Tech SEO Tuesdays started as a way to share tips and advice with others in the industry. Posted weekly on LinkedIn, Twitter, and elsewhere, the full list of technical SEO advice can be found here!
I’ve been working in SEO and marketing for 10 years and have dealt with countless website migrations and audits. I’ve certainly encountered my fair share of technical SEO issues, which is why Tech SEO Tuesdays started. There are many tips here that I wish I’d known when I started, as well as others I’ve recently discovered.
There’s always something new in SEO; that’s the beauty of it.
If you want more actionable technical SEO tips in your inbox each week, check out my newsletter: Tech SEO Tips.
I’ve been posting these each week for over 4 years, so feel free to use the links below to find tips based on when they were published.
Tech SEO Tuesday Tips by Year
2021 TECH SEO TUESDAYS
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Tip 7:
If Lighthouse says you have unused JavaScript, Chrome Dev Tools will give you the % of used vs. unused JavaScript and you can then use this to find the exact lines of JavaScript that are not being used.
This can then be stripped back or removed as needed.
Tip 8:
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Tip 10:
Do not redirect sitemaps and robots files.
Doing so will stop Google from accessing old versions and finding the redirects after the migration, and the old URLs will remain in the index.
Tip 11:
JavaScript websites go through an extra rendering stage as well as indexing. Google is much better at this now than it was in 2017-2018 but there is still often a delay vs rendering HTML sites.
Your page content needs to be present on page load and not hidden behind buttons.
Tip 12:
Google recommends redirecting old image URLs to new image URLs during a migration to help Google discover and index new images quicker.
This is especially true for eCommerce product images and fashion websites etc.
Tip 13:
- They track HTTP requests and HTTPS responses.
- They tell us what has happened on site, such as trends, and seasonality.
- They present SEO metrics so we can make future predictions of SEO data.
Tip 14:
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Tip 16:
Google just confirmed in their official documentation that they now treat 308 redirects in the same way that they treat 301 redirects.
They understand that both status codes mean that a page has “permanently moved to a new location”.
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/crawling/301-redirects
Tip 17:
Tip 18:
It is ok to not know how to fix something as a tech SEO.
Instead, try to focus on quality improvements and improve the page experience for both users and for Google.
Tip 19:
Intrusive interstitials impact ranking, not indexing.
Your website will still be crawled and indexed if you have lots of interstitials, but it may not rank well.
Tip 20:
Moving servers is like another migration.
Crawlers have to find the new location of the IP / domain, so it has to be managed carefully.
Tip 21:
Faster sites mean more pages crawled by Google in the same amount of time. Improving load speed has greater benefits than just improving user experience.
Tip 22:
The recent (and still unconfirmed) change to title tags and H1s on Google is causing a lot of fluctuation. The best advice is not to make any drastic changes right now. Google is listening to feedback and an update is likely coming soon.
Check out this brilliant article from Lily Ray for extra reading and insights: https://www.amsivedigital.com/insights/seo/is-google-showing-different-organic-titles-in-august-2021/.
Tip 23:
With all the title tag changes right now, some people are pasting title tags into the H1 – this may only be a temporary fix. Best practice would be to ensure your top keyword is used in H1s for your top-performing pages. Bonus points for including a CTA in the H1 too.
Tip 24:
Word counts aren’t important for SEO and won’t help you to rank, but thoroughly covering a given topic and fulfilling the search intent will.
Tip 25:
The main functionality of your site, such as important pages, should be accessible without javascript. Test this by disabling javascript and click around. If things are broken or parts are missing, this can cause problems for Googlebot!
Tip 26:
Ensure the most important pages are indexed on your website. Use canonical and no-index to guide Google in the right direction and use internal links to provide signals of importance. Don’t mix rel=canonical and no-index together, as this sends conflicting signals to search engines.
Tip 27:
Google is rolling out a new SERP feature called “Things To Know” which is a variation of PPA. Google believe that it will “make it easier than ever to explore new topics”.
🤔 This very much appears to keep the user in the SERP rather than on our websites.
Tip 28:
John Mu shared a timely reminder that “having a dedicated page for some seasonal sales events is a good idea for eCommerce sites.” https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1435853015936811008
Tip 29:
The content on your website should be as unique as possible. While you may not necessarily receive a Google penalty for having duplicate content, it will not help you gain organic traffic.
Tip 30:
Google has published a new document detailing how to control what is displayed in SERPs and introduced a new term for the title of a search result, a “title link”. See here: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/appearance/title-link
Tip 31:
Cheap hosting isn’t the best hosting. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. For larger sites and eCommerce stores, a dedicated server is typically recommended over a shared server. Cheap hosting also leaves your website more at risk of hacking.
Tip 32:
Remember to noindex (or password protect) your dev and staging environments so they aren’t indexed in SERPs which can affect your live site rankings. Also, remember to make it indexable when the site goes live, it’s just embarrassing otherwise!
Tip 33:
When including an important fact, statistic, or statement as part of a paragraph, Google’s John Mueller has confirmed that bolding it does help Google know that it’s important and does help your SEO. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-bolded-text-can-help-your-seo/427044/
Tip 34:
UI and UX is the most effective way to make your SERPs better. Don’t try to be Google, just focus on what you do best.
Tip 35:
Tip 36:
Google wants consistently available resources to display on SERPs. If your results tend to disappear (404 or website downtime), then Google is less likely to serve them.
Tip 37:
When bulk writing meta titles in a spreadsheet, use: =concatenate(H1 + ” | Brand Name”) to help save time.
You can also use: =proper(concatenate(H1 + ” | Brand Name”) to capitalise your title.
2022 TECH SEO TUESDAYS
Tip 38:
Boost your local SEO rankings by adding sub-locations on location pages e.g. If your location is targeting Manchester, add that you also service Salford, Openshaw, Miles Platting etc.
Bonus: Take this further and use localised content clusters for more localised relevancy.
Tip 39:
As SEO best practice, the above the fold area of a webpage should have at least some content that is unique to that page.
Tip 40:
Ideally, you just want just one h1 on the page and it should be descriptive of the page content for the user. Naturally, your page title and h1 will normally be similar, but not identical.
Tip 41:
By conducting a log file analysis you can understand exactly how Google crawls and interacts with your website.
It allows you to quickly identify crawling and indexation issues and to reveal massive wins e.g. optimising site architecture, improving internal linking etc.
Tip 42:
As confirmed by John Mueller, the site: operator doesn’t just return URLs that Google has indexed.
It also includes URLs that Google just knows about. If indexed pages are what you’re after, the GSC coverage report will be better.
Tip 43:
The Total Blocking Time (TBT) metric measures the total amount of time between First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Time to Interactive (TTI), where the main thread was blocked for long enough to prevent input responsiveness.
Tip 44:
Tip 45:
If you need to exclude URLs with certain parameters such as ‘?price’ within Screaming Frog, you can use: .*\?price.*
Use this in the Exclusion section when setting up your crawl.
Tip 46:
Google ranks pages, not websites.
For your page to be indexed, it should have a separate URL that Google can find and crawl.
Use the HREF attribute to help discover and follow links. Also, use HTML links rather than JavaScript links where possible.
If you must use a JS link, ensure that it does use a HREF attribute.
