If the words “crawlability,” “schema markup,” and “canonical tags” make your eyes glaze over, you’re not alone. For many marketers, Technical SEO sounds like something best left to developers or IT teams.
But here’s the truth: you don’t need to be a developer to understand the basics of Technical SEO—or to know how it impacts your marketing success.
In this simple guide, we’ll break down what Technical SEO is, why it matters, and how non-technical marketers can identify and address common issues that could be holding their site back.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO refers to the process of optimizing your website’s infrastructure so that search engines can crawl, index, and understand your content effectively.
Unlike on-page SEO (which focuses on content) or off-page SEO (which involves backlinks), Technical SEO is all about performance, structure, and functionality.
Think of it as the foundation of your SEO strategy. Without it, all the keyword research and content optimization in the world won’t help your site rank well.
Why Technical SEO Matters
If your website isn’t technically sound, search engines might not be able to:
- Discover your content
- Understand what your pages are about
- Rank your site properly
- Display your site in search results (SERPs) the way you intend
In short, poor Technical SEO can silently sabotage your marketing efforts—especially if you’re running paid campaigns, pushing new content, or trying to grow organic traffic.
Key Components of Technical SEO (In Plain English)
Here are the most important elements of Technical SEO that every marketer should understand:
1. Site Speed and Performance
Google loves fast websites. If your site loads slowly, users bounce—and rankings drop.
✅ Use Google PageSpeed Insights to test your site
✅ Compress images, use caching, and minimize scripts
Why it matters: A 1-second delay in page load time can reduce conversions by up to 20%.
2. Mobile-Friendliness
With mobile-first indexing, Google uses the mobile version of your site to determine rankings.
✅ Proof your website against Digital.gov’s principles of mobile-friendliness
✅ Make sure fonts, buttons, and navigation work well on small screens
3. Secure URLs (HTTPS)
Google favors secure websites. If your site isn’t using HTTPS, it could hurt your rankings.
✅ Check that your entire site (not just checkout pages) uses HTTPS
✅ Get an SSL certificate if you haven’t already
4. Crawlability and Indexability
Search engines use bots to “crawl” your site. If those bots run into barriers, they won’t index your pages properly.
✅ Create and submit an XML sitemap to Google Search Console
✅ Ensure your robots.txt file isn’t blocking important pages
✅ Use canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues
5. Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Structured data helps Google understand your content contextually. It can also enhance your listings with rich snippets like reviews, FAQs, or event details.
✅ Use tools like Google’s Rich Results Test
✅ Implement schema for products, articles, reviews, etc.
6. Technical Errors and Broken Links
Broken pages (404s), redirect chains, and server errors confuse search engines and frustrate users.
✅ Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to crawl your site
✅ Fix broken links, eliminate redirect loops, and resolve 5xx errors
How to Know If You Have Technical SEO Issues
You don’t need to audit everything yourself. Here’s how to quickly spot problems:
✅ Check Google Search Console: Look for crawl errors, page indexing issues, or Core Web Vitals warnings
✅ Run a free SEO audit: Tools like Semrush or Ubersuggest can give you a high-level technical overview
✅ Use Twofold: We offer full technical SEO audits as part of our website optimization services
Can You Do Technical SEO Without a Developer?
Yes—and no.
Many basic Technical SEO tasks can be handled by non-developers, especially if your site is on WordPress, Shopify, or another CMS. However, deeper issues (like rendering problems, Core Web Vitals, or schema deployment) often require a technical partner.
That’s where we come in. Twofold helps growth-focused companies build technically sound websites that drive real traffic and conversions.
Whether you’re launching a new site, redesigning your current one, or just want to clean up what’s under the hood, we can help.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to be a developer to understand Technical SEO—you just need to know why it matters and how to spot red flags.
If your site is slow, broken, or difficult for search engines to understand, you’re losing traffic before you ever had a chance to earn it. A technically sound site is the foundation of every great SEO and paid campaign.
Need help?
Partner with Twofold to Fix What’s Holding Your Website Back