A fantastic interview between Daniel Foy Carter from SEO Stacko and Julien Goldie put his finger on the wound of what people SEO consultants call it Technical SEO.
In this article, we summarize the key points and ideas about two of today's greatest experts in Technical SEO.
Let's explore the 80/20 rule of technical SEO, what actually works, and how to prepare your site for AI digests from a technical perspective.
We will discuss HCU updates and predictions for SEO this year.
We'll also cover the importance of ensuring that Google can crawl, index, and render your site's pages correctly.
Additionally, we will highlight essential practices and critical components of technical SEO, especially for the technically illiterate.
The essentials of Technical SEO that you should master in 2024
Within SEO, the importance of technical aspects is often debated.
Google's ability to crawl, index and render pages correctly is crucial. Elements such as consistent protocols, correct internal links, URL configuration, navigation architecture and use of hreflang are essential.
One aspect that is often exaggerated is page speed. Daniel Foy Carter, a heavyweight in Technical SEO, shares that in his experience, good site rendering is more important than how fast it loads. He prefers to provide a satisfying user experience rather than focusing solely on speed.
Another point to consider are traditional elements such as titles and descriptions. Google can rewrite descriptions and titles generally have a greater impact on CTR (click-through rate) and are therefore not as crucial as they once were. The focus should be on the areas that Google currently values.
For website owners, especially those with little technical knowledge, the priority should be understanding the technical setup of the website. Checking what Google sees when it crawls your site is critical. Tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog and basic HTML studies can be of great help.
Maintaining consistency in protocol is vital. This includes avoiding excessive internal redirects and ensuring that internal links are consistent. You should also check settings like DNS and prevent test sites from being indexed.
Learning these basic technical SEO concepts can make a significant difference in your website's performance.
The 80/20 of Technical SEO
In technical SEO, there are several areas you should focus your attention on to get the best results. One of the most crucial is ensuring that Google can fully crawl, index and render your pages. This should be your main focus.
A consistency of protocols it is fundamental. This includes consistent internal linking and appropriate use of URLs. Correct configuration at both the parent and child levels is also vital. Navigation and correct use of hreflang are equally important.
Dogmas and Exaggerations to Avoid in Technical SEO
- Page Speed: You shouldn't focus too much on page speed. The important thing is that the website loads in a way that provides a good user experience.
- Titles and Descriptions: They are less critical nowadays. Google often rewrites descriptions and adjusts titles as needed.
Technical Priorities
- Rendering: Check what Google sees when it crawls your site. You can use tools like Google Search Console to perform live testing.
- Indexing: Make sure Google is only indexing relevant pages. Use tracking tools like Screaming Frog to check this.
- Consistency: Maintains consistency in internal links. Avoid accumulating unnecessary 301 redirects.
Useful Tools
- Screaming Frog
- Jet Octopus
- Deep Crawl
Additional Settings
- DNS: Checks if it is correctly configured.
- Test Sites: Ensures that they are not indexed.
- Server: Ensure that your server is configured correctly and is robust enough.
Following these practices can optimize your website's performance and improve your presence in search engines.
Preparing the Site for AI Overviews
To prepare your site for AI overviews, there are some important technical steps you should follow. Make sure the Google can crawl, index and render your pages completely. A consistency of protocols is essential, including consistent use of internal links and correct URL configuration.
URL Architecture and Navigation:
- Use a clear, logical structure.
- Avoid unnecessary internal redirects.
- Keep the coherence in internal links.
Configuring Robot.txt and Meta Tags:
- Check if the file
robots.txtdoes not block important resources like CSS and JS. - Use appropriate meta tags to control crawling and indexing behavior.
- Check if the file
Page Rendering:
- Ensure pages render correctly.
- Use tools like Google Search Console to check how Google sees your site.
Page Speed and User Experience:
- Focus more on the overall user experience than just loading speed.
- Core Web Vitals They are important, but they should not be the only concern.
Technical SEO Audit:
- Carry out regular audits using tools such as Screaming Frog to identify and correct technical problems.
- Check indexing and eliminate unnecessary pages that could dilute the authority of your main pages.
Tools and Resources
- Screaming Frog: To track and audit your website.
- Google Search Console: To monitor and fix indexing and rendering issues.
- Videos and Online Courses: Learn the basics of HTML and Technical SEO through reliable courses.