Tip 47:
Benchmark your competition and find the areas where you are above or below average at. Focusing on these areas is where you will see results.
Tip 48:
x-default is a HREFLANG attribute that signals to algorithms that this page doesn’t have any specific language or locale and this is the default page when no other page is better suited.
Tip 49:
The best way to build trust is to show genuine understanding and concern for your website audience and focus on how you can solve their problems.
Tip 50:
With Google announcing the removal of the URL Parameters Tool in GSC it could be time to check what URLs you have blocked in there and consider adding them to robots.txt.
After all, it is better to have all your rules in one place.
See here for more information: https://searchengineland.com/googles-url-parameters-tool-is-going-away-383220
Tip 51:
There is a time and a place for pop-ups, and if you are displaying pop-ups to visitors on product pages then you’re likely losing a ton of sales.
Don’t add a barrier in front of customers that are ready to convert.
Tip 52:
Small differences across thousands of pages between your website and that of competitors can make a massive difference in how your website is perceived and how valuable it might be to your audience.
Look for key topics or pages that could be missing, or if you have thin pages that have been indexed.
Tip 53:
Google commonly rewrites titles that are too long and too short, have repeated use of the same keyword, are missing the brand/site name, have a mismatch between titles and H1, use boilerplate titles, or have inaccurate or obsolete titles.
Check out this study from Zyppy for more details: https://zyppy.com/seo/google-title-rewrite-study/
Tip 54:
When working with a new client, it is always helpful to get a list of all subdomains and protocols they use.
This way, you can run checks to ensure there aren’t many unnecessary URLs being indexed, e.g. HTTP, non-www, www etc.
Tip 55:
As SEOs, our goal is to protect our website’s visibility by delivering content in Google’s index. Remember that if Google can’t render content, it can’t be indexed.
Crawling and rendering are two different things that are done separately.;’
Tip 56:
The most common web accessibility issues are:
- Low contrast text,
- Missing alt text,
- Empty links,
- Missing form input labels,
- Empty buttons.
Ensure your website addresses these issues to meet accessibility guidelines.
Tip 57:
A lot of people still talk about bounce rate, so here are some facts to consider:
- It varies in GA based on the channel and the selected date range,
- Just because someone only visited one page doesn’t automatically equal a bad experience,
- Users can convert on a landing page and it could still be considered a bounce.
- It is not available in GA4.
Tip 58:
The only salesperson that works 24/7 is your website. This is why high-quality copy and content matters and should not be undervalued. It is also why exceptional content is a must-have for your niche website!
Tip 59:
Demonstrate E-A-T by showcasing expertise with robust biographies and links to relevant content, you can also show your authority through awards and accreditations.
Tip 60:
If you care about the security of your website, add a security.txt file.
Here is Google’s version https://www.google.com/.well-known/security.txt.
Read more about the file and how it assists with security vulnerabilities here: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9116.
Tip 61:
If you need to exclude URLs with a question mark from your website crawl when using Screaming Frog, you can use:
.\?.*
Enter this in the Exclusion section when setting up your crawl.
Tip 62:
Robots.txt and meta robots tags matter because:
- 🚦Robots.txt files inform crawlers how they can crawl websites.
- 🤖 Robots meta tags apply to individual files around how to index regions of your site.
- 🕹️ Used correctly, both ultimately offer more control over your SEO strategy.
Tip 63:
Understand user intent through Google Search Console by finding queries that contain questions. Enter this custom Regex into the queries filter:
who|what|when|how|why|where|could|can
Tip 64:
We know Google rewrites meta descriptions, but what if they choose something that isn’t relevant?
Use the data-nosnippet HTML attribute inside a <div> to wrap the copy you don’t want to be displayed in the meta description.
Tip 65:
Canonical tags help search engines understand which URL is the “preferred” version of a page or the URL that you would like Google to rank.
However, they are seen more as an indication than a directive, meaning that Google may choose to ignore them.
Tip 66:
Still don’t see the value in alt text? It matters because:
- It means that blind or partially sighted people can visualise the image.
- It adds context to images for readers if the website fails to load.
- It helps search engines to comprehend what the image is about.
Tip 67:
Internal linking is critical for page discovery and effective crawling.
Backlinks rarely target our money pages, and internal linking is how we connect the dots and share equity.
Tip 68:
When planning your internal linking, it is a good exercise to link to each of these types of pages:
- 🔗 Parent (should have a broader intent while covering the same topic).
- 🔗 Child (has a longer-tail purpose while still covering the same content).
- 🔗 Similar (these would be pages on semantically related topics).
Tip 69:
Compare your non-brand traffic with your competitors to assess a website’s capability of attracting new customers who haven’t heard of you before and determine how much of their traffic depends on brand terms.
Tip 70:
If you want to find commercial keywords that users are searching for related to your business in Google Search Console, enter this custom Regex into the queries filter:
.*(best|top|vs|review*).*
Tip 71:
In light of the impending Helpful Content Update, do NOT blindly delete website content after seeing someone’s recommendations online. Regardless of who they are, always perform a content audit and gather all necessary data before making drastic decisions.
- Removing content can have severe consequences, so do not make any extreme decisions and always ensure you’re making the right decisions for your website in the long run.
- If you need a way to determine if your content measures up to the Helpful Content Update requirements, Aleyda Solis created a beneficial sheet: https://twitter.com/aleyda/status/1560550093941456896.
Tip 72:
Use x-path to monitor out-of-stock products on your eCommerce site, and use crawlers such as Screaming Frog and Sitebulb to extract the content/URLs during your crawls.
e.g. //*[@id=”product-availability”]
Tip 73:
Infinite scroll works well for sites with a discovery-based experience, e.g. the user is browsing, but it can be a burden for users who are searching for a particular item and websites that are goal-oriented. Pagination tends to work better for these sites.
However, there are cases where the reverse is true. See for yourself and always make these sorts of decisions with your users in mind. Test both approaches and see how users engage with your content.
Tip 74:
Separating pages by whether or not a product is in stock can help you determine:
- How much traffic is going to out-of-stock products,
- Whether availability and out-of-stock products affect product conversion rates,
- Get a granular view of what page engagement metrics are affected by stock availability.
Tip 75:
The words you use on your internal links (the anchor text) are hugely important.
You should link to your internal pages with the terms you want to rank for. Doing so can actually be more influential than the content on that page and helps pages to rank.
Tip 76:
Do not block access to your CSS and theme files in the robots.txt.
This is because search engines need to be able to render the page, and blocking access can stop them from doing so and being able to understand the content.
Tip 77:
If you want to understand why a page is not indexed, one of the ways you can do this is by using the Robots Exclusion Checker Chrome Extension.
It allows you to see potential issues like redirects, disallow rules, meta robots, canonicals & more.
Tip 78:
Your site speed can vary from day to day depending on the tools you use to test the speed.
Keep the testing location (city) consistent, conduct tests across multiple templates and calculate the average.
Tip 79:
Need to find transactional keywords that your customers are searching for related to your business in Google Search Console?
Enter this custom Regex into the queries filter:
.*(buy|cheap|price|purchase|order).*
Tip 80:
Are you using the same language as your customers? Speak to them and check the terminology they use in your feedback, reviews, etc.
