recommend that if the performance of your site on mobile is not to your liking, entrust the work to a web design expert to make the site responsive in the best way.
