Technical SEO is one of the most complex SEO disciplines, requiring a deep understanding of web development, server management, and search engine algorithms.
Mastering it involves optimizing website architecture, site speed, URL structure, mobile compatibility, and more. This guide will provide you with 18 actionable tips to enhance your ecommerce site's technical SEO and improve its search engine performance.
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO refers to the process of optimizing your website for the crawling and indexing phase. It involves ensuring that your site meets the technical requirements of search engines to improve organic rankings.
"Technical SEO is the foundation upon which all other SEO efforts are built." - Barry Adams, award-winning SEO consultant specializing in technical SEO
This includes optimizing website architecture, improving site speed, ensuring mobile compatibility, and implementing structured data, among other tasks. By focusing on technical SEO, you can enhance your site's visibility and performance in search engine results.
How to Optimize Technical SEO for Ecommerce Websites
Here are 14 actionable tips that you should be utilizing if you are not already:
1. How Do I Check My Pages' Indexability?
To check if your pages are indexed, you can use tools like Google Search Console. Simply enter your URL in the "URL Inspection" tool to see if it has been indexed by Google. Additionally, you can perform a site search on Google by typing "site:yourdomain.com" in the search bar to see a list of indexed pages from your site.
Ensuring your pages are indexed is crucial for technical SEO for ecommerce. Proper indexing allows search engines to rank your product and category pages. Regularly monitoring your site's indexability helps maintain visibility in search results and keeps your ecommerce site competitive.
2. How to Create and Submit an XML Sitemap
Sitemaps are essential for helping search engines grasp the layout of your website. To improve indexing, ensure you create and submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.
For ecommerce store owners using an ecommerce platform, a sitemap is usually generated automatically and can be found at www.domain.com/sitemap.xml. If you're using WordPress, you can effortlessly create a sitemap by installing the Yoast SEO plugin, which will generate a comprehensive list of all your site's pages.
Here are some steps to follow:
- Generate Your Sitemap: Create a sitemap, do it yourself or simply let your CMS do it.
- Access Your Sitemap: Find your sitemap at www.domain.com/sitemap.xml.
- Submit to Search Engines: Submit your sitemap to Google and Bing through your Webmaster Tools accounts.
- Follow Submission Guidelines: Check out the detailed instructions on how to submit your sitemap here.
If you are not using an ecommerce platform: Make sure to check out our article on the best ecommerce platforms for SEO
3. How to Choose the Right Ecommerce Platform
When choosing an ecommerce platform, consider factors such as SEO capabilities, ease of use, scalability, and available integrations. Evaluate each platform's features to ensure it meets your business needs and supports your SEO strategy. But if you are uncertain and new to SEO, picking one of these is always a safe bet:
- Shopify
- Wix eCommerce
- Shoporama
- BigCommerce
- Magento
- Squarespace
- WooCommerce
4. How to Optimize Your Website Architecture
Organizing your content effectively is crucial when working with technical SEO for ecommerce. A well-structured site helps shoppers find what they need quickly, encouraging them to spend more time on your site and view more pages, which can boost your search engine rankings.
Simplify Your Structure:
- Avoid excessive categories and subcategories.
- Keep your site structure simple and logical to improve user experience and make it easier for search engines to crawl and rank your products.
SEO-Friendly Structure Examples:
- Homepage » Category Pages » Product Pages
- Homepage » Category Pages » Sub-Category Pages » Product Pages
This structure ensures that your products are only a few clicks away from the homepage, making it easy for both shoppers and search engines to navigate your site.
Additional Tips:
- Include essential pages like “About” and “Contact” to establish credibility and trustworthiness.
- Add a search box to help visitors find what they're looking for, enhancing eCommerce optimization and increasing conversions from your existing traffic.
5. How to Improve Site Speed
Fast-loading websites rank higher in search results and provide a better user experience. Slow-loading pages can frustrate visitors, leading to higher bounce rates and lower engagement. Search engines like Google also consider page speed when ranking websites, so faster pages are more likely to rank higher.