Ensure the same key phrases are used in your content. Don’t use jargon or terms they don’t use or understand.
Tip 81:
Use free Chrome extensions such as the Ayima Redirect Path and Link Redirect Trace to see what redirects your browser has gone through before landing on the current page.
It’s useful to see the type of redirects used (JS/301/302 etc) and whether any chains are happening.
Tip 82:
There’s more to SEO than just Google, consider search engines such as YouTube, Amazon, eBay and TikTok.
Your customers are using them, so consider if they’re likely to come across you or your competitors on those platforms.
Tip 83:
Making a crawl map visualisation is a brilliant way to get a top-level view of your content structure and identify if you have any problems. I’ve found that the most effective and useful way to do this is in Sitebulb.
Tip 84:
Make sure you’re only specifying hreflang with one method (HTML tags, Sitemaps, HTTP headers) to avoid using conflicting tags, which can cause issues with your international targeting.
Tip 85:
Businesses you compete against on the high street are not necessarily the same ones you’re competing with online, don’t confuse the two and don’t be surprised if they are different.
SEO Tools can help you identify which keywords are overlapping with which sites.
Tip 86:
If you’re migrating a website, try to launch during your quietest period to help mitigate the risk of traffic loss, and NEVER launch on a Friday.
You need your dev team to be on hand should anything go wrong, and they’re less likely to be available on weekends.
Tip 87:
Content length is not a ranking factor. If the query only requires a short answer, don’t waste resources creating an article with thousands of words just for the sake of it. This will likely do more harm than good.
Focus on answering the query, not the length of the post.
Tip 88:
Not every technical issue is a priority. I weigh this up based on the impact they are likely to have on SEO, how important it is to the business, the current level of optimisation and the difficulty of implementing the change.
It is a matrix I use in my audits, and it helps me determine their priority.
2023 TECH SEO TUESDAYS
Tip 89:
Use the View Rendered Source Chrome extension to compare the rendered and non-rendered source code.
Tip 90:
Keep the number of changes to a minimum during a migration.
This makes it easier to measure the positive or negative impact of the migration and makes it easier for search engines to re-index the site.
There will be opportunities for further changes later down the line.
Tip 91:
Pages that you want to rank well for higher volume terms should be linked “high up” within your site’s hierarchy, such as the main menu or from the homepage.
Evergreen content should not be included solely in a chronological blog, as this will depreciate over time.
Tip 92:
Use the Chrome User Agent Switcher extension to test how your site looks to other user agents, such as Googlebot mobile. It’s great for diagnostics and seeing what is being served to search engines.
Tip 93:
Let’s discuss Semrush’s new Authority Score. I was lucky enough to work with Semrush alongside other industry experts in creating this, and there’s plenty to talk about.
First off, to calculate a site’s Authority Score, Semrush looks at 3 elements.
- Link Power,
- Organic Traffic,
- Spam Factors
This is a level of transparency unmatched by other tools and provides SEOs with more clarity and context behind each score on a scale of 0-100.
If you’ve ever seen a spammy-looking site with a high Domain Rating and wondered how or why, well, wonder no more as Semrush takes all of this and more into account for the new AS.
If a site has high-quality backlinks but little traffic, that will now be reflected in the score.
You may notice the AS for your websites has gone down as part of this rollout. This doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong; it is just a more accurate representation of where you’re at and gives you a clearer idea of where to focus.
Tip 94:
Automated SEO audits and reports have little-to-no value; you need a knowledgeable SEO to put this into context, help determine priority and work with you to provide and implement resolutions.
A manual, professional audit is always the best option.
Tip 95:
Don’t underestimate the value of image search. This is especially true if you have an eCommerce site.
High numbers of people search in Google Images, so make sure you’re not missing out on traffic and conversions by neglecting your images.
Tip 96:
Just because a page is crawled and discovered by Google, it is not guaranteed that it will be indexed and therefore appear in search results.
Tip 97:
If your e-commerce site has a faceted navigation/filter that has product sub-categories with high search volume, you should ensure the pages are accessible with a standard static URL, so it is more likely to rank.
Tip 98:
Analyse the terms that customers type in your internal search function to find useful keywords and other terminology that you could create or improve existing pages.
Tip 99:
Enabling HSTS on your site means that browsers won’t even try and access the non-https version; you’ll simply see a “307” redirect instead.
Tip 100:
Some amount of ranking fluctuations are normal, and most don’t require action.
However, if you spot drastic trends or changes, these should be investigated.
Tip 101:
It’s nice for a site’s HTML to be error-free, and I do check this in some audits; however, just because a site isn’t fully W3C compliant doesn’t mean it’ll struggle to rank. It’s not a ranking factor, and it won’t affect performance unless it’s fully broken.
Tip 102:
Make sure your 404 page has a Google Analytics tracking code. This is a really effective way to spot what error pages your users are accessing so you can fix them ASAP.
Also, make sure it actually returns a 404 error code to clearly indicate that the user reached a non-existent page.
Tip 103:
Google can favour long-form content for some informational queries, and the more copy there is, the greater the chance you have to optimise the keywords.
However, there is no word threshold that Google has in terms of favouring URLs for rankings, don’t add content for the sake of it. Content needs to be helpful and relevant.
Tip 104:
Duplicate content is never ideal and can create several SEO issues, including cannibalisation, which can dilute your rankings.
Tip 105:
Ensure you’re using experts in your informational content, especially for YMYL sites. Expert content can drive traffic, links, and revenue and also build EEAT.
Tip 106:
Add scalable internal links to your eCommerce store through Breadcrumbs and make full use of:
- Related Products,
- People Also Buy type features,
- Similar Products,
- Related categories,
- Products by the Same Brand etc.
Tip 107:
Your XML sitemap should not include any links to URLs that 3xx redirect, canonicalised pages, or pages you don’t want to be crawled or indexed.
Only pages with a 200 status and are indexable should be included.
Tip 108:
Build an internal link strategy that works by making sure internal links point to:
- 🔗 Canonical URLs.
- 🔗 Pages with 200 status codes.
- 🔗 HTTPS pages.
Tip 109:
Whenever embedding a YouTube video, include Video schema to help search engines understand the content, provide additional information to search engines and improve your chances of being more visible in SERPs.
Tip 110:
If there are conflicting robots.txt rules of the same length and specificity, Google will choose and apply the least restrictive rule.
Tip 111:
Go to your Screaming Frog Configuration > Robots.txt and choose “Ignore robots.txt but report status” to see everything you are blocking with the file and identify any ‘spider traps’ on the site.
Tip 112:
If your crawl is taking too long and running out of memory because it’s getting stuck in a trap, you can pause the crawl and edit the exclude list to get the crawl back on track. See where it got ‘stuck’ and use this to create a rule.
Note where the crawl got stuck, and if necessary, come back to this later during a tech audit or log file analysis.
Tip 113:
Your website can only have one robots.txt and should contain clear instructions for the user agents you are targeting and the directories you would like them to access or not.
Tip 114:
Submitting your XML sitemap to Google Search Console helps their crawlers find any sitemaps that are associated with your website.
Tip 115:
All pages should have canonical tags. If they are the canonical version, they should be self-referential.
Pages can be self-referential by default, and you can update and override them as needed later.
