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10 Technical Factors That Impact a Website’s Search Engine Rankings

Category: seo Posted on 18-02-2023

While many factors contribute to a website’s search engine rankings, technical factors are crucial in ensuring that a website is easily discoverable and accessible to search engines.

From website architecture and broken links to crawl errors and mobile optimization, many technical aspects can impact a website’s ability to rank well in SERPs.

This article delves into the key technical factors and provides insights on optimizing your website to improve its visibility and ranking potential.

 

1. Sitemaps

Search engines use sitemaps to discover new and updated page pages to better understand the structure and hierarchy of a website’s content. Submitting a sitemap to search engines can improve the visibility and indexation of your website’s pages, improving its search engine rankings.

With the Eye10 On-Page SEO tool, you can easily determine where the sitemap of a website is located and if the website has any at all.

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2. Mobile-Friendliness

With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet, websites must be optimized for mobile viewing.

To be mobile-friendly, a website must have a responsive design that adapts to the size and orientation of different screens. It must also provide a good user experience, with fast loading speeds and easily navigable content. Websites that are not mobile-friendly may suffer from lower search engine rankings and reduced visibility.

 

3. Image Optimization

Optimizing a website’s images can significantly impact its search engine rankings. This includes compressing images to reduce their file size, using descriptive file names and alt tags, and properly sizing images, so they load quickly.

These optimizations can help improve your website’s overall user experience, which is an important ranking factor and also increase the chances of your images appearing in Google Image search results, potentially driving additional traffic to your website.

This is another piece of information that can be gleaned from Eye10 tools.

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4. Meta Tags

Meta tags are HTML tags that provide information about a website’s content to search engines and users. The most important meta tags for SEO are the title and description tags, which appear in the search engine results.

These tags should be optimized to include relevant keywords and provide a clear and concise summary of the content on the page. Properly optimized meta tags enhance the visibility and click-through rate of your website.

 

5. Header Tags

Header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are used to structure the content on a website and indicate its hierarchy. H1 tags are typically used for the main title of a page, while H2 and H3 tags are used for subheadings.

Proper use of header tags not only helps users understand the structure and content of a page but also signals to search engines what the most important content on the page is.

Also, you can check for possible header issues from the ‘heading issues’ section of the Eye10 On-Page SEO tool.

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6. Page Load Speed

Page load speed is important in search engine rankings because slow-loading pages can negatively impact the user experience.

Search engines want to provide the best possible experience for their users, so websites that load quickly are often rewarded with higher rankings. In addition, a slow page speed can impact a website’s bounce rate, which is the number of visitors who leave a website after only visiting one page.

Results from the two primary sources of page speed information, Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix, are both integrated into the Eye10 PageSpeed Checker tool to enhance your SEO strategy.

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7. Website Architecture

A website’s architecture refers to how its pages are organized and linked. A well-structured website with clear navigation organized content, and a logical link structure can help search engines understand the relevance and importance of each page.

Additionally, a well-structured website makes it easier for users to find the information they’re looking for, improving the overall user experience and potentially reducing the bounce rate.

 

8. Robots.txt

The robots.txt file is a file website owners can use to specify which pages should not be crawled by search engines. This can be useful for excluding pages that are irrelevant to the public, such as login or testing pages.

However, it is important to use the robots.txt file correctly, as improperly blocking important pages from being crawled can negatively impact your website’s search engine rankings.

The content analysis section of the Eye10 On-Page SEO tool helps you check the use of robots in your content and what you need to fix.

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9. Broken Links

Broken links, also known as 404 errors, occur when a user tries to access a page that no longer exists or has been moved. These errors can be caused by various factors, including changes to a site’s structure, incorrect linking, or the deletion of pages.

Broken links can negatively impact your site’s search engine rankings because they indicate a poor user experience and make it difficult for search engines to crawl and understand your site’s content.

 

10. Crawl Error

Crawl errors occur when search engines encounter problems while trying to crawl and index a website’s pages. These errors can range from broken links and pages to server errors and unauthorized access.

Crawl errors can harm your website’s search engine rankings by making it harder for search engines to crawl and index your website’s pages, leading to decreased visibility in search results.

 

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that technical SEO is just one piece of the puzzle; other factors, such as keyword optimization, high-quality content, and external link building, are also important for improving your website’s search engine rankings.

That’s why you need a full-service SEO tool to support your strategy comprehensively and help you take your website visibility to the next level. Using Eye10 SEO tools, you can analyze your website’s performance, identify issues, and get recommendations for improvement.

FAQ

Can fixing technical SEO issues improve my website's rankings overnight?

Improving technical SEO issues can lead to improved search engine rankings, but it's important to keep in mind that search engine optimization is a long-term strategy. It may take some time for the changes to take effect, and the impact on rankings can vary depending on the severity of the issues and the competitiveness of the keywords you're targeting.

Can technical SEO be outsourced to an agency or consultant?

Some people prefer to outsource the technical bits of their SEO to an agency or consultant. This can be a good option for businesses that don't have the resources or expertise to handle technical SEO in-house. However, even with little experience, a tool such as Eye10 provides immense help to even beginners so they can gain insights for fixing their technical SEO without outside help.

How important is technical SEO compared to other aspects of SEO?

Technical SEO is an important aspect of a comprehensive SEO strategy, but it is just one piece of the puzzle. Other factors such as keyword optimization, high-quality content, and external link building are also important for improving your website's search engine rankings. By combining a strong technical SEO strategy with a well-rounded approach to SEO, you can give your website the best chance of ranking well in search engine results pages.

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