Important Tips:
- Don’t underestimate the importance of consistency in internal links.
- Content quality and domain authority also play a crucial role.
- Make sure there are no staging or staging sites indexed by Google.
With these practices, you'll be on your way to ensuring your site is well-prepared to benefit from AI overviews.
HCU Updates and Current Year SEO Predictions
HCU updates have a significant impact on SEO. Google continues to evolve its web page crawling, indexing, and rendering technologies. To improve your website's visibility this year, it's important to focus on several technical aspects.
Crucial Elements of Technical SEO
- Consistent Protocols: Make sure internal links are consistent and configured correctly.
- URL and Navigation Architecture: Structure URLs logically.
- robots.txt configuration: Make sure you're not blocking essential resources like CSS and JS.
- Crawling and Indexing: Ensure that Google can crawl and index your site's important pages.
Mitigation of Myths
Page speed has been overemphasized. Make sure your site offers a good user experience, but don't worry obsessively about speed metrics. Content quality and solid technical structure are more important.
Useful Tools
- Google Search Console: Run live tests to see what Google sees.
- Screaming Frog: Use to analyze and identify technical problems.
- Courses and Webinars: Learning HTML fundamentals can help you understand your website better.
Future Trends
Prepare for ongoing changes by focusing on areas that Google is prioritizing.
Work on protocol consistency, correct robots.txt configuration, and good URL architecture to ensure a smooth user experience and efficient SEO.
Try to reduce reliance on old ideas and adopt practices that reflect Google's latest technological capabilities.
Stay up to date with best practices and algorithm changes to stay ahead in search engine optimization.
Is Technical SEO Overkill?
Technical SEO involves Google's ability to crawl, index, and render pages effectively. Aspects such as consistency in protocols, URL architecture, correct hreflang configuration and navigation are crucial.
There are elements that are often seen as exaggerated, such as page speed. The priority should be to ensure that the website performs correctly and provides a good user experience. According to testing, many websites that load quickly do not score well in Core Web Vitals.
Traditional elements like titles and descriptions are also not as relevant as they used to be. Today, the focus should be on the new directions Google is taking rather than old, outdated concepts of technical SEO.
Crucial Elements in Technical SEO
- Consistent Protocols: Ensure internal linking and URL usage is consistent.
- URL configuration: Maintain a clear and organized structure.
- Correct Rendering: Make sure Google can render your site properly.
- Navigation and Hreflang: Configure correctly for a better experience and tracking.
Don't Exaggerate Page Speed
Many discussions and SEO audits still overemphasize Core Web Vitals. Although important, they should not be the only focus.
- User Experience: Prioritize a good user experience over just improving page speed.
- SEO Audits: Many SEO audits overemphasize Core Web Vitals, which can be misleading.
Technical Priorities for Beginners
If you're starting out in technical SEO, here are the basics to learn:
- Page Rendering: Use Google Search Console to check how Google views your website.
- Tracking and Indexing: Use tools like Screaming Frog to ensure everything that needs to be crawled and indexed is correct.
- Protocol Consistency: Ensure error-free internal links and clean URLs.
Importance of Rendering and User Experience
Properly rendering your website is crucial to ensuring Google can see everything available. Many websites have configuration issues that prevent Google from seeing important parts like CSS and JavaScript, which can slow down rendering. Therefore, it is essential to use tools like Google Search Console to see what Google is really looking at. This step helps you quickly identify and fix configuration issues.
Furthermore, user experience is another vital point. Although page loading speed is significant, it is not everything. What really matters is that users have a good experience when browsing the site. Core Web Vitals are important, but they are not the only factor. Sites that load quickly but don't offer a good browsing experience may still have ranking issues.
Key Areas to Focus
- Rendering: Make sure all parts of your website can be seen by Google.
- Protocol Consistency: Keep internal links and redirects consistent to avoid indexing issues.
- User Experience: Prioritize website usability over pure speed.
Useful Tools
- Google Search Console: To check the rendering.
- Screaming Frog: For technical SEO audits.
- Core Web Vitals Testing Tools: To ensure a good user experience.
Learn the basic fundamentals of HTML can also be very useful. This will help identify and fix issues that affect rendering and user experience.