Tip 116:
❌ Don’t migrate a website without SEO! ❌
Without proper SEO considerations, search engines may struggle to understand changes that take place during a migration, leading to a loss of rankings and overall performance.
Involving SEOs throughout the website migration ensures that the migration is planned and executed correctly at all stages to minimise the negative impact on organic search visibility.
Regardless of whether it’s a CMS change, domain change etc., always involve your SEO teams!
This image is just one example of what can happen if you migrate a website without SEO input.
Don’t make the same mistake! 📉🤦
For context, this image is just one example of what can happen if you migrate a website without SEO input.
— Nikki Halliwell (@NikkiRHalliwell) July 11, 2023
You may even see a more dramatic drop than this, and it can take quite some time to recover!
Don't make the same mistake! 📉🤦#SEO #TechnicalSEOTips #TechSEOTuesday pic.twitter.com/XhrQqZszNo
Tip 117:
Always test the implementation of your robots.txt to avoid a reduction in organic performance and also to ensure URLs are accessible to Googlebot.
Use the robots.txt testing tool to see if the URL is allowed or blocked.
Tip 118:
As a site grows, technical debt can accumulate, sending conflicting and confusing signals to search engines. Work through your technical debt to improve your content indexability and ranking opportunities.
Tip 119:
Keep your use of trailing slash consistent.
If a non-trailing slash is the default, the trailing slash should redirect to this version and vice versa. If not, the variations can confuse Google as to which version they should serve in SERPs.
Tip 120:
Some technical issues can hinder the chances of ranking. Amazing content can’t rank if it can’t be crawled.
Ensure you have solid technical foundations to give your content the best chance of ranking before exploring links etc.
Tip 121:
The most accurate representation of your search performance may be within Google Search Console. Google Analytics can be less accurate due to various cookies and tracking blocks.
Tip 122:
Use LocalOverrides within Chrome to test the potential impact of local speed changes before implementing them. This can save time, ensure you get it right the first time, and help you win stakeholder buy-in.
Tip 123:
Soft 404s in GSC can strongly correlate with JavaScript and suggest a rendering issue. If Google cannot see the content on the entire web page, it may be more likely to noindex it.
Tip 124:
Do you have an out-of-stock plan?
- Don’t return a 404 on out-of-stock products. Instead, state that it’s unavailable and provide alternatives.
- Google treats “out of stock” eCommerce pages as ‘Soft 404s’, meaning they are less likely to appear in SERPs.
- If a product is permanently out of stock, remove internal links to the page and redirect the URL to a PLP or a similar PDP.
Tip 125:
Article schema should be used for news articles or investigative-type content.
Other types of blogs should use BlogPosting schema. If you have images in the post, remember to describe them using the image attribute within the schema.
Tip 126:
Keep your use of www or non-www consistent. If non-www is the default, the www should redirect to this version, and vice versa. If not, these variations can confuse search engines regarding which version they should serve in SERPs.
Tip 127:
Server-side rendering generates the full HTML for a page on the server. This avoids multiple round trips as it’s handled before the browser gets a response. Running logic and rendering on the server means you can avoid sending lots of JavaScript to the client-side.
Tip 128:
If you see in GSC that Google is choosing a different canonical than the user, this is an indication that you have duplicate or very similar pages that should be addressed. It suggests that the current canonical setup is not adequate.
Tip 129:
If your SEO agency panics every time a core algorithm update is released, it’s probably time to move to a different SEO agency.
- 🤞If you are staying within Google Guidelines, chances are you shouldn’t be affected too much.
- 📉 There are some exceptions to this, of course, such as with the HCU and Oct Core Update.
- 🔎 During an update, the best course of action is typically to wait until Google has fully rolled out the Changes, assess the impact, and carefully plan any next steps.
- ⚠ Try not to make any sweeping changes during a Core Update, as this may have a more detrimental impact.
Tip 130:
Returning a 503 HTTP response code tells search engines to ignore the current content and to come back again at a later date.
Here is some useful information from Google:
Tip 131:
Not every page on your website needs to be indexed, and it is rare that any website will have 100% of it’s pages indexed – especially for large sites.
Tip 132:
All websites should have indexable pages. If there are no valid URLs shown in the Index Coverage report in GSC, double check your robots.txt to ensure it isn’t disallowing the entire site and check for noindex meta tags.
Tip 133:
Dynamic rendering is good for indexable, Javascript-generated content that changes often or content that uses JavaScript features that aren’t supported by crawlers.
The user will receive the standard client-side rendered version of a page and crawlers are given a version where the server renders the Javascript first.
Tip 134:
Your browser remembers if a site uses HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to force https. This means browsers such as Chrome will automatically insert a 307 (temporary) redirect if you try and enter an http URL.
Tip 135:
If your website is small, such as less than 50 pages, chances are a robots.txt file may not be needed. But it is larger, properly utilising a robots.txt file can help to optimise your website for better crawling and content discovery.
Tip 136:
When setting up a crawl of your site with Googlebot as the User Agent, consider making the USA the location of these crawls.
Googlebot normally crawls from US-located IP addresses, so crawling from there can catch edge cases, such as automatic geo-IP redirects, etc.
Tip 137:
A breakdown of robots’ meta tags:
- noindex = do not list this page in search results.
- nofollow = do not follow links on this page.
- nosnippet = do not show a text snippet or video preview for this page in search results.
- noarchive = do not show a cached link for this page in search results.
- noimageindex = do not index images on this page.
- max-image-preview = set the maximum size of an image preview for this page in search results.
- max-snippet = set the maximum number of characters that search engines should use in a text snippet for this page in search results.
- max-video-preview = set the maximum number of seconds that should be shown in a video snippet for videos on this page in search results.
Tip 138:
It is useful to add a UTM link to any URL in your Google Business Profile, so you can track where the traffic came from in GA.
Set the source/medium as Organic/Local to make it clearer where the traffic came from.
Tip 139:
Your internal site search can reveal what your customers were looking for on your website but couldn’t easily find.
Use this data to organise your structure and navigation better and create new PLPs.
2024 TECH SEO TUESDAYS
Tip 140:
Although users may not see them differently, trailing slash use can make a big difference to search engines. Know the difference between files and folders and when you should use each one.
Tip 141:
User intent can change over time under particular circumstances, seasonality, important events or trends. Monitor how user intent may change over time and update your content accordingly, as needed.
Tip 142:
Create specific PLPs targeting long-tail keywords to help attract the right target audience, which should lead to higher conversions since they also tend to have lower competition in SERPS.
Tip 143:
When optimising page speed, work on the page templates rather than individual pages. You will be able to make improvements at scale, and it should be easier to get stakeholder buy-in.
Tip 144:
Regular website auditing and monitoring are important so that you can catch any issues that may have arisen from updates to your websites, the CMS, and Google algorithms. The sooner you catch them, the sooner you can take action and improve performance.
Tip 145:
If a product is temporarily out of stock, consider enabling backorders or back-in-stock subscriptions.
You can also add alternative products to give shoppers a similar product even if the product they initially wanted is currently unavailable.
Tip 146:
If a product is permanently out of stock, as long as there is another product that is very similar and is in stock, you can set up a redirect, but make sure you use a 301 and not a 302 redirect.
