SEO 101: Technical SEO

Last week, in our post about "profit-driven content," we noted: "To optimize a website, you must perform two distinct, but equally important, roles: content marketing and technical SEO." If, as we noted, most website owners presume to know the purpose of content, many more presume not to know the purpose of technical SEO.

In fact, most website owners plead confusion when confronted by so-called SEO "technobabble."

"What is structured data?" "What is a meta tag?"

In one sense, these questions are beside the point. If you're working with an online marketing firm, for example, you do not need to understand technical SEO--unless, of course, you have the time and inclination.

In the view of our blog's sponsor, Alex Stepman, however, website owners only need to understand the simple purpose of technical SEO.

"Simply put," Stepman says, "the purpose of technical SEO is to lay the foundation for a successful content marketing campaign."

Stepman, the founder of the online marketing firm, Stepman's SEO, performs technical SEO for his clients to improve existing website elements and to optimize new website content.

In the past, technical SEO played a more direct role in online success. As Neil Patel writes: "With some solid pages, good structure, keyword-stuffed page titles, and heavy keyword saturation on your main navigational pages, you were set for SEO success."

This is not the case anymore. Today's technical SEO is about following the careful requirements of search engine algorithms. Technical SEO is about adapting to algorithm changes. Technical SEO is, simply, about compliance.

Code is code: If you know the language, you can optimize for technical SEO elements

Technical SEO: The Essential Elements

"When we 'optimize' technical SEO elements," Stepman says, "we're essentially assuring that the search engine spiders can easily crawl and index each page of a website."

In this way, many--but not most--websites have successfully optimized for technical SEO. Many websites play on a relatively level playing field. In addition to optimizing for the "spiders," most websites optimize for the following essential technical SEO elements:

Keyword Research

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

URLs

Security

Page Speed

Schema Markup

Technical SEO: Some Simple Advice for Website Owners

So what differentiates one website from another? Content, of course.

The problem is that too many website owners, fearing technical SEO, have completely avoided optimization in favor of content creation. Without technical SEO, though, even the best content will fail to fulfill its purpose. As we've noted before:

"Do not fear the code. And do not fear SEO. Far more fearsome is your competition--how the top sites use content to craft exquisite, attractive titles, descriptions, and headers that attract audiences...When you fear the technical aspects of SEO, you distract yourself from the true work of optimization: crafting precise content. All else is techno-babble."

Read: "Do Not Fear the Code"

Our advice for any new website owner is two-fold:

1. If you feel you cannot optimize the technical aspects of your site, partner with an SEO firm.

2. Once you have optimized the technical aspects of your site, create content that inspires conversions. Again, if you feel you cannot create purpose-driven content, partner with a content marketing firm.

To facilitate your technical SEO discussions, of course, you can refer to the many "technical SEO checklists" online, including Brian Dean's exhaustive "Complete SEO Checklist for 2018" and Moz's "SEO Checklist."

Technical SEO and Content Marketing with Stepman's SEO 

If you're looking for an SEO company that understands how to effectively perform technical SEO and content creation, we suggest contacting our sponsor, Stepmans SEO: 215-900-9398. 

Stepman's SEO combines traditional marketing methods and organic SEO--with an emphasis on natural website optimization--to design thoughtful, inspiring, and effective content marketing campaigns.