Use PageSpeed Insights:
Analyze your website's performance using PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix issues that are slowing down your site.
Actionable Recommendations:
- Optimize images to reduce load times.
- Implement browser caching to speed up repeat visits.
- Minimize JavaScript to enhance overall page speed.
6. How Do I Check if My Site Is Optimized for Mobile?
To check if your site is optimized for mobile, use Google's Lighthouse tool. Open Google Chrome, navigate to your website, right-click on the page, and select "Inspect." Then, go to the "Lighthouse" tab, select "Mobile" under the device type, and click "Generate report." The tool will analyze your site and provide a detailed report on its mobile usability.
Additionally, you can use Google Search Console's "Mobile Usability" report to identify any issues affecting your site's mobile performance. Ensuring mobile optimization is crucial for improving user experience and maintaining strong SEO rankings.
7. How Do You Simplify Your URL Structure?
To simplify your URL structure, use clean and descriptive URLs that are easy for search engines to index and understand. Avoid complex parameters and keep your URLs short and keyword-rich to improve both user experience and SEO.
Simplifying your URL structure enhances indexing, as search engines can more easily crawl and understand your pages. This also improves user experience, as users can quickly grasp the content of the page from the URL, leading to better click-through rates from search engine results.
For example, a bad URL might look like "index.php?id=123&category=456," while a good URL would be "mens-shoes/running." The latter is more descriptive and easier to read.
❌Bad URL Example:www.example.com/index.php?id=123&category=456
✅Good URL Example:www.example.com/mens-shoes/running
To simplify your URLs, incorporate relevant SEO keywords that describe the page content. Avoid special characters and complex parameters, and keep the URLs concise. Use hyphens to separate words for better readability. By following these guidelines, you can create keyword-rich URLs that are both user-friendly and optimized for search engines, ultimately improving your site's SEO performance.
8. How to Implement Internal Linking
Internal linking is a key part of SEO that helps distribute link equity, or "link juice," across your site. Link equity refers to the value or authority passed from one page to another through hyperlinks. This affects how search engines rank your pages. Pages with higher link equity are more likely to rank well, making internal linking essential for boosting your site's SEO performance.
When working with technical SEO for ecommerce, this becomes especially important, since the URL paths can become very long, which can have a negative effect on your product pages if not done correctly.
Why Page Rating (Link Equity) Matters:
- Improved Rankings: Higher link equity boosts your pages' search engine rankings.
- Better Crawling: Internal links help search engines find and index new pages.
- Enhanced User Experience: Effective internal linking improves site navigation and helps users find related content easily.
How to Add Internal Links Effectively:
Use relevant anchor text that describes the linked page's content. For example, if linking to a page about "running shoes," use "running shoes" as the anchor text. Connect related pages, such as linking product pages to relevant blog posts, category pages, or other product pages.
Distribute link equity by linking to important pages from various parts of your site. Regularly update older content to include links to newer, relevant pages, keeping your internal linking structure current.
9. How to Utilize Faceted Navigation Carefully
Faceted navigation allows users to filter products based on attributes like size, color, and price. While it enhances user experience, it can also create duplicate content issues, which can harm your SEO. To prevent this, use canonical tags and noindex directives effectively.
Why Faceted Navigation Can Be Problematic:
Faceted navigation can generate multiple URLs with similar content, leading to duplicate content issues. This can confuse search engines and dilute your page rankings, making it a critical aspect to manage in technical SEO for ecommerce.
How to Manage Faceted Navigation:
- Use Canonical Tags:
Add canonical tags to your faceted navigation pages to indicate the preferred version of a page. This helps search engines understand which version to index. - Apply Noindex Directives:
Use noindex directives to prevent search engines from indexing duplicate pages created by faceted navigation. - Optimize Your Robots.txt File:
Update your robots.txt file to block search engines from crawling unnecessary faceted navigation URLs.
10. How to Configure Your Robots.txt File
Since we mentioned robots.txt in the last tip, there are more details you should know about configuring this important file. Your robots.txt file controls which parts of your site search engines can crawl. Ensuring it's correctly configured is crucial to avoid blocking important pages and to guide search engines effectively.