Tip 147:
Adding a Q&A or Frequently Asked Questions section to PDPs not only adds unique content to the pages but also removes buying friction and increases the likelihood of conversions.
Tip 148:
In an eCommerce store, each category might have distinct filters that are indexable facets. Not all categories need to be created the same. Users search for different products in different ways.
Tip 149:
Does your site have an Image sitemap? Image search is a much less competitive way to gain organic traffic, and image sitemaps help you take advantage of this opportunity.
See this information from Google: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/image-sitemaps
Tip 150:
The benefits of video content is growing, and we should explore options to embed videos on our pages to:
- Increase user engagement,
- Lower exit rates,
- Increase opportunities for backlinks,
- Offer mixed content, which search engines prioritise,
- Creates higher user satisfaction.
Tip 151:
If you’re using search volume for a keyword, double-check when that data was taken and how it compares to Google Trends. Otherwise, your forecasting and reporting can be way off!
Tip 152:
Google’s emphasis on SGE will likely transform search results, but as SEOs, we have concerns over how it will cite sources. As Liz Reid (Google’s Head of Search) spearheads this shift towards AI-powered results, there will be more and more questions about transparency and relevance.
We’ve already seen examples of spam and low-quality results shown in SGE snapshots, so we know their AI model still needs a lot of training and evaluation before it is fully rolled out.
Tip 153:
Knowledge, problem-solving, and first-hand experience are the best methods for success as an SEO professional. It’s okay to break things if you learn from them.
Grow from testing and experience, and take time to ask questions of those around you.
Tip 154:
After you’ve finished a successful site migration, you should also update any internal links to ensure they point to the new URLs. This avoids any additional “jumps” that users and bots must take and can help your new URLs get indexed quicker.
It doesn’t always need to be a manual job either; work with your developers and engineers to agree on ways of updating internal links at scale.
Tip 155:
Minification is a process of removing unnecessary parts from the files with code, such as blank lines or white space. Doing so with your CSS and JS files will help you improve page speed, but it should only be done by someone with experience in this area.
Tip 156:
This week, Google’s Gary Illyes spoke at #SERPConf2024 and said, “We need very few links to rank pages… Over the years, we’ve made links less important.” He responded to Patrick Stox on Twitter to retract his comments.
Natalie Arney makes some great points on LinkedIn, highlighting “that links don’t just help Google discover, choose to index, and rank content, but users. A user might not even search for something, but still discover the content (through links, social, etc.) and find it useful.”
For me, a lot of this is just how Google’s systems have evolved. Previously, links were one of the only methods they had for determining authority (if not the only factor), whereas now they take a lot more into consideration, such as UX, etc.
It’s not that links aren’t important anymore; it’s just that they’re not the be-all and end-all that they once were. A lot more now goes into ranking and determining a quality site, but links will always be needed.
Tip 157:
Prioritisation matters in tech SEO, and you don’t need to fix all technical SEO issues you encounter.
Each issue has a different importance and potential impact. You must consider their importance before providing recommendations or working with a dev team to fix them.
Tip 158:
Manual actions are now being rolled out and focus on “site reputation abuse.” According to Google, this is when “third-party pages are published with little or no first-party oversight or involvement, where the purpose is to manipulate search rankings by taking advantage of the first-party site’s ranking signals.”
While it won’t just be as simple as this, one of the first actions you may want to take if you have been hit by this manual action would be to exclude third-party content from being indexed.
Tip 159:
Not every site issue needs to be fixed. Yes, it can be frustrating, especially if you’re a perfectionist, but if the 404 errors don’t harm the website, have any traffic, or links, you can leave them. It’s fine.
Focus on the areas that are fixable and will improve your bottom line.
Tip 160:
Like most of us, I’ve been closely monitoring the latest developments in Google’s AI Overviews release.
It’s concerning to hear that despite the reported poor user experiences during testing and the noticeable lack of supporting data in the results, the rollout has still gone ahead in the US. What’s even more problematic for Google is the fast response from users who are already seeking ways to disable AI Overviews, likely due to these same issues.
It’s worth noting that tools like SEOMonitor have confirmed that their SGE tracking will roll out in the next month, and Semrush shows the percentage of results showing AI Overviews. However, Google seems to be withholding data in GSC, which is a cause for concern.
To stand any chance of success, we need access to more detailed monitoring tools, and it makes sense to allow website owners and searchers to opt out of AI Overviews. As it stands, the search engine is blindly emphasising the use of AI in search, which only provides a poor user experience and misinformation—something it has been penalising website owners for for a while now.
Tip 161:
There’s rarely one clear answer in tech SEO. You’ll need to consider many variables to decide what to do with a technical SEO issue you find.
Depending on the severity, it might need a fix, or it might not. There are often multiple ways to fix something, and what works for one website might not be possible for another.
As a technical SEO, you must be knowledgeable enough to find and estimate these elements.
Tip 162:
I often get questions about CDNs, so this week, I will cover some of the benefits. Implementing a CDN like Cloudflare isn’t just about security and speed; it’s about creating a seamless, reliable, and optimised user experience.
- 🚀 Improved Site Speed: Cloudflare’s CDN reduces latency, ensuring your pages load quickly, a critical factor for user experience and search engines.
- 🔒 Better Security: Protect your site from malicious attacks with DDoS protection and SSL/TLS encryption, which boosts credibility.
- 📈 Reliable Uptime: Cloudflare’s distributed network keeps your site running smoothly, reducing downtime and maintaining your SEO rankings.
- 🌍 Global Reach: Deliver content efficiently to users worldwide with an extensive network of data centres, improving speed and UX regardless of the user’s location.
- 🔍 Reporting and Analytics: Cloudflare’s analytics provide valuable insights into traffic patterns and performance metrics, helping you make more informed decisions.
There are plenty of CDNs to choose from, and there may be reasons why you choose not to use one, but always make sure you weigh all the options and make the right choices for your business.
Tip 163:
Create evergreen seasonal pages that are available year-round and reuse them each year to save time and money and benefit from the authority these seasonal pages accumulate.
Tip 164:
Ever wondered what PHPMyAdmin does? 🤔
PHPMyAdmin is a powerful, web-based tool that simplifies MySQL database management.
It offers a user-friendly interface for creating, modifying, deleting, and exporting databases and tables for a website. It is useful as it controls user permissions, improves security, and allows for easy backups and restoring. Plus, you can run and optimise SQL queries effortlessly. It’s an essential tool for anyone working with MySQL databases!
Tip 165:
Integrating Person Schema into your site showcases your experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EEAT).
This structured data helps search engines recognise and highlight credentials, enhancing the online reputation and boosting search visibility.
With this in mind, Lidia Infante created a Bio to Schema GPT to turn author bios into EEAT-optimised Person Schema markup.
Check it out: https://www.lidia-infante.com/post/bio-to-schema
Tip 166:
What is caching, and why does it matter?
Caching temporarily stores data to speed up future requests. It improves website performance by reducing server load and decreasing load times for returning users.
Proper caching ensures faster access to web content, enhances user experience, and can significantly reduce bandwidth usage.
Tip 167:
Are you curious about DNS settings? 🌐
DNS settings are vital for directing traffic to the correct servers. They translate domain names into IP addresses so users reach the right site. Proper DNS configuration enhances speed, security, and reliability.
