Search engine optimisation is often associated with content creation and keyword strategy, but technical SEO plays just as critical a role in your website’s visibility and performance. Many businesses focus solely on on-page and off-page tactics while neglecting the technical side, which can lead to missed opportunities and lost traffic. Collaborating with an affordable SEO agency ensures that your site is technically sound and fully optimised for search engine crawling and indexing.
An affordable SEO agency understands that technical SEO is the foundation upon which all other strategies are built. Without it, even the best content may never rank. Let’s explore the most commonly overlooked technical SEO tips that every website owner should be following, especially in today’s highly competitive digital landscape.
1. Optimise Crawl Budget
Search engines assign a crawl budget to each site, which determines how many pages will be crawled within a given timeframe. If your site wastes this budget on duplicate or low-value pages, your important content might not get indexed.
Tips to improve crawl efficiency:
- Use robots.txt to block irrelevant pages
- Apply noindex to tag pages, filters, or thank-you pages
- Ensure your sitemap is updated and accurate
- Remove broken or orphaned pages
Review your crawl stats in Google Search Console regularly to ensure your important pages are being crawled and indexed appropriately.
2. Improve Site Architecture
A clean and logical site structure helps both users and search engines navigate your website effectively.
Best practices:
- Use a clear hierarchy with categories and subcategories
- Keep important pages within three clicks of the homepage
- Link internally between related content
- Use breadcrumb navigation for clarity and user guidance
An affordable SEO agency can audit your current structure and suggest scalable improvements that accommodate future growth.
3. Fix Crawl Errors and Broken Links
Broken links and crawl errors harm user experience and signal poor site maintenance to search engines. These issues also waste your crawl budget and reduce SEO performance.
How to resolve them:
- Use Google Search Console to identify crawl issues
- Regularly scan your site with tools like Screaming Frog
- Fix 404 errors or implement proper 301 redirects
- Keep your internal linking structure updated when URLs change
A consistent maintenance schedule ensures your site remains user-friendly and search-engine-friendly.
4. Secure Your Site with HTTPS
Security is now a ranking factor, and Google prefers sites with HTTPS over HTTP. It also builds trust with your users, especially if you’re handling sensitive information.
Steps to switch to HTTPS:
- Purchase and install an SSL certificate
- Redirect HTTP to HTTPS using 301 redirects
- Update all internal links and canonical tags
- Ensure your sitemap reflects the updated URLs
Browsers like Chrome now label HTTP sites as “Not Secure,” which can deter users.
5. Use Canonical Tags to Prevent Duplicate Content
Duplicate content can dilute your site’s authority and confuse search engines. Canonical tags guide search engines to the preferred version of a page.
Tips for canonicalisation:
- Set canonical tags on all pages, especially with filters or UTM parameters
- Avoid publishing the same content under multiple URLs
- Consolidate similar pages to strengthen authority
Proper canonicalisation also helps manage content across different international or mobile/desktop versions of your site.
6. Mobile Optimisation and Core Web Vitals
Mobile usability is crucial since Google uses mobile-first indexing. Core Web Vitals assess user experience based on speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
How to improve mobile SEO:
- Use responsive design for consistent display
- Avoid intrusive pop-ups or interstitials
- Optimise for:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- First Input Delay (FID)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
An affordable SEO agency can diagnose performance issues and recommend solutions that improve both SEO and user satisfaction.
7. Optimise XML Sitemaps and Robots.txt
Your sitemap and robots.txt files are crucial for guiding search engine crawlers. Misconfiguration can lead to poor indexing or wasted crawl resources.
Checklist:
- Ensure sitemaps include only indexable pages
- Submit them via Google Search Console
- Use robots.txt to block low-value areas (e.g. /admin/ or /cart/)
- Test your robots.txt file to avoid unintentional blocks
Sitemaps should be updated automatically when new pages are published.
8. Implement Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Structured data helps search engines better understand your site’s content and enables rich results in search listings.
Examples of useful schema types:
- LocalBusiness schema to enhance map listings
- Product schema to show price and availability in search
- FAQ and HowTo schema to enhance visibility with dropdowns
- Review schema to display star ratings
Rich snippets increase click-through rates and user engagement. Tools like Google’s Rich Results Test can validate your markup.
9. Ensure Fast Site Speed
A slow website leads to higher bounce rates, lower conversions, and poor rankings. Google places significant emphasis on load time and responsiveness.
Quick fixes:
- Use next-gen image formats like WebP
- Enable browser caching and server-side compression
- Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files
- Use a CDN to reduce latency and handle traffic spikes
Testing with Google PageSpeed Insights offers prioritised suggestions for both mobile and desktop.
10. Set Up Proper Redirects and Avoid Redirect Chains
Improper redirection can confuse search bots and negatively affect site authority.
Redirection tips:
- Use 301 redirects for permanent changes
- Avoid redirect chains (multiple hops between URLs)
- Update internal links to point directly to final URLs
- Monitor for redirect loops using site audit tools
An affordable SEO agency can help manage redirects during site migrations or structural changes.
11. Leverage the Power of Pagination and Faceted Navigation
Many ecommerce and blog sites have pagination or filter-based navigation, which can cause crawl issues if not managed properly.
Optimisation tips:
- Use rel=”next” and rel=”prev” tags for paginated series
- Avoid indexing all filtered pages unless necessary
- Consolidate duplicate filter results with canonical tags
Balancing usability and crawlability is essential for larger websites.
12. Monitor Technical SEO with Regular Audits
Technical SEO isn’t a one-time task. Regular audits help identify issues before they impact rankings.
Audit tools to consider:
- Google Search Console
- Ahrefs or SEMrush Site Audit
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- GTmetrix for speed performance
Routine audits should include checking for crawl errors, mobile issues, indexing problems, and broken links.
Final Thoughts
Technical SEO is often the missing piece of the puzzle in many digital strategies. While content and backlinks are essential, your website’s structure, speed, and crawlability determine whether those efforts will pay off. With guidance from an affordable SEO agency, you can implement overlooked technical fixes that deliver measurable improvements in search performance.
Investing in technical SEO isn’t just about pleasing algorithms; it’s about creating a seamless, accessible, and high-performing experience for users. By maintaining your site’s technical health, you lay the groundwork for long-term SEO success and ensure that every piece of content you publish has the best possible chance of ranking well.
