Let’s start with this: Technical SEO sounds like something best left to people who wear glasses they don’t need and talk in acronyms.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth.
You can write the world’s best blog post. Your images could be sharper than a hedgehog in a suit. You might even have a contact form that doesn’t break every other Tuesday.
None of it matters if Google can’t read your site properly.
That’s where technical SEO comes in. It’s the plumbing under the sink. The wiring behind the walls. You don’t notice it when it’s working, but when it’s broken? You’ll wish you’d paid attention.
So, What Is Technical SEO?
It’s everything on your website that helps search engines understand, crawl, and index it – without it looking like a collapsing shed.
And before you panic, no, you don’t need to be a developer. But you do need to care, or at least care enough to ask the right questions.
Technical SEO is different to local SEO, and includes things like:
- Site speed
- Mobile layout
- Clean URLs
- Site structure
- Sitemaps
- Security (that’s the bit with the padlock)
- Fixing broken links
- Avoiding duplicate pages
- And a few more bits that make Google nod instead of frown
Why Should You Bother?
Because Google doesn’t rank your website based on how nice it looks. It ranks it based on how usable it is.
Imagine Google as a very large spider. It crawls around your site, trying to follow the threads and figure out what’s there. If you’ve built your site out of spaghetti and mystery, the spider gets stuck.
It gives up.
And just like that, your content disappears into the online void.
The Most Common Problems (And Why They Happen)
- Slow Page Speed
If your site loads slower than a kettle in a power cut, people leave. Google notices. Then it quietly moves your site down the list. - Not Mobile-Friendly
Most people visit sites on phones now. If yours looks like someone sat on it, that’s a problem. Google tests the mobile version first. - Broken Links
Clicking on something only to get a “404 – Page Not Found” is like opening a fridge and finding it empty. Google hates that. So do your visitors. - Duplicate Pages
If the same thing appears in several places on your site, Google gets confused. Like spotting three identical shops on the same street and not knowing which one’s real. - No Sitemap or Robots.txt Confusion
The sitemap tells Google where everything is. The robots.txt file tells it what not to touch. If these are wrong, your website becomes a maze with no map and locked doors.
What Should You Do About It?
You don’t need to fix everything at once. Start with the basics.
✔ Check Your Site Speed
Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights. If your site’s crawling, it’ll tell you what’s wrong. Could be large images. Could be something daft. But now you’ll know.
✔ Make Sure It Works on Mobile
Look at your site on your phone. If you have to zoom in just to tap a button, you’ve got work to do.
✔ Fix or Remove Broken Links
You can use free tools like Screaming Frog or Broken Link Checker. They’ll hunt down the broken stuff so you can fix it.
✔ Check for Duplicate Pages
If you’ve copied content across several pages with only minor edits, Google might think you’re trying to cheat.
✔ Add a Sitemap
This is like giving Google a table of contents. Most website platforms can generate one for you. Make sure it’s submitted in Google Search Console.
✔ Use HTTPS
That’s the padlock in the browser. If your site doesn’t have one, people get scared and Google sulks. Ask your host to sort it – it’s usually free.
Can You Do This Without Losing Your Mind?
Yes. But not all in one go.
Treat technical SEO like a slightly disorganised attic. You don’t need to sort every box today. But if you ignore it for long enough, things start to smell.
And if this all sounds like too much? Hire someone like the bestfreelanceseox.co.uk guy who enjoys this sort of thing. (They do exist. They probably have strong opinions about site caching and drink black coffee.)
Final Thought (With a Dash of Truth)
Technical SEO isn’t glamorous. There are no awards for having a sitemap. No one’s going to share your robots.txt file on Instagram.
But without it, all your hard work risks being hidden behind a wall no one knows is there.
So yes, you should care. Even if it’s just enough to ask:
“Can Google actually see my website?”
Because if the answer’s no, your next blog post might as well be written on a napkin and left in a drawer.
