What Is a Backlink? SEO Explained in Plain English
Backlinks are one of the most talked-about parts of SEO. Here is what they mean in everyday language.
Read article →Key takeaways
- Technical SEO helps search engines reach and understand your pages
- Speed, structure and indexing are the big three
- A few quick checks can reveal major problems
Technical SEO is the work that makes sure search engines can find, read and understand your website. You can write excellent content, but if the technical foundation is weak, that content may never reach the people searching for it.
The three big ideas
1. Crawling
Search engines use programs called crawlers to follow links from page to page. If a page is not linked from anywhere, or is blocked by a rule, a crawler may never see it.
2. Indexing
After crawling, the search engine decides whether to store the page in its index, the huge database it searches when someone types a query. A page that is not indexed cannot appear in results.
3. Rendering and speed
Crawlers need to load and understand your pages, and visitors need them to load quickly. Slow, heavy pages frustrate both.
Common technical problems
- Pages accidentally set to "noindex"
- Broken links and long chains of redirects
- Duplicate pages competing for the same search
- Images and scripts that slow the page
- Pages that are hard to use on a phone
Five quick checks you can do today
- Search Google for site:yourdomain.com to see roughly how many pages are indexed.
- Open your site on a phone and check that it is easy to read and use.
- Test a few pages with a speed tool and note the slowest ones.
- Check that your site loads only on the secure (HTTPS) version.
- Look at Google Search Console for indexing or mobile errors.
Why structure matters
A tidy structure helps visitors and crawlers alike. Important pages should be a few clicks from the homepage, URLs should be readable and related pages should link to each other.
When to ask for help
Many fixes are straightforward, but some need a developer: migrations, large sites, complex filters or custom code. A clear audit tells you which problems matter and who should fix them. Learn about our technical SEO service or request an SEO audit.