Table of Contents
- The Role of a Technical SEO Specialist
- An Overview of the Benefits of Using Technical SEO Strategies
- Responsibilities of a Technical SEO Specialist
- Important Abilities Needed by a Technical SEO Expert
- The Importance of Hiring a Technical SEO Expert for Your Business
- Conclusion
Introduction
Technical SEO specialist are responsible for developing a site’s visibility and performance in organic search results. They are focused on optimizing the technical components of a website to boost its visibility in search engines. While other general SEO professionals are concerned with off-page optimization (backlinks, etc.) and on-page optimization (content), a technical SEO specialist provides advice on the technical elements of a site that allow search engines to qualify, crawl, and index it.
In this article, we will discuss the responsibilities of a technical SEO specialist, what skills they have, the reasons businesses rely on technical SEO specialists, and ways to utilize these professionals to improve all of your organic search results.
The Role of a Technical SEO Specialist
Technical SEO Specialists are professionals who focus on optimizing the technical aspects of a website to make sure it can be crawled (by search engines), indexed (by search engines), load quickly and comply with the guidelines set forth by Google and other search engines. The role of a Technical SEO Specialist is to analyze how search engines look at your website and solve any problems that might hinder the ranking of your site in the search engines.
In other words, a Technical SEO Specialist’s job is to ensure that there is nothing on the technical side of your site that could prevent Google from finding it.
An Overview of the Benefits of Using Technical SEO Strategies
While high-quality content may not be indexed by search engines or ranked on search engines if it is not accessible to search engines, as such, the role of a Technical SEO Practitioner is to address issues of these types and improve aspects like:
Web Architecture
Performance Speeds
Structured Data Usage
Crawling and Indexing
Website Security
Mobile Usability
Managing success with these issues will not only benefit the performance of the content, marketing efforts, and the overall SEO strategy, but it will also be the driving force behind creating successful websites.
Responsibilities of a Technical SEO Specialist
As an expert in Technical SEO, there are many areas and tasks that may fall under your jurisdiction:
Website Audit
A fantastic way to trouble-shoot any technical issues with a website is through conducting thorough technical audits. Technical audits will reveal crawl errors, broken link problems, indexing issues, duplicate content problems and JavaScript rendering problems.
Site Speed Improvements
There are many things a Technical SEO Expert can do to improve website speed. They would optimize server performance, utilize browser caching, compress images, minify code and improve Core Web Vitals.
Mobile Friendliness
Since mobile-first indexing requires a site to perform flawlessly on mobile devices, Technical SEO Experts will continually be testing and improving the performance of the site on Mobile Device(s).
Indexing and Crawling Management
For Google and other search engines to be able to crawl and index websites efficiently, Technical SEO Specialists utilize Robots.txt files, XML/Webmaster Sitemaps, Canonical Tags, and Internal Linking Strategies.
Website Migration Handling
Technical SEO Specialists help manage website migration for new domains or CMS migration (Moving from one CMS to Another). They will also help to manage URL Restructuring and Redesigning a web site to minimize or eliminate impact to SEO Performance.
Structured Data Setup
Technical SEO Specialists will also utilize Structured Data Schema Markup on their sites to better communicate page content to search engines and improve visibility in Search Results.
SEO Performance Monitoring
Technical SEO Specialists utilize various tools to monitor the overall health and performance of a site (eg. Google Search Console, Log File Analysis, Screaming Frog, etc.) as well as to identify and resolve issues proactively.
Important Abilities Needed by a Technical SEO Expert
A technical SEO expert combines technical skills and analytical skills to perform effectively. Some of these combined skill sets include:
- An in-depth knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- A knowledge of the management of servers and the Domain Name System (DNS).
- Experience developing on websites using CMS (Content Management Systems).
- Experience implementing structured data (schema markup).
- The ability to analyze data effectively.
- An understanding of the user’s experience and how it relates to the site structure.
A Technical SEO expert will work closely with Designers, Developers and the Marketing Team. A Technical SEO expert thinks strategically and is no longer limited to website repair issues, but instead directly impacts the long-term performance of the site.
The Importance of Hiring a Technical SEO Expert for Your Business
Having a technical SEO specialist provides a ton of benefits for businesses, including:
- Improves how many customers find your site through organic search.
- Helps you obtain a higher search engine rank.
- Protects your website from technical errors that could negatively impact performance.
- Provides customers with a first-rate user experience.
- Facilitates quick page load time.
- Provides your website with security.
Without a technical SEO professional on staff, many websites do not take care of or fix problems that may cause your ranking to drop or prevent your business from growing.
FAQs Regarding the Hiring of Technical SEO Specialists
How does a Technical SEO Specialist Help?
A technical SEO specialist will ensure that your website is optimized for search engines to easily crawl, index and rank your content.
Why Are Technical SEO Specialists Necessary?
Technical SEO Specialists remove the Technical Barriers that prevent your site from getting ranked as high as possible while also ensuring that your website meets the quality and performance standards as set by Google.
What is the Difference Between Technical SEO Specialists and General SEO Experts?
The general SEO expert focuses primarily on links and content. The technical SEO specialist focuses on the site’s architecture, crawling, indexing, and performance of the search engine.
Do I Need A Technical SEO Assistant for My Business?
Absolutely! All websites, regardless of size, are capable of experiencing technical difficulties that can cause them to be less visible. Having a Technical SEO Assistant ensures that everything operates properly on your website.
How Can I Tell If I Need A Technical SEO Assistant?
If Your Website Is Experiencing Slow Speeds, Indexing Errors, Crawling Issues and/or A Drop In Rankings Then You Have Identified The Need For A Technical SEO Specialist.
Can A Technical SEO Specialists Help Improve Site Speed?
Yes! Improving Performance is One of The Main Goals And Responsibilities Of A Technical SEO Specialist.
What Tools Might A Typical SEO Technician Use When Providing Services?
Typical Tools Used By Technical SEOs Are Facebook, Ebay, Google Analytics, Google My Business, Moz, SEMrush, Yahoo Search Console, Yoast, Bing, Keyword Planner To Name A Few.
Conclusion
In conclusion, technical SEO is vital to the overall performance and success of any website in terms of its ongoing development. Content and backlinks are important components of all websites, however both of these elements will fail to produce results if the website does not have a good technical foundation.
Technical SEO Specialists work to improve the structure, speed, crawl ability, indexability and overall technical health of a website to ensure that Search Engines can properly access and comprehend the pages of your website for the purposes of producing the best and most relevant rankings and user experiences. If you are a small business or manage a large and complex online business, hiring a qualified and experienced Technical SEO Specialist is one of the best investments you can make in order to grow your Search Engine visibility for the long-term in a stable and sustainable manner.