Influence of Page Speed on Ranking
While page speed is often discussed intensely in the SEO consultants, its direct influence on the ranking is not always as significant as it may seem. Emphasis is often placed on ensuring pages load quickly. However, the essential aspect is to offer a good user experience.
Sites that load quickly but do not have good user experience indicators Core Web Vitals, they can still perform well. The important thing is to ensure that the pages are render correctly and offer a browsing experience fluid and intuitive.
It's common to find SEO audits that spend many pages detailing the importance of page speed and Core Web Vitals. However, looking at the main sites that rank for certain keywords, many of them do not have complete validation of these indicators.
Tips for Optimization:
- Correct Rendering: Ensure that your website pages render correctly, allowing search engines to see what users see.
- Experiência do Utilizador: Focus more on ensuring a high-quality user experience than on over-optimizing to achieve perfect Core Web Vitals.
- Verification with Tools: Use tools like Google Search Console to check how your pages are viewed by search engines.
Remember, the relationship between page speed and ranking is complex and is not limited to a single isolated factor. The primary focus must be on the quality of the experience provided to the user.
Overrated Components of Technical SEO
Despite the importance of several elements in technical SEO, some areas are often overhyped. One such example is the page speed. Although the website needs to load properly, loading speed alone is not the deciding factor. Focusing on a good user experience is much more critical.
Another point is to give too much importance to Core Web Vitals. Many believe that a bad Core Web Vitals score can significantly harm your ranking, but this could be a mistake. In reality, many high-ranking sites do not score well on these parameters.
Finally, traditional SEO elements like titles e descriptions are also overvalued. If your main goal is to improve click-through rate (CTR), it can be useful, but for global rankings, there are much more impactful factors to consider. Focusing on areas where Google is evolving is generally more effective.
Critical Components of Technical SEO
Crawl and Indexing Capability
An essential element of technical SEO is ensuring that Google can fully crawl, index, and render all of your pages. It is crucial to check that Google can see all the content on the page without any problems. Tools like Google Search Console can help you see what Google sees when it crawls and indexes your pages.
Protocol Consistency
Consistency is key. Ensure that internal links, URL architecture, and other settings maintain a uniform standard. Maintaining consistent URLs, avoiding unnecessary internal redirects, and ensuring the site structure is clean and navigable are key practices. Tools like Screaming Frog can facilitate this analysis.
Technical Setup
Check your website's technical setup. Common issues include URLs being blocked on robots.txt, rendering issues due to errors in CSS or Javascript, and unnecessary indexed content that can negatively affect site authority. Live Tests in Google Search Console and tracking tools can help identify and correct these problems.
Importance of Rendering
What does Google see when it crawls your website? Make sure page yield is accurate and effective. Rendering issues can seriously harm the way Google interprets your site. Use the Google Search Console Viewing the screenshot and source code of the crawled page can be revealing.
Protocols and Internal Redirects
Avoid clumps of internal redirects, as they can accumulate over time, damaging the site's efficiency. Ensure all internal links follow a clear and direct path to avoid unnecessary redirects. Website audit tools like DeepCrawl ou JetOctopus, are useful in this analysis.
You can use these practices to ensure solid technical performance, allowing Google to crawl, index, and present your pages correctly, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of your technical SEO.
SEO Best Practices for Technically Illiterate Beginners
First, ensure that Google can fully crawl, index and render your pages it's essential. Check your site's rendering using Google Search Console. Use the live URL testing tool to check what Google is seeing. Look at the screenshot and source code to make sure everything is correct.
Consistent Internal Links
Consistency in internal links is crucial. Don't use unnecessary 301 redirects. Check that your internal links are consistent and that there are no redirects stacked over time.
Technical Settings
You need to familiarize yourself with the technical setup of your website. Understanding fundamental HTML tags is useful, even if you don't know how to code. Knowing how tags work helps you identify problems on your website.
Tracking Tools
Use tools like Screaming Frog, Deep Crawl, or Jet Octopus to crawl your website. These tools help you identify technical issues and see what Google can crawl and index.
Index Management
Make sure you don't have unnecessary content in your index, this can dilute the authority of your important pages. Regularly check your index to optimize SEO performance.
Protocol Consistency
Maintain consistency in your website protocols. Avoid internal redirects and confirm that links are pointing directly to the right pages.
