7 technical SEO fixes that matter more than keywords
By Leading Edge Digital Media · · 2 min read
Keyword research gets all the attention, but a surprising number of small business websites are held back by technical problems that no amount of content will fix. Here are the seven we check first on every site.
1. Make sure the right pages are indexed
Open Google Search Console and look at the Pages report. Important pages marked "Crawled - currently not indexed" or "Excluded by noindex tag" are invisible in search, however good they are.
2. Fix slow pages on mobile
Most searches happen on phones. Oversized images, render-blocking scripts and heavy page builders are the usual culprits. Aim for pages that are usable in under two and a half seconds on a mid-range phone.
3. One page, one URL
If the same page loads at several addresses (with and without www, with and without a trailing slash, over http and https), pick one and redirect the rest. Add a canonical tag so search engines know which version counts.
4. Redirect old URLs after a redesign
A redesign that changes your URLs without 301 redirects throws away years of earned rankings overnight. Map every old URL to its closest new page before launch.
5. Write a unique title and description for every page
Titles are still one of the strongest on-page signals, and descriptions influence whether people click. Write them for humans: clear, specific, and under about 60 and 155 characters respectively.
6. Add structured data
Schema markup tells search engines what your content is - a local business, a service, an event, an FAQ, an article. It can unlock richer search results and helps your pages get understood correctly.
7. Use headings like an outline
One h1 per page that says what the page is about, then h2 and h3 headings that break the content into logical sections. It helps screen-reader users and search engines alike.
Want a second pair of eyes? Our SEO service starts with exactly this kind of technical audit.