SEO: Search Engine Optimization

What Content Management System is used and how it is set up can impact technical SEO. As a general rule, with something like a WordPress CMS, the easier you make it for a novice to do “cool stuff,” the more stylesheets and JavaScript get loaded to the browser. This slows things down. Part of the technical SEO process is identifying what files are negatively impacting site speed and helping clients make an appropriate compromise.

If you are not able to hire a specialist, here are some starter points for technical SEO.

On-Page SEO Services

On-page SEO is pretty much what it sounds like, optimizing the content on the page so that search engines like Google understand what it is and more easily connect it to users’ search queries. We do find that on-page SEO is not static. As competitors change their content or the search engines alter their algorithms, how your content is connected to queries can change.

Website styling & SEO

We’ve also seen that the incorrect styling of a page can impact SEO. This is an area that crosses over technical and on-page SEO. Without getting too deep, the title (or “h” tags) structure on a page is important to how the search engines read its organization. However, many sites use the “h” tags as styling elements rather than organizational tools for the information or structure. It is a convenient way to apply different styles to text, using “h1”, “h2”, “h3”, etc.

So, part of the initial steps in SEO engagement often involves separating the “h” tags and the text styles so we can structure the page properly while giving clients the aesthetics they want.

Mobile and Desktop SEO

Google has been placing a great deal more emphasis on the mobile experience. As such, sites are rated on the two platforms separately. A challenge to site owners is obtaining the aesthetic they want on the desktop while providing a smooth transition for user experience on the mobile device.

A mobile-first approach helps with the SEO aspect but does not necessarily satisfy the client on the desktop user experience. We help our clients bridge the gap by applying responsive CSS and helping them arrive at the compromises necessary.

SEO Management & Reporting Tools

SEO practitioners have extensive toolsets available to them. Depending on the complexity of a website and it’s content focus, SEOs may us many different tools. In our experience, there are a few basic tools that are used with every engagement, and then we layer other tools on top of that.

Google Search Console (GSC)

Arguably, GSC is the most important tool we have.

It shows us where our queries and pages are showing up each day with really user query data. We can see what search terms Google aligns with which pages and if our on-page strategy is having the desired impact. Our ranking by query, by page, over time is invaluable to managing SEO programs.

Additionally, GSC provides insights into pages indexed and any technical issues Google sees. This allows us to identify, prioritize, and address problems efficiently. While other tools may be able to provide technical issues and should be used, GSC is straight from Google.

SEMRush and other trackers

We use SEMRush and sometimes MOZ as a way to monitor websites and “point-time” rankings.

The website and competitor monitoring are great tools for SEO. SEMRush provides content insights into the search landscape for our key search terms. We see how others structure their content, who is outperforming our pages in the rankings, and content ideas to enhance our position.

We do use the keyword tracking tool as well. While we rely more heavily on GSC, the point-in-time views with SERPS insights help us understand what is happening. There is also something about how the data is presented that helps us understand things better as well.