5 major technical SEO issues that stop Google crawling your site
If you’ve noticed that your website traffic is dropping off or that Google isn’t indexing some of your pages correctly, it could be because of technical SEO issues. Here at 21Digital, we’ve been managing SEO for our clients for years, and our expert Search Marketing team has compiled five technical SEO issues that could be affecting your website. If you’re unfamiliar with the term “Technical SEO,” allow us to explain!
The difference between On-Page and Technical SEO
There are two main types of SEO: on-page SEO, which you may already be familiar with, and technical SEO. On-page SEO focuses on the content and elements you see on a webpage, like keywords, headers, and images – that sort of thing. Technical SEO on the other hand deals with the backend aspects of your site, like its speed, structure, and how well search engines can crawl and index it. If you’re less familiar with the backend of your website, technical SEO is likely the area you haven’t explored as much, but it’s vital for your site’s overall performance and visibility in Google.
1. Slow site speed
One of the most important factors that affects your website for both Google and your customers is site speed (which is essentially how long it takes your website to load). If your pages take too long to load, your customers will leave in search of a faster website, and Google’s crawlers may not be able to explore your entire site, leaving pages unindexed.
Here are a few things that can cause poor site speed:
- Large images. Oversized images that aren’t optimised for the web will slow down your load times.
- Unnecessary plugins. Too many or outdated plugins can weigh down your site, causing slow loading times.
- Unoptimised or old code. CSS, JavaScript, and HTML that haven’t been streamlined can make pages clunky and slow.
2. Poor site structure
A clear site structure is absolutely essential for both users and Google’s crawlers. If your site is difficult to navigate, Google may struggle to find and index your content, which will affect your ranking in search results. Think of it like a map: if the layout is confusing, customers (and Google’s crawlers) are going to get lost and overlook important information.
Some common structure issues include:
- Confusing navigation. If your menus or links are hard to follow, your potential customers may get frustrated, and Google might not be able to reach all your pages.
- Deep pages. Pages that are buried too deep (more than three clicks from the homepage) can be hard for both people and crawlers to find.
- Broken links.Links that lead to missing pages confuse Google and can prevent it from indexing your site properly.
To fix these issues, it’s important to keep your site easy to navigate, and avoid hiding important pages deep within your site – it’s all about making it as easy as possible for people to find what they’re looking for. Also, you’ll need to perform regular checks for broken links so you can fix them before your Google crawl budget is wasted.
3. Lack of structured data
Structured data is like a guide for search engines, helping them understand the content on your website more clearly. By using structured data, you can highlight key information about your products or services. If your site lacks structured data on the other hand, it could miss out on valuable search visibility.
Here are some common issues related to structured data:
- No schema markup. Not using structured data at all means Google could miss important information like product specs, reviews, or events, making it harder for your site to stand out in search results.
- Improper use of schema. Having the incorrect schema setup can cause errors, preventing Google from indexing or displaying content properly.
4. Indexing issues
If Google isn’t indexing your site properly, some of your valuable pages may be invisible in search results. Indexing issues are often caused by specific settings that accidentally block pages from being crawled.
Here’s a few reasons your pages might not be being indexed:
- Blocked via robots.txt. The robots.txt file is a great tool that tells search engines what pages to crawl and which to ignore. Just be sure that it isn’t blocking important pages by mistake!
- Misuse of noindex tags. The noindex tag is used to hide pages from search results. Double-check you’re not unintentionally stopping key pages from being indexed.
- Outdated sitemaps. A sitemap helps Google find your newest content. If it’s outdated or incorrect, new pages might not be crawled or indexed.
5. Broken Links
Broken links create obstacles for Google when it tries to explore your website, which affects how well you rank in search results. When Google crawlers encounter these broken links, they can get stuck. Not only does that waste the crawl budget, which is the amount of time and resources Google allocates to explore your site, but it also means that important pages can go unnoticed.
Here’s how broken links can affect your site:
- 404 errors. Pages that no longer exist return a 404 error, confusing crawlers and preventing your site from being fully explored.
- Orphaned pages. These are pages that exist on the site and aren’t linked anywhere, making them virtually invisible to Google.
- Redirect chains. Having too many redirects in a row, like if a page has been redirected 3/4 times, can slow down crawling or cause Google to miss key pages.
This is by no means an exhaustive list; it’s more of a few of the common problems we see quite often. If this has left you confused, or you’d just prefer a professional to take over your Technical SEO, that’s where we come in!
We have a team of professionals that are experts in both On-Page and Technical SEO who are ready and waiting to help. Our services span web design, web development, SEO, SEO, Google Ads, digital consultancy, social media marketing, and email marketing. Let’s connect and see how we can make great things happen together!