DNS and Domains
Check that your DNS configuration is correct and that you do not have test sites indexed. Make sure your server is reliable and secure.
Educational Resources
There are many videos and courses on YouTube that can help. Choose carefully to learn the basics of HTML and the importance of crawlability and indexing of your website.
By following these steps, you will be better prepared to optimize your website even without in-depth technical knowledge.
Learning Priorities in Technical SEO
To understand technical SEO well, it is important to focus on a few essential areas. Firstly, it is crucial to ensure that Google can crawl, index and render your pages correctly. This means ensuring that protocols are consistent, including internal links, URL configuration, and navigation architecture.
Rendering and Tracking
Check that your site is configured so that Google can see all pages and content as intended. Use tools like Google Search Console to test URLs in real time and check the screenshots and source code that Google sees.
Indexing Control
It is important to control what is being indexed by Google. Removing irrelevant or duplicate pages can help improve the distribution of link equity to more important pages. Tools like Screaming Frog can help identify and fix these problems.
Protocol Consistency
Maintains consistency in internal links and avoids unnecessary redirections. 301 redirects accumulate over time and can harm site performance. Regular cleaning of the internal connection profile is essential.
Auxiliary Aspects
In addition to page settings, pay attention to your domain and DNS configuration, ensuring that you do not have indexed staging sites and that the server is configured appropriately.
Recommended Tools
- Screaming Frog
- JetOctopus
- DeepCrawl
These tools can simplify many technical processes and are part of an essential toolkit for any webmaster or technical SEO specialist.
These steps are essential to ensure that your website remains optimized and in compliance with Google's recommended practices.
Understanding Technical Configuration and Consistent Protocols
Within technical SEO, a fundamental part is ensuring that Google can fully crawl, index and render pages. Other essential technical aspects include consistent protocols such as internal linking consistent and correct use of URLs.
To begin, you must ensure that your website renders correctly. Use the Google Search Console to test live URLs and check the screenshots and source code that Google sees.
Also, check what you are allowing Google to crawl and index on your site. Use tools like Screaming Frog to analyze data and check for content that should not be indexed, diverting link equity to less important pages.
Learn the fundamentals of HTML can be extremely helpful in understanding how tags work and how they should be used correctly.
Maintaining consistency in your protocols is crucial. Check that you don't have internal redirects that accumulate over time and keep your internal linking profile clean.
Don't forget additional items such as correctly configuring the DNS and ensure that test sites are not indexed. Having an appropriate server is also part of good technical SEO practices.
Tracking, Indexing and Importance of Rendering
When we talk about technical SEO, crawling, indexing and page rendering are key components. Tracking refers to Google's ability to crawl your website. Indexing deals with the inclusion of these pages in Google's search indexes. AND rendering it's the way Google processes content to display to users.
First, ensure that Google can effectively crawl your site. For that, use tools like Google Search Console to check your website tracking. Also check the robots.txt file to ensure you are not blocking essential areas of the site.
The Role of Indexing
Indexing is also vital. Here, it is crucial manage what Google should or should not index. Use Google Search Console's URL inspection tool to check indexing. Prevent irrelevant content from taking up space in the index, as this can disperse link equity. Tools like Screaming Frog are useful for auditing your website and fixing indexing issues.
Importance of Rendering
Google's rendering needs to be correct to display the content the way you want. Errors in rendering can result in a poor user experience. Check the rendering with the URL inspection tool and make sure Google sees the full content, including CSS and JavaScript.
In short:
- Tracking: Make sure Google can browse your site without hindrance.
- Indexing: Control what should be indexed.
- Rendering: Ensure that Google renders the content correctly.
Tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog and similar are essential in this process. The correct application of these elements can significantly improve your technical SEO.
Use of SEO and Audit Tools
SEO tools are essential to ensure that your website is functioning properly and effectively. Some important areas include: URL categorization, navigation architecture e correct use of tags como hreflang. These tools help you check whether Google can correctly crawl, index and render your pages.
Website Performance
Website performance doesn’t just refer to loading speed. The main focus should be a good user experience. The metrics Core Web Vitals are often discussed, but it's possible for sites with bad scores to still get good rankings if they provide a good user experience. The most important thing is to ensure that the website renders correctly.