Key Directives to Include in Your Robots.txt File:
- User-agent: Specifies which search engine bots the following rules apply to.
- Disallow: Blocks search engines from crawling specific pages or directories.
- Allow: Overrides a Disallow directive, allowing specific pages or directories to be crawled.
- Sitemap: Provides the location of your XML sitemap, helping search engines find and index your pages more efficiently.
How to Configure Your Robots.txt File:
- Block Unnecessary Pages: Use the Disallow directive to block pages that don't add value to search engines, such as admin pages or duplicate content created by faceted navigation.
- Allow Important Pages: Ensure that important pages and directories are not blocked, using the Allow directive if necessary.
- Include Your Sitemap: Add the Sitemap directive to help search engines discover all the important pages on your site.
By properly configuring your robots.txt file with these directives, you can control search engine access to your site, ensuring that important pages are crawled and indexed while unnecessary or duplicate content is avoided.
11. Should I Use Site Audit Tools for SEO?
Yes, you should use site audit tools for SEO. These tools are essential for identifying technical SEO issues on your site. They work by crawling your website, much like a search engine, to analyze various elements and uncover potential problems. Site audit tools help you perform in-depth SEO audits, providing detailed reports on aspects such as broken links, duplicate content, and missing meta tags.
When choosing a site audit tool, consider factors such as the specific features you need, ease of use, integration with other tools, and your budget. Evaluate each tool's capabilities to ensure it aligns with your SEO strategy and business requirements.
Popular Tools for Site Audits:
- Google Search Console
- SEMrush
- Ahrefs
- Moz Pro
- Sitebulb
12. How to Optimize Navigation Menus
Your website's navigation is crucial for guiding visitors to the most important pages in your online store. Effective navigation helps users easily find blog posts, product pages, and landing pages, enhancing their overall experience. From a technical SEO for ecommerce perspective, your global navigation links signal to search engine crawlers which pages are most important on your site, aiding in better indexing and ranking.
Common Types of Navigation Links:
- Single-bar Navigation: All links are placed in a single bar, offering a straightforward and limited selection.
- Double-bar Navigation: Features primary and secondary links stacked above each other, providing more options without cluttering the interface.
- Dropdown Navigation: When a user hovers over a navigation link, a list of additional links drops down, offering a more organized way to access various sections.
How to Optimize Your Navigation Menus:
- Use Clear, Descriptive Labels: Ensure that each link in your navigation menu has a clear and descriptive label. This helps users understand where each link will take them and improves search engine understanding.
- Include Important Categories: Highlight the most important categories and pages in your navigation menu. This not only helps users find key sections quickly but also signals to search engines which pages are most important.
- Maintain a Simple Structure: Avoid overloading your navigation with too many links. A simple, clean structure makes it easier for users to navigate and for search engines to crawl.
- Use Hierarchical Organization: Organize your navigation links in a hierarchical manner, with primary categories at the top and subcategories nested underneath. This helps users and search engines understand the relationship between different sections of your site.
Optimizing your website navigation not only improves user experience but also enhances your site's SEO by clearly indicating the hierarchy and importance of your pages.
13. How to Fix Broken Links
Broken links harm your site's user experience and SEO. They occur when a link points to a non-existent or moved page without updating the URL.
Broken links frustrate users and can hurt your search rankings. Common causes include deleted pages, moved content without redirects, typos, and outdated external links.
How to Fix Broken Links:
- Use site audit tools to identify broken links, like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog etc.
- Update or remove faulty URLs.
- Set up redirects for moved content.
- Regularly check and update external links.
14. Should I Implement Structured Data?
Yes, you should implement structured data. While structured data itself is not a direct ranking factor, it helps search engines understand your content better, which can indirectly improve your SEO.
By using schema markup from schema.org, you can enhance your search listings with rich snippets, making them more attractive and informative to users. This can lead to higher click-through rates, which can positively impact your rankings over time.
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