Hey there, SEO gurus! Are you ready to take your technical SEO to the next level in 2023? With the ever-changing landscape of search engines, it’s important to stay on top of the latest best practices to ensure your website is ranking as high as possible. That’s why we’ve put together a handy dandy technical SEO checklist for you to follow this year.

Technical SEO Checklist for 2023

1. Audit your website’s structure

Make sure your website is using a clear and logical hierarchy, with a clear navigation menu that makes it easy for both users and search engines to understand the different sections of your website. This includes having a sitemap and making sure all of your pages are properly linked together.

2. Optimize your website’s speed

In today’s fast-paced world, no one has time to wait for a slow-loading website. Make sure your website is optimised for speed by compressing images, minifying code, and using a content delivery network (CDN). This not only improves the user experience but also a ranking factor in google.

3. Make your website mobile-friendly

With more and more people using their mobile devices to browse the web, it’s crucial that your website is optimised for smaller screens. Use responsive design to ensure your website looks great on all devices.

4. Use structured data

This helps search engines understand the different elements of your website, such as reviews, prices, and even recipes. Make sure you’re using schema markup to provide this information to search engines. This can help your website to appear in rich snippets and get more visibility in SERP.

5. Keep your website secure

With the increasing number of cyber attacks, it’s crucial that your website is secure. Make sure your website is using HTTPS and has an SSL certificate to keep your website’s data safe and secure. This also help you to avoid security warnings on the browser and improve trust among users.

6. Optimize your images and videos

Make sure that all images and videos on your website are properly tagged with alt tags and captions. This will improve the accessibility and also help search engines to understand the context of the images and videos on your website.

7. Monitor your website’s performance

Keep an eye on your website’s analytics to track things like bounce rates, pages per session, and time on site. This will help you understand how users are interacting with your website, and identify any areas that need improvement.

8. Keep an eye on your website’s backlinks

Monitor the backlinks pointing to your website and make sure they are from reputable sources. Make sure to disavow any spammy or low-quality links to avoid any negative impact on your website’s ranking.

Why is Technical SEO even important?

Technical SEO is all about making sure that your website is easily accessible and understandable for both users and search engines. By following best practices for website structure, speed, mobile optimisation, and more, you’re making it easier for search engines to crawl your website and understand the content on your pages. This helps to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and can lead to more traffic and ultimately more conversions.

Additionally, technical SEO also helps to improve the user experience on your website. A well-structured website with a clear navigation menu and fast-loading pages makes it easy for users to find the information they’re looking for and stay engaged on your website. This can lead to lower bounce rates, longer time on site, and ultimately more conversions.

Finally, technical SEO is important because it helps to improve the overall security and accessibility of your website. By using HTTPS and an SSL certificate, you’re keeping your website’s data safe and secure, which helps to build trust with users. And by optimizing your images and videos and using structured data, you’re making your website more accessible for users with disabilities, which helps to improve the overall user experience.

Additional tips to improve your website’s Technical SEO:

• Auditing your website’s structure and making sure it’s using a clear and logical hierarchy
• Optimizing your website’s speed by compressing images, minifying code, and using a content delivery network (CDN)
• Making sure your website is mobile-friendly by using responsive design
• Using structured data by using schema markup
• Keeping your website secure by using HTTPS and SSL certificate
• Optimizing your images and videos by properly tagging them with alt tags and captions
• Monitoring your website’s performance by tracking analytics such as bounce rates, pages per session, and time on site
• Monitoring your website’s backlinks and disavowing any spammy or low-quality links

What is the difference between technical SEO and content SEO?

Technical SEO refers to the process of optimizing a website’s technical infrastructure, while content SEO refers to the process of optimizing the content on a website to improve its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Technical SEO focuses on the technical aspects of a website, such as website structure, speed, mobile optimisation, and security, while content SEO focuses on the content on a website, such as keywords, meta tags, and readability.

How do you know if your website has technical issues?

There are a number of ways to determine if your website has technical issues, including:

• Using website analysis tools such as Google Search Console or Ahrefs Site Explorer to identify errors or crawl issues
• Monitoring your website’s analytics to track things like bounce rates, pages per session, and time on site
• Checking your website’s speed and mobile optimisation using tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix
• Monitoring your website’s backlinks and disavowing any spammy or low-quality links
• Checking the website’s security features, such as SSL and HTTPS

How often should you check your website’s technical SEO?

It’s recommended to regularly check your website’s technical SEO to ensure that it’s up-to-date with the latest best practices and to identify any issues that may arise. This can be done monthly or quarterly, depending on your website’s traffic and updates.