Technical Audit
Starting by investigating what Google sees when it crawls your site is crucial. Use the Google Search Console to do live URL testing and check screenshots and source outputs of each page. Tools like Screaming Frog can help identify technical issues and unwanted items in the index that may be eating up link equity on important pages.
HTML and Protocol Settings
Understanding the basics of HTML is advantageous. It is not necessary to know how to program, but it is useful to know what each tag does to be able to diagnose problems. Furthermore, ensuring the consistency of protocols it's essential. Avoid unnecessary internal redirects and ensure internal links are consistent and direct.
Domain Monitoring
Make sure the DNS is correctly configured, that there are no staging sites indexed and that the server is well configured. Check these settings regularly and systematically to keep your website in good condition and avoid potential SEO problems.
Recommended Tools
- Screaming Frog
- JetOctopus
- DeepCrawl
These tools make it easy to track and analyze your website in detail, enabling ongoing maintenance and effective technical optimization.
HTML Fundamentals and Internal Code Analysis
When it comes to technical SEO, one of the essential points is Google's ability to crawl, index and render your website's pages completely. To ensure this, you need to focus on several technical aspects that directly influence the site's performance.
Consistent Protocols and Internal Linking
It is crucial to maintain consistent use of protocols and internal links. Making sure that internal links don't lead to unnecessary redirects and that old URLs don't accumulate redirects can improve the efficiency of Google's crawling.
URL Architecture and Navigation
The URL structure must be clear and organized. Site navigation should allow both users and search engines to easily find content. Tags like hreflang They help ensure that appropriate content is shown to users in their preferred language.
Web Page Rendering
Proper rendering of pages is essential. You can use tools like Google Search Console to test URLs and check if Google is able to see your page correctly. Make sure your robots.txt file doesn't block resources like CSS and JavaScript, which may be necessary for correct rendering.
Crawl and Indexing
Determine what you allow Google to crawl and index. Use tools like Screaming Frog to audit your website and identify problems such as unnecessary indexed pages, which can dilute the importance of main pages.
HTML Fundamentals
While you don't need to be a programmer, understanding the basics of HTML is important. Knowing what different tags do can help you identify and fix problems more easily. Watch videos and courses on the basics of HTML to improve this skill.
Crawling and Tools
Use tools crawling to obtain data about your website. Tools like JetOctopus and DeepCrawl help monitor and resolve issues. Additionally, it maintains proper DNS configuration and prevents staging sites from being indexed.
Protocol Consistency
Avoid unnecessary internal redirects and keep your internal link profile clean. Consistency in maintaining stable, well-configured URLs over time prevents accumulated redirection issues that can affect crawling efficiency.
Remember, the focus should be on providing a good user experience and ensuring that Google can access and correctly render your content. Proper tools and techniques make a big difference.
Consistency and Maintenance of Internal URLs
To maintain good technical health on your website, it is essential to ensure consistency of internal URLs. Here are some crucial points to consider:
Consistent protocols: Make sure all internal URLs use the same protocol (HTTP or HTTPS). Avoid mixing these protocols within your website.
Internal links: Internal links must be consistent and must not use unnecessary redirects. Internal redirects can accumulate and cause performance issues.
URL Configuration: Maintains a clear URL structure. Avoid complicated or excessively long URLs.
Navigation: Ensure that the main pages and sections of your website are easily accessible through internal navigation.
Hreflang: If your website is multilingual, configure the tags correctly hreflang to direct users to the appropriate version of the content.
Clean URL Structure Example
| Page | Correct URL | Incorrect URL |
|---|---|---|
| Home page | https://www.exemplo.com/ | https://exemplo.com/home |
| Products | https://www.exemplo.com/produtos | https://exemplo.com/produtos/index |
| Contact | https://www.exemplo.com/contato | https://exemplo.com/contact |
Furthermore, it is essential to regularly monitor your website with tools such as Screaming Frog or Google Search Console. These tools help identify indexing and rendering issues that may affect your site's visibility in search engines.
Tips for Keeping URLs Consistent
- Prevents Internal Redirects: Whenever possible, use direct URLs without redirects.
- Regularly Review: Regularly review your site to ensure that all URLs follow the desired configuration.
- Document the Changes: Keeps a record of changes made to URLs to avoid future conflicts or forgetting.
Maintaining internal URL consistency is a key step in ensuring that search engines can crawl and index your pages effectively.