Tip 168:
What is INP (Interaction to Next Paint), and why does it matter?
INP measures the time it takes for a website to respond to user interactions, from clicking a button to seeing the next visual change. It helps assess and improve website responsiveness, leading to a smoother and more engaging user experience.
Tip 169:
Regularly backing up your website ensures you have a secure copy of your data in case of cyberattacks, server failures, or human errors. It protects your content and customer information and keeps your business running smoothly.
Tip 170:
Implementing Organisation Schema on your About page and homepage helps search engines understand and display your business information accurately.
This structured data can improve your visibility in search results, improve click-through rates, and build trust with your audience.
Tip 171:
You don’t need to be a developer to be a good technical SEO. Coding is a good skill, but it’s not a requirement.
You need to know how browsers work, how Google crawls, and whether a crawler can see the content on the page.
But you don’t need to know how to code, use Python or build an app or Chrome Extension. These are simply nice-to-haves.
Tip 172:
Never use the robots.txt file to try to noindex pages.
This is because disallowing crawling does not remove the pages from Google’s index!
Tip 173:
When search engines receive the information they need in a format they understand, they can interpret your content faster. Therefore, with schema markup, your site will be better understood and served to your audience for relevant keywords.
Tip 174:
A title tag (or page title) is one of the best indicators to search engines of a page’s content, and it also affects the click-through rate from the SERPs by acting as an intent signal.
Tip 175:
Faceted navigation allows users to filter products by qualities like size and price.
If not set up correctly, it can cause duplicate content issues, crawl issues and poor user experience.
Proper faceted navigation organises products clearly, making it easy for users to find and buy their desired products.
Tip 176:
Render-blocking resources are files such as CSS and JavaScript files that can delay a webpage’s loading time by preventing the browser from rendering the page until these files are processed.
We can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Lighthouse to identify render-blocking resources on websites. These tools will highlight specific files that are slowing down a site and provide suggestions for improvement.
Tip 177:
Leverage browser caching to store frequently used files locally on users’ devices, reducing the need to download the same resources on subsequent visits.
Tip 178:
What to do if things go wrong in a migration: Check your redirects.
Verify that all 301 redirects from old to new are correctly implemented and double-check them to ensure that pages are accurately mapped to relevant pages.
If you want to learn more steps to help you recover from a bad migration, come to my Brighton SEO talk on October 3rd. https://brightonseo.com/talks/how-to-overcome-seo-challenges-in-website-migrations.
Tip 179:
How to Avoid Issues in a Site Migration:
Use a migration briefing document to ensure we capture all relevant information at the earliest stage.
If you want to learn what else you can do to overcome issues in a migration, come to my Brighton SEO talk on Thursday. https://brightonseo.com/talks/how-to-overcome-seo-challenges-in-website-migrations.
Tip 180:
JSON-LD is a JavaScript notation that is directly added to a webpage without impacting the HTML structure. This is why it’s Google’s preferred method and is easier to use – it is not embedded in the HTML, nor is it an extension of the HTML.
Tip 181:
What do you do if your Screaming Frog Crawl only returns the homepage and does not show any other pages?
If you come across this issue, the following settings would be a good place to start:
- Change the crawl configuration to “Ignore robots.txt” settings. This will allow the crawling tool to pass through the robots.txt, which could be disallowing access to pages.
- Change the crawl configuration to another User Agent. Ensure that Googlebot and other major user agents are not accidentally blocked from crawling the site. Try crawling with the Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Custom or even DuckDuckBot to see if you still have the same issues.
- Ask the client or developers to whitelist your IP address. They may have blocked crawling from non-whitelisted IPs to stop competitors or others from unnecessarily crawling the site.
- Configure your crawler to execute JavaScript so that it can “see” the website content.
Tip 182:
You can check the indexability of your pages by:
- Using the URL inspection feature in GSC to see whether the page has been indexed.
- Manually check the page settings to confirm that the page is indexable and not canonicalised.
- Check the rendered HTML to ensure that there are no differences caused by JS.
Tip 183:
To be heard by developers, you need to speak the same language, which means showing screenshots from the tools they understand.
One such tool is Chrome DevTools.
You can use it to:
- Show page-specific issues
- Discuss advanced page speed analysis
- Identify content layout shifts
- Highlight mobile usability issues
- Inspect elements on the page
- See rendered HTML vs raw HTML
Tip 184:
In light of Google’s November 2024 Core Update, here’s a reminder: If your SEO agency or SEO Consultant panics with every core update, it might be time to re-evaluate. Staying within Google’s guidelines generally means minimal impact.
The best approach during an update is patience: let Google complete the rollout, assess the impact afterwards, and then carefully plan any next steps.
Always avoid making any sweeping changes to your site mid-update, as these could cause more harm than good.
Tip 185:
To collaborate effectively with developers, it’s crucial to understand their priorities and motivations.
- Understand Their Goals: Developers are often focused on delivering functional, efficient, and scalable solutions. They value tasks that align with these objectives. When presenting SEO recommendations, frame them as improvements that enhance site performance, user experience, or stability.
- Know Their Priorities: Developers tend to focus on tickets that solve critical bugs, meet deadlines, or fulfill business goals. Understanding why certain tasks take precedence can help you position SEO-related tasks as essential, not optional.
- Use Their Tools: Use tools and metrics developers trust, like GitHub for tracking code, Chrome DevTools for performance issues, or Lighthouse for speed metrics. Sharing insights using these familiar platforms builds credibility.
Tip 186:
Writing a good technical SEO ticket for developers speeds up fixes.
- Make sure you craft a concise, clear ticket so that developers know exactly what to do and reduce the need for requests for clarification.
- Focus on specific changes you want, e.g., “Add a canonical tag to URL X,” and don’t include unnecessary explanations. Keep your tickets actionable, not theoretical.
Tip 187:
It doesn’t matter how big you are as a company, or how long you’ve been in business, no one is immune to potential issues from a migration and all risks should be taken seriously.
Don’t underestimate the importance of good prep and make sure you have a solid migration plan.
Tip 188:
Now that the November 2024 Core Update has fully rolled out, I thought it would be appropriate to reiterate my previous advice about handling these updates.
I have created a 7-Step Framework for Navigating Google Algorithm Updates:
- Build a Strong SEO Foundation
- Monitor the Updates Closely
- Evaluate the Impact
- Stay Patient
- Avoid any Sweeping Changes
- Focus on Content Optimisation
- Partner with an Expert
I share full advice around these steps in my TechSEOTips newsletter, so make sure you’re subscribed to https://techseotips.co.uk/.
Tip 189:
JavaScript rendering issues can prevent search engines from seeing and indexing your content. Test your pages with the GSC inspection tool to assess whether Google can see your content.
If not, consider using server-side rendering to ensure that content is rendered before it reaches the user’s browser. You can also use dynamic rendering to serve pre-rendered content to search engines where necessary.
2025 TECH SEO TUESDAYS
Tip 190:
Semantic SEO is about understanding the intent and contextual meaning of user queries rather than simply matching keywords. It is about creating content that search engines can understand and interpret more deeply, therefore providing users with the right search results they need.
