The 10 Essential Elements of Technical SEO (Everyday SEO, Part 2/4)
Have you optimized your Technical SEO?
Things like:
Understanding what Technical SEO is
Thinking about the ‘structure’ of your digital home (aka Website)
Reviewing the 10 essential elements for ensuring that your website is optimized for Search Engines (and plan to optimize any that aren’t complete or done properly)
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This blog will take you about 5 minutes to read through.
If you’re short on time and would rather download a resource to help you Choose The Right Keywords for SEO, then get your FREE 10:00 Training, right here. It’s free!
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Are you a small business owner who is looking to maximize your website views and gain more leads through search engine optimization?
Then you need to master your websites Technical SEO (10 Key Elements!)
You are in the right place, because that’s what I’ll be discussing today.
If you haven’t checked out part 1: Intro to SEO and How to Choose the Right Keywords, I’d definitely recommend starting there. Click here to gain access.
Making sure that your website is “searchable” means that Google and other search engines can easily find you, and show your content to searchers.
Did you know that according to Marketing Blog Hubspot, Google is estimated to have more than 63,000 search queries every second which is approximately 5.6 BILLION searches per day.
In this blog (part 2 of our 4 part series), we will go in-depth on the 10 essential components you should make sure your website has so that it’s optimized for Technical SEO.
Let’s get into it 👇
Before tackling the technical elements, I want to chat about your homepage because that is the MOST visited page on your website. Your first action step is making sure your dream client can find your basic information such as ‘who you are’ and ‘how they can work with you.’
The second thing I want you to consider is ensuring that your homepage isn’t a dead end, because it’s really just the beginning of your customer's journey. The next action item is making sure you have lots of clickable links going to your content from this page.
Okay, once those are completed, it’s time to undertake the 10 main elements of technical SEO for ensuring that your website is optimized for search engines.
Ps. Use this as a checklist moving forward.
#1 Site and Page Titles + Descriptions
This is something YOU can change and control. If you don’t create your own page titles and description Google will pick for you and it won't be the most optimized for you. This is what your dream client will see when they are searching for your services on the web.
Your goal is to use the keywords you are trying to rank for in your description that tells Google what your content is about and can pull the information to show your future client.
Bonus tip: You want to make your title between 60-70 characters and your description around 140. You need to make sure your description and title aren’t cut off . If you are using a pre-existing website such as WordPress, Squarespace or Wix it will tell you if you have reached the maximum number of characters.
If you need some inspiration, google other people’s websites in your niche and see what they are writing.
Lastly, you want to make sure ALL of your pages have titles and descriptions that include your “About Me,” “Work With Me” and “Contact Me Page.”
#2 Header Tag (H1)
This is also referred to as your H1 tag.
This header is what Google uses to identify what your content is about. If nothing on your website has the H1 header, Google might default to what it believes is the most important sentence on your page to identify what you are writing about.
In the case of writing a good header that is SEO optimized, the first line of your content is important and holds a massive SEO impact.
When possible you want to include the keywords you are looking to rank for in your H1 Tag, but don’t use H1 everywhere in your content. Just use it 1 or 2x per page.
#3 First 100 words of each blog
The first 100 words of your blog post is what Google favors when crawling it for SEO, which is why it’s nice to have a micro paragraph at the beginning of your page that summarizes what the topic of the blog is about.
This allows the reader to validate that they will find the information they are looking for within this article.
I’d recommend putting some intention behind this first paragraph.
#4 Internal and External Links
Internal Links
This is where you want to make sure your website is well structured, meaning that when your dream client gets to the bottom of your page there is another internal link that prompts them to go read your next blog or recipe etc.
You want your website to become a hub where people end up staying on for 10, 20, 30 etc minutes.
External Links
I know it feels counterintuitive to send someone off your website but bare with me, it actually does the opposite.
It tells Google that you’re a more credible source, yes that does mean they will leave your site but if you are providing good value they will come back.
Google wants you to have both internal and external links on your website.
#5 Descriptive URL
This is your web page URL that showcases what the page is about.
Most platforms will allow you to change the URL to whatever you want. If you forget, Google will populate it for you and it will pick a cluster of words which as you know is not ideal. Not only does it not look clean and crips but it can also feel not trustworthy to people.
Bonus tip: If you are hosting a podcast you can add the guest speakers’ name into the URL that also makes it super searchable.
#6 Readability
This is crucial.
When the readability score of ANY page is low, people’s eyes get lost and they click off your site.
A bad readability score could look like this:
Too wordy,
Not laid out well,
No whitespace or bullet points,
No headers,
No introduction and/or conclusion.
You want to make the concepts on each page easy to digest. Make it readable to everyone, even if they’re at a Grade 6 Reading Level!
Truthfully, 75% of people are actually skimming or scanning your website and not reading everything.
Breaking up the large paragraphs can be helpful since it allows readers to get to the main points and decide what they want to do next before clicking off.
Bonus tip: Don’t hesitate to use header H2 and H3 to draw attraction to a paragraph.
#7 Alt text on Images
Anytime you have an image on your website, make sure you’re filling in the alternative text (double click on the image and there should be a slot to add it!)
This will appear when you are double clicking on the image, it has a description. Not only is this good for individuals who are visually impaired or have a disability that prevents them from seeing the image, but it also tells Google what the image is about.
#8 Page Speed
This is also something that is quite important. Nothing more frustrating then a page that won’t load. The best news is Google does have a tool called PageSpeed Insights which will provide you with how fast your website loads and your SEO score.
#9 Mobile friendly
Reminder!
Most of your customers are using their cell phones to scroll your website, more than their desktop computer!
So, if your website is NOT mobile friendly it affects the customer experience and you are missing out on potential traffic and customers because Google will actually penalize your website!
When you are building your website, there is typically a ‘mobile view’ option so that you can verify the layout and mobile-friendliness of your website after it’s built on the desktop.
#10 Backlinks
Backlinks are a great strategy for building authority, credibility and trustworthiness through Google.
Our websites acquire backlinks when other credible websites link back to your website using a hyperlink!
Here are a few quick and easy ways to get backlinks;
Podcast appearances (when you’re a guest on a show, the host will typically post shownotes where they link to your website, social media, etc.)
Being quoted in media and/or news articles (try signing up for Help A Reporter Out aka HARO)
Get featured on a blog or major publication!
Bonus tip!
You can also set up Google Alerts for your business name so that if someone is mentioning your name on the internet you get a notification meaning you can check right away to see if they link back to your site.
Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask the individuals for the backlink.
To close out part 2 of this 4 part series, I want to remind you that search engine optimization is a long game and while mastering those 10 main elements can feel overwhelming at first, it will make a massive impact in your business.
If tackling all ten feels daunting, start with number 1 and slowly start incorporating them.
If you haven’t already definitely check out part 1 here.
p.s.
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