Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
What exactly is technical SEO? Well, while there are many conflicting reports regarding its specific definition, it generally entails bettering the crawlability or indexing of a website through in-depth optimization. It differs from standard SEO in that it goes above and beyond in terms of execution, detail, scalability and complex cross-functional comprehension. That said, let’s take a look at what technical SEO aspects are important in 2019.
First things first: The problem with metrics
Before we delve into the main agenda, it’s important to point out the challenges of SEO metrics, technical or otherwise. With a vast array of KPIs (key performance indicators) and dimensions to consider, it remains a huge grey area as to what constitutes successful SEO and what doesn’t. It is also quite unclear which metrics are most important hence the necessity to standardize SEO. In particular, three aspects are critically in need of that, namely:
- Open Rankings
- Crawl Data Portability
- Open PageRank Computation
With that out of the way, here goes:
How to hack it in 2019: Vital Technical SEO Considerations
1. Semantic keywords
The S.E.O. the landscape has continually shifted over the years, changing direction as quickly as a flag fluttering in the wind. The one constant that has withstood the test of time though is the effectiveness of keywords. More specifically, the use of semantic keywords is one that continues to grow in importance by the day. It generally entails the application of keywords associated with your topic or, in other words, it involves the use of related search terms. It is presently an aspect that should be at the top of your priority list as it could shuffle you up a couple of places in the SERP race if you get it right.
2. Natural Language Generation
Commonly known as NLG, it is a concept where content is paraphrased in such a way that it appeals more to human readers than search engine algorithms. It entails the use of everyday grammar and casual vocabulary in the exact form your audience would use it. It is helpful to craft your content so that it sounds conversational – a natural flow of information including phrases someone might input into a search engine.
3. Mobile compatibility
Presently, mobile devices account for the majority of internet traffic. This has led various SEO engines to critically prioritize the mobile-friendliness of websites. Desktop page considerations remain important but, in 2019, a page’s mobile optimization is crucial in order to rank well.
4. Internal link building
Links help Google- and other search engines- identify the kind of content on your website and if any extra content provides related value to users looking up a certain query or phrase. The page with the most backlinks, usually the homepage, is the one that SEO bots view as most valuable. Therefore, an article is highly discoverable if there are internal links throughout your site.
5. Log file analysis
Whenever a human or bot visits a page, the server automatically generates a log file. The analysis of such information for security, network, and customer service troubleshooting is what is called a log analysis. It is an aspect that helps you make the most of your crawl budget i.e. the maximum number of pages algorithms crawl through during a specific period of time by identifying duplicate URL crawling and other wastage.
As you can see, technical SEO can get, well, technical. There’s only so much you can do even with minimal SEO and website management experience so it’s best you enlist the services of a professional marketing company. A robust technical SEO foundation lessens the workload for search engines with regards to indexing and crawling. It could provide the difference between ranking on the very first page of a search engine or being thrust into the double digits of SERPs.