Tip 191:
Ever heard of HTTPS RR? It stands for HTTPS Resource Record, a type of DNS record designed to streamline and enhance how services are accessed over HTTPS.
🔍 What does it do?
HTTPS RR provides browsers and other clients with critical information on how to connect to your website securely. Think of it as a guide that makes HTTPS connections faster and more efficient by optimising the discovery process for secure access.
Tip 192:
Google now requires JavaScript to run search queries. This shift has major implications for bots, scrapers, and even some SEO tools.
- Google has made the change to block scrapers and APIs, which also means many tools are facing outages and challenges in collecting search data.
- It appears that the change was initially made to target LLMs, CAPTCHAs and other scraping tools, but many rank trackers have been caught in the crossfire.
Read more about this shift: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-causes-global-seo-tool-outages/537604/.
Tip 193:
From a technical perspective, Google can see and follow links that follow web standards, e.g. using <a href=””>.
If you just have a button, there is no link for the bots to follow. Even if you add an “onclick” event that opens the link once the button is clicked, Google still won’t see that link.
Remember:
- 🔗 Use links to direct people to other pages.
- 🔘 Use buttons to trigger an action.
Don’t confuse the two.
Tip 194:
Improve your PLPs for Better Performance using:
- 🛒 Optimised headers and banners
- 🛒 Urgency messaging
- 🛒 Personalised shopping experiences
- 🛒 Leveraging product attributes
- 🛒 Lifestyle and editorial content
If you were part of the WTS and Sitebulb webinar today, you uncovered these and more. Stay tuned for more in their eCommerce series in the coming weeks: https://sitebulb.com/ecommerce-seo-audit-training/
Tip 195:
Optimise your PDPs for Better Conversions by:
- 💳 Using a descriptive product title
- 💳 Clearly show prices and discounts
- 💳 Show return and shipping policies
- 💳 Support key products with strong internal links
- 💳 Allow for easy comparison and customisation
Tune into the rest of the Women in Tech SEI and Sitebulb eCommerce webinar series featuring live audits to discover more ways to optimise your stores. https://sitebulb.com/ecommerce-seo-audit-training/.
Tip 196:
Categories and PLPs are crucial for eCommerce, and one of the key ways we can stand out is through personalisation.
Using browsing history, customer data, or previous purchases, store owners can suggest products customers are more likely to purchase.
Tip 197:
Regularly analysing search results for key queries enables us to adapt to changing SERPs and user behaviour. It also helps us discover our target users’ needs and expectations so we can more closely align our offerings and content.
Tip 198:
Today’s search environment emphasises visual content, with users gravitating towards videos and images.
Ensuring content delivers a seamless and engaging experience is vital for retaining and attracting customers.
When analysing SERPs, if you see results on mobile for YouTube and TikTok, consider whether this could be an opportunity for you to explore by repurposing existing content.
Be agile and responsive to shifting search patterns.
Tip 199:
❝ AI can optimise SEO—but it can’t think like an expert. ❞
AI-powered SEO is everywhere—automated keyword research, AI-generated content, and predictive ranking insights. But here’s the truth: AI is a tool, not an SEO strategy.
If you’re relying entirely on AI for SEO, you’re missing the finer details that only human expertise can catch.
Tip 200:
Anyone can make technical SEO complicated. The real skill is in making complex topics understandable and digestible to everyone in the room.
No one will be impressed by your jargon and long, drawn-out explanations, but you will be remembered for keeping it simple and helping to ensure that fixes get implemented.
Tip 201:
Google has rolled out AI Overviews in more countries, doubling down on its shift from link-based results to instant answers. We know they’re trying to keep users on SERPs for longer, but it affects traffic to our websites.
The best way to “combat” the decline in CTR that may come along with this is to focus on improving structured data markup and delivering consistent E-E-A-T signals. Focus on long-tail, question-based queries where AI summaries may still drive clicks.
Tip 202:
Images loaded by JavaScript can still be indexed. Martin Splitt from Google confirmed this last week. He clarified that something else is usually wrong if JavaScript-loaded images don’t appear in search results.
The first step is to check the rendered HTML to ensure they appear, followed by checking for any conflicts in the XML sitemaps and HTTP Headers.
Tip 203:
The rel= “next” and rel=” prev” pagination attributes are used to indicate the relationship between component URLs in a paginated series.
They are not links in the traditional sense and should not be solely relied upon for the discovery of your paginated pages; Google removed them from its support documentation in 2019. This is why your internal link structure is so important.
Tip 204:
OpenAI is getting serious about shopping. They’re rolling out a new experience in ChatGPT that has curated product picks and buy buttons. This comes just a week after announcing a partnership with Shopify (which powers around a third of global retailers and counting).
This move targets a key weakness: product discovery. And now, with better choices and presentation, ChatGPT looks even more useful for the growing number of people who want it to do the heavy lifting—sifting, comparing, and cutting through the messy middle.
Tip 205:
When customers land on your site, they should be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and without frustration. The main product category should be visible at the top of the page, and from there, you can guide them down personalised paths based on their interests or past behaviour.
It’s all about simplifying the journey while making it relevant to each visitor.
Tip 206:
A solid internal linking structure does more than improve crawlability.
It enhances UX, reduces orphan pages, boosts the discoverability of high-value content, and supports better sitelinks and indexing. Don’t overlook it.
Tip 207:
Starting today, Google will begin releasing AI Mode in the US. Users will soon see a new tab for AI Mode appear in Search and in the search bar in the Google app.
AI Mode uses a “query fan-out technique” by breaking down questions into subtopics and providing several queries simultaneously. Google claims that this enables Search to dive deeper than a traditional Google search.
Tip 208:
How many clicks does it take to get to an important page from your homepage? Compare this with an equivalent page on a competitor’s site.
If your number is larger, it may be time to consider a review of your information architecture.
Tip 209:
Don’t wait for SEO issues to limit your performance.
Using tools to monitor your issues is great, but it’s even more important to implement preventative measures, such as checks, templates, processes, and clear instructions that can help you be more proactive in your technical SEO efforts.
Tip 210:
Speaking with developers about tech debt is crucial for SEO and CRO because they can identify underlying code and infrastructure issues that hinder performance. Addressing these issues in your tech debt leads to more significant and sustainable improvements in site speed and user experience.
Tip 211:
If you have a list of tech issues, focus on changes that are both likely to be implemented (given resources and feasibility) and will have a significant impact (driving measurable improvements).
This ensures your efforts are practical and deliver the best possible results.
Tip 212:
How to be VISIBLE in LLMs and AI Search!
- There’s a lot of talk out there about how LLMs and AI-powered search are completely rewriting the rules for visibility. While search is evolving, I’ve noticed a significant amount of misinformation, too.
- So what’s the reality? A robust, user-centric SEO strategy remains foundational, even in the age of generative AI.
- Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, it’s about doubling down on creating high-quality, valuable content that genuinely serves your audience, presented in a clear and accessible way.
- I created this VISIBLE framework to help explain how brands can become more visible in LLMs and AI Search. Check it out.
Tip 213:
Instead of teaching a junior SEO how to perform a task (e.g., add a canonical tag here), it’s vital to explain why a task matters in the broader context of SEO and business goals.
This understanding is essential for critical thinking and problem-solving abilities that most businesses require but aren’t willing to teach.
