Technical SEO: What Does It Mean in Simple Terms? A Step-by-Step Guide

What is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO covers all the behind-the-scenes aspects of your website that help it perform better in search engines.
It’s not about your copywriting or design — it’s about how your website is built, structured, and maintained so that Google can easily find, understand, and index it.

In short: technical SEO ensures that your website is accessible, crawlable, and optimized for both users and search engines.

Why Technical SEO Matters

Even the best content won’t rank if your site is slow, unstructured, or hard to crawl. Technical SEO builds the foundation that allows your content and backlinks to succeed.

A technically optimized website:

• Loads quickly
• Works flawlessly on mobile devices
• Uses secure HTTPS
• Has a clear, logical structure with proper headings (H1, H2, H3)
• Includes descriptive alt texts for all images
• Avoids orphan pages (pages with no internal links)
• Has optimized meta titles and descriptions
• Is easily crawlable and indexable by Google

At Zalm Partners, we combine strong web development with technical SEO expertise — building websites that are both beautiful and high-performing.

Step-by-Step Technical SEO Plan

1. Perform a Technical SEO Audit

Begin by analyzing your website’s technical health. Look for:

• Broken links and 404 errors
• Slow-loading pages
• Duplicate meta tags or missing titles
• Orphan pages
• Redirect chains

Recommended tools:

• Google Search Console
• Ahrefs Site Audit

At Zalm Partners, we start every project with a comprehensive technical SEO scan to identify quick wins and long-term improvements. Reach out to us via the contact form.

2. Improve Site Speed

Speed is one of Google’s core ranking factors. A slow site increases bounce rates and lowers conversions.
Optimize by:

• Compressing and resizing images
• Using next-gen image formats (WebP / AVIF)
• Enabling browser caching and a CDN
• Minifying CSS and JavaScript files

3. Ensure Mobile Optimization

With Google’s mobile-first indexing, your mobile site is the version that counts.
Test for:

• Responsive design on all screen sizes
• Fast mobile load times
• No intrusive pop-ups or layout shifts

4. Secure Your Site (HTTPS)

Install an SSL certificate to enable HTTPS.
Without it, your site may show as “not secure” in browsers and lose both trust and rankings.

5. Optimize Site Structure and Headings

A well-organized structure helps both users and Google understand your site.

• Use one H1 per page, followed by clear H2 and H3 subheadings
• Group related content logically
• Keep URLs short and descriptive
• Link between related pages to avoid orphan content

6. Ensure Crawlability and Indexation

Search engines need clear access to your content.

• Configure your robots.txt correctly
• Submit an updated sitemap.xml to Google Search Console
• Avoid “noindex” tags on important pages
• Check for crawl errors regularly

7. Fix Internal Links and Redirects

Internal linking distributes authority and helps users navigate your site.

• Use keyword-rich anchor text where relevant
• Implement 301 redirects for removed pages
• Avoid redirect loops or chains

8. Optimize Metadata and Alt Texts

Every page should have:

• A unique, descriptive meta title (under 60 characters)
• A compelling meta description (under 160 characters)
• Relevant alt text for each image, describing its content for accessibility and image SEO

This helps Google understand your pages and increases click-through rates in search results.

9. Monitor and Maintain

Technical SEO is an ongoing process.
Regularly track your site’s health and performance in tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs.
Fix new issues as they appear and update your sitemap when new pages go live.

Conclusion

Technical SEO is the invisible framework that keeps your website performing at its best.
When your structure, metadata, speed, and internal linking are optimized, your site becomes easier for both users and search engines to love.

At Zalm Partners in Rotterdam, we develop and optimize websites with clean code, smart structure, and a solid technical SEO foundation — so your business can grow sustainably online.

Ready to find out how your site performs technically?
Request a free technical SEO scan via our contact form.