Technical SEO basics for small businesses

The short answer

Technical and on-page SEO means building your website so search engines can read and understand it. It covers things like page titles, descriptions, page addresses, headings, a sitemap and speed. It makes your site easier to find, but nobody can guarantee a position on Google, and Google itself says there are no secrets that will automatically rank a site first.

Page titles

A page title is the clickable headline in search results. Google’s guidance says a good title is unique to the page, clear and concise, and accurately describes the contents. Give every page its own title, and put the main thing the page is about near the start.

Meta descriptions

The description is the short summary that can appear under the title. Google says a good one is short, unique to one particular page and includes the most relevant points. Write one for each page, in plain English, as if you were telling a customer what they will find.

Page addresses

A page address, or URL, with meaningful words, such as a service name, is easier for people and search engines to understand than a string of numbers. Keep addresses short and readable, and avoid changing them once they are live without setting up redirects.

Headings

Headings give a page its structure. Use one main heading for the page and sub-headings for its sections, written for the reader. Google notes that there is no magic number of headings and that using them out of order does not matter for search, but a clear structure helps your visitors and screen-reader users.

Sitemap

A sitemap is a file that lists the pages you want search engines to find. Google describes submitting one as optional, but for most sites it is a quick and useful extra, especially for new sites.

Speed and mobile

Google measures page experience, including how quickly a page loads and responds on a phone. A fast, mobile-friendly site supports everything else on this list.

Structured data

Structured data is a standard way of labelling information on your page, such as your business name, contact details and the services you offer, so search engines can understand it more precisely.

What technical SEO cannot do

It cannot guarantee a ranking, and it is not a substitute for useful, honest content. We are a website development company, not a marketing agency, so we build these foundations into every site and do not run ad campaigns or promise a position on Google.

Next step

If you would like these basics built in, or added to an existing site, our technical SEO service starts with a review of how search engines see your site. Our checklist of what a local business website needs covers the content side.