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Unit 2.4

Technical SEO

(Site Speed, Mobile Optimization, Indexing)

Digital Marketing Course

Today's Learning Objectives 🎯

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • ✅ Define technical SEO and explain its foundational role in a successful SEO strategy.
  • ✅ Identify key factors affecting site speed and list methods for optimization.
  • ✅ Explain the concept of mobile-first indexing and its implications for web design.
  • ✅ Describe the purpose and function of sitemaps and robots.txt files for website indexing.

What is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO refers to optimizing your website's technical infrastructure to help search engines crawl and index your site more effectively.

It's the blueprint and foundation of your digital house. Without a strong foundation, the rest of your SEO efforts can crumble.

It’s not about the words on the page, but the code and servers that deliver those words.

The Three Pillars of Technical SEO

⚡ Site Speed

How fast your pages load for users and search engine bots.

📱 Mobile Optimization

How well your site performs and appears on mobile devices.

🔍 Indexing

How easily search engines can find, understand, and store your content.

Pillar 1: ⚡ Site Speed

Site speed is a confirmed ranking factor for Google. More importantly, it's a critical factor for user experience (UX).

Fact: 40% of users will abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

A slow site leads to a high bounce rate, signaling to search engines that your site provides a poor experience.

How to Improve Site Speed

Optimize Images

Compress images to reduce file size without sacrificing quality. Use modern formats like WebP.

Minify Code

Remove unnecessary characters (spaces, comments) from your CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files.

Use a CDN

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) stores copies of your site globally to reduce loading times for users far from your server.

Pillar 2: 📱 Mobile Optimization

Google uses mobile-first indexing. This means it predominantly uses the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking.

Your mobile site is not an afterthought; it is your primary site in the eyes of Google.

A mobile-friendly website must be easy to read and navigate on a small screen. No pinching or zooming required!

Mobile-Friendly Design: Do's and Don'ts

❌ Poor Mobile Experience

  • Tiny, unreadable text
  • Links and buttons too close together
  • Content wider than the screen (horizontal scroll)
  • Slow-loading pop-ups

✅ Good Mobile Experience

  • Readable font size without zooming
  • Large, easily tappable "touch targets"
  • Responsive layout that fits any screen
  • Fast, streamlined navigation

Pillar 3: 🔍 Indexing

Indexing is the process of adding your website to a search engine's database. If your page isn't in the index, it can't appear in search results.

To get indexed, you need to make sure your site is crawlable.

We can use specific files to give search engine crawlers clear instructions.

Guiding the Crawlers: Sitemap & Robots.txt

Sitemap.xml

A sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages on your website.

It's a roadmap you give to search engines to ensure they don't miss any of your valuable content.

Robots.txt

A robots.txt file tells search engines which pages on your website they should and shouldn't crawl.

It's a "Do Not Enter" sign for private areas, like admin pages or user carts, preventing them from being indexed.

Practical Application: A Nepali E-commerce Site 🇳🇵

Scenario: An online store in Pokhara selling trekking gear.

  • ⚡ Site Speed: Internet speeds can be inconsistent. Compressing high-resolution gear photos is vital. Using a CDN with a server in India can drastically improve load times for Nepali customers.
  • 📱 Mobile Optimization: Most tourists and locals will browse on mobile data (NTC/Ncell). The site must have a simple, thumb-friendly checkout process.
  • 🔍 Indexing: A detailed `sitemap.xml` ensures Google can find every product page, from trekking poles to down jackets, improving their visibility in search results.

Key Takeaways 📊

  • Technical SEO is the non-content foundation that determines if your site can be found and ranked effectively.
  • ⚡ A fast website improves both user experience and search rankings. Prioritize image optimization, minification, and CDNs.
  • 📱 Because of mobile-first indexing, your mobile site IS your primary site for SEO. Design for the small screen first.
  • 🔍 Use `sitemap.xml` to show search engines what to crawl and `robots.txt` to tell them what to ignore.

Thank You!

Any questions?

Next Topic: Unit 2.5 - On-Page SEO: Content, Keywords, and Meta Tags

Course Home | Unit 2 Overview