Tip 214:
When optimising your website, think about how you want to be seen beyond Google and on every platform where your customers search, this should include marketplaces, video platforms, LLMs and more.
Ensure you capture demand and appear naturally throughout the entire customer journey, wherever they are.
Tip 215:
For Digital PRs, technical SEO should be a requirement for success, especially as AI Overviews dominate search results.
Even the most captivating narratives and valuable links will fall flat if the website isn’t crawlable, fast, or well-structured. We know that AI prioritises authoritative, trustworthy content, so strong technical foundations are crucial for visibility and authentic link building.
Better collaboration between PR and SEO teams is key to campaigns and ensuring our clients are the ones highlighted by AI.
TechSEO North will be discussing this very topic featuring Dan Nutter, Thomas Chivers, James Brockbank and George Adams.
Tip 216:
Google’s AI Mode is now live in the UK.
If your content answers broad, research-driven queries, expect visibility to shift. Track your affected terms and prioritise:
- Clear, factual answers
- Expert-sourced content
- Structured data
- Fast load times
Tip 217:
Make sure your product feeds are rich with data to capture complex, native AI searches, such as “Show me t-shirt sizes that are available in my city in colours I’ve browsed before.”
Use technology to inform your strategy and be seen for more conversational, personalised queries.
Tip 218:
If your crawler is slow, it holds back your entire SEO strategy.
That was the problem we were facing at Journey Further.
- Crawls were taking too long.
- The data was inconsistent.
- Staying proactive was nearly impossible.
Then we switched to Sitebulb Cloud and everything shifted.
- Tasks that used to take days now take hours.
- Our team can be more proactive rather than chasing down issues.
- We can crawl at scale without bottlenecks.
The morale? Make the jump. The flexibility is worth it.
Tip 219:
Ever had a crawl fail mid-way, leaving you with incomplete data and zero confidence? That was a constant fear. A simple misconfiguration or server timeout could lead to a data disaster, forcing us to rerun hours-long crawls and delaying critical client reports.
The data we were presenting was only as reliable as our last successful, complete crawl.
Then we switched to Sitebulb Cloud, and the difference has been transformative. Sitebulb Cloud’s robust, reliable infrastructure means we get:
- ✅ Consistently complete and accurate data on every single crawl.
- ✅ The confidence to report to clients knowing the data is 100% sound.
- ✅ Less time troubleshooting failed crawls and more time delivering strategic insights.
It’s not just a new tool; it’s the peace of mind that comes from knowing our data is always reliable. This consistency is a game-changer for Journey Further clients, who depend on us for accurate, actionable SEO recommendations.
If unreliable crawls are eating up your time and impacting your client work, it’s time for a change. See the difference reliability makes! https://sitebulb.com/book-a-demo
Tip 220:
Using product variants isn’t just about listing options; it’s about strategy.
Use persuasive language on your product pages to position a more premium or upgraded version of an item. By framing it as the ideal choice, you can guide customers to a higher-priced variant, boosting your average order value without changing the product itself.
Tip 221:
For a small store, a variant strategy focused on depth is key.
Offering a wide range of variants (colours, sizes, materials) for a limited number of niche products can maximise the revenue potential of each item. Since each product carries more weight, a diverse selection of variants makes the store a go-to destination for those specific products.
This approach prioritises customer choice and differentiation within a niche market.
Tip 222:
For a large store with a massive catalogue, the variant strategy should prioritise simplicity and scalability.
It’s about balancing customer choice with the ability to manage thousands of products efficiently. Therefore, limiting the number of variants per item may be in the store’s best interest, as it can prevent decision paralysis for customers and reduce the complexity of inventory management, logistics, and data entry.
The focus here is on manageability and clarity to ensure a smooth, scalable operation across a vast range of products.
Tip 223:
As AI Mode rolls out to more countries, we’ll start to see more searches like “show me t-shirt sizes in my region in colours that I’ve browsed before”.
That’s not really a search term we can easily track in terms of search volume, but it’s all about past experiences and using the data in our product feeds, etc., to ensure our clients are showing up in these types of results, where relevant.
It’s uncharted territory for all of us, but it does open a lot of opportunities.
Tip 224:
AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, AI Mode, New SERP Features, etc…
The VISIBLE framework is my way of showing how brands can stay discoverable.
🏁 Start by reviewing where your brand already appears in AI Overviews or Perplexity, etc, then map gaps against the VISIBLE framework.
Tip 225:
Don’t chase what’s shiny and new and forget about where your audience is spending their time!
The best SEOs know how to balance technical SEO, content and PR to drive performance, so keep learning, experimenting and analysing data to get ahead.
Tip 226:
How to Rank in AI Answers?
It’s all about clear headings, having a logical structure, writing concise answers and using schema markup.
This is the advice according to Krishna Madhavan of Microsoft.
Tip 227:
When a URL returns a 404 error for some time, Google starts crawling it less frequently.
So when Googlebot next comes to the website, it focuses on the URLs which historically don’t return errors. This ensures crawl budget isn’t wasted.
Tip 228:
Staying discoverable in this new landscape means rethinking how content is structured, surfaced, and connected.
Schema markup, strong information architecture, and data-rich feeds all play critical roles in helping search systems and large language models understand and surface your content correctly.
Clear, factual, and well-cited content is more likely to be used by AI systems looking for trusted sources. Combine this with solid site performance and accurate metadata, and you’ll be positioning your brand to appear where people are now searching — across AI, apps, and beyond Google.
Tip 229:
It’s that time of year again, which means we’re talking about seasonal URLs.
If you want to outrank competitors for seasonal terms, don’t create a new URL every year → keep the same one and update it.
- For example, instead of publishing /christmas-dresses-2025/, simply use /christmas-dresses/ and update the content before the start of the season.
This approach keeps all your link equity, authority, and history in one place, giving Google clear signals that this page is the trusted source for that topic year after year. It also means you can start ranking earlier when people start shopping, and you won’t need to start from scratch every year!
Tip 230:
I chatted about how to optimise product filters for conversions with the SEO for Ecommerce Podcast. Watch now and see how to avoid buyer hesitation.
Tip 231:
LLMs like ChatGPT are now surfacing curated product cards with images, reviews, and pricing directly in chat rather than sending users to a search results page.
That means structured product data, rich, well-written product descriptions and schema are now more critical than ever. If your product isn’t correctly optimised, it won’t even be considered.
Tip 232:
At #SCLZurich today, Google has been discussing the future direction of Google for e-commerce and shopping!
Their tips on planning for the future include:
- 🛍️ Integrating a wider range of organisation data.
- 🛍️ Adding more comprehensive product/offer level properties.
- 🛍️ Significantly increasing offerings in AI-related fields.
Sounds like big moves are coming to enhance the shopping experience and data richness!
Tip 233:
Are you struggling to spend your marketing budget at the end of the year due to code freezes or a blocked development pipeline? Don’t let your SEO strategy stall!
Shift your budget and focus to areas that need minimal to zero developer deployment.
- Can you audit your internal linking?
- Is it time to look at content pruning?
- Does your robots.txt need updating?
Instead of waiting until the New Year and risking losing your unspent marketing budget, use this time to implement SEO improvements that piggyback on existing actions and require only minor resource allocation.
