How to Find Technical SEO Issues: A Practical Guide for Small Businesses
Technical SEO issues can hinder your website’s ability to rank well on search engines. For small business owners, understanding and resolving these issues is essential for improving visibility and attracting customers online. This guide explains what technical SEO issues are, how to find them, and practical steps to fix them using free tools like SEO Scan Lab.
What Are Technical SEO Issues?
Technical SEO refers to website and server optimizations that help search engines crawl and index your site effectively. Technical SEO issues are problems that prevent search engines from accessing, understanding, or ranking your pages properly. Common examples include slow page speed, broken links, duplicate content, missing metadata, and crawl errors.
Why Do Technical SEO Issues Matter?
If your website has technical problems, search engines may struggle to index your pages or display them in search results. This can reduce your organic traffic and limit your business’s online reach. Fixing these issues ensures your content is accessible, improves user experience, and supports better rankings.
Step 1: Use a Free Technical SEO Tool
To get started, use a free tool like the SEO Scan Lab SEO Score Checker. This tool will scan your website and highlight common technical SEO issues such as missing titles, broken links, slow loading times, or indexing problems.
How to use the SEO Score Checker:
- Enter your website URL into the tool.
- Run the scan and wait for results.
- Review the report to identify flagged issues.
The tool provides an overview score and details about specific issues, giving you a clear starting point for optimisation.
Step 2: Understand Common Technical SEO Issues
Here are some frequent technical SEO problems and what they mean:
1. Broken Links (404 Errors)
Links leading to pages that no longer exist can frustrate users and waste crawl budget.
2. Slow Page Speed
Slow-loading pages lead to poor user experience and can lower rankings.
3. Missing or Duplicate Metadata
Missing title tags or duplicate meta descriptions confuse search engines about page content.
4. Crawl Errors
Issues like blocked pages in robots.txt or server errors prevent search engines from accessing your content.
5. Mobile Usability Issues
Pages not optimised for mobile devices can lose rankings in mobile search results.
Step 3: Troubleshooting Example
Let’s walk through a hypothetical example to illustrate how to identify and fix a technical SEO issue.
Example Scenario
Page: www.examplebusiness.co.uk/services
Issue: The SEO Scan Lab report shows a 404 error for the services page when crawled.
How to Verify and Fix
- Verify the Issue: Try accessing the page in a browser. If you see a ‘Page Not Found’ error, the issue is confirmed.
- Check Internal Links: Review your website navigation and other pages linking to the services page to ensure the URL is correct.
- Server Configuration: Use tools like Google Search Console’s URL Inspection to check if the page is indexed or blocked.
- Fix the URL: If the page was moved or renamed, create a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one.
- Test Again: After applying the fix, run the SEO Scan Lab tool again to confirm the 404 error no longer appears.
This example shows the importance of verifying technical issues and implementing fixes carefully to maintain site health.
Step 4: Additional Tips to Find Technical SEO Issues
- Use Google Search Console: This free tool shows crawl errors, indexing status, and mobile usability problems.
- Check Site Speed: Use Google PageSpeed Insights to identify slow loading elements.
- Review Robots.txt and Sitemap: Ensure these files are correctly configured and accessible.
- Look for Duplicate Content: Use tools or manual checks to find pages with identical or very similar content.
Step 5: Regular Monitoring and Maintenance
Technical SEO is not a one-time task. Regularly scan your website to catch new issues early. Make it part of your website maintenance routine to run scans monthly or after major updates.
Continuously improving your site’s technical health helps maintain good search engine visibility and provides a better experience for your visitors.
Useful FAQ on Technical SEO Issues
What are the easiest technical SEO issues to fix?
Some of the easiest issues to fix include updating broken links, adding missing title tags, and creating redirects for moved pages. These can often be done quickly with minimal technical knowledge.
How often should I check for technical SEO issues?
It is advisable to check at least once a month or whenever you make significant changes to your website to ensure no new issues have appeared.
Can fixing technical SEO issues improve my site ranking immediately?
Fixing technical issues improves crawlability and user experience, which are positive signals for search engines. However, rankings may take some time to reflect these changes as search engines re-crawl and re-index your site.
Do I need a developer to fix technical SEO issues?
While some fixes require technical knowledge, many issues can be resolved using website builders or plugins. For complex problems, consulting a developer is recommended.
How can SEO Scan Lab help me?
The SEO Scan Lab tool provides a straightforward way to scan your website for technical SEO issues and offers actionable insights. You can try a full SEO Scan Lab scan here to start improving your website’s health today.
