{"id":1138,"date":"2022-09-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-08-18T08:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T06:58:16","slug":"ticking-the-technical-seo-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/ticking-the-technical-seo-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Ticking The Technical SEO Box"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<p>The Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) of your website is important, in this article we discuss the technical SEO aspect of a site. The good news: Most of your SEO can be done by yourself so it is cost-effective. The bad news: It\u2019s not a once-off thing. But the best news is, that if you keep at it, your organic ranking will improve and customers who are looking for something that you sell will find you more easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have the budget for an SEO specialist \u2013 go for it \u2013 because SEO can get very technical. The following tips are ideal for beginners, our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/websitebuilder\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za - Site Builder Add-on\" title=\"Domains.co.za - Site Builder Add-on\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Site Builder<\/a> customers, or website owners that want to ensure they are covering the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h4>TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/h4><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#the-three-types-of-seo\">The Three Types of SEO<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#on-page-seo\">On Page SEO<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#off-page-seo\">Off-page SEO<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#technical-seo\">Technical SEO<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#what-is-technical-seo\">What is Technical SEO?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#improve-your-technical-seo\">Improve your Technical SEO<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#1-invest-in-a-secure-connection\">1. Invest in a secure connection<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#2-make-sure-your-site-is-responsive\">2. Make sure your site is responsive<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#3-improve-page-loading-speeds\">3. Improve page loading speeds<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#4-run-weekly-audits-for-on-page-seo-issues\">4. Run weekly audits for on-page SEO issues<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#how-to-choose-the-right-web-hosting-plan\">How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan for Your Website<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-three-types-of-seo\"><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">The Three Types of SEO<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"on-page-seo\">On Page SEO <\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>On-page SEO<\/strong> refers to things you can do on your website itself to ensure that Google and other Search Engines understand where and how to classify you. This is meta descriptions, title tags etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For on-page SEO tips, please read our article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/top-on-page-seo-factors-for-a-website\/\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za Blog - Top On-page SEO Factors to Include when Building your Website\" title=\"Domains.co.za - Top On-page SEO Factors to Include when Building your Website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Top On-page SEO Factors to Include when Building your Website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"off-page-seo\">Off-page SEO <\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Off-page SEO <\/strong>\u2013 which is essentially all the hard work you do to refer your website on other platforms and pages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, refer to our blog: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/tips-for-off-site-seo\/\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za Blog - Tips to Get Started with Off-Site SEO for your Small Business Website\" title=\"Domains.co.za - Tips to Get Started with Off-Site SEO for your Small Business Website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tips to Get Started with Off-Site SEO for your Small Business Website<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"technical-seo\">Technical SEO<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Technical SEO<\/strong> is all the behind the scenes technical aspects about improving your website to make it easier for search engines to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/web-hosting-south-africa\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za - Web Hosting\" title=\"Domains.co.za Blog - Ticking The Technical SEO Box\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/images\/kb\/header-web-hosting.png\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za - Web Hosting South Africa Blog - Ticking The Technical SEO Box\" title=\"Link to Domains.co.za Web Hosting South Africa\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-technical-seo\">What is Technical SEO?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Technical SEO covers the foundational aspects of your website like web hosting, security, and backend coding etc. It makes a website easier for search engines to find your site, analyse the data and present it in their search results. It is optimisation for better user experiences as well. Customers return to websites that they expect relevant, safe, and quality results from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"improve-your-technical-seo\">Improve your Technical SEO<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"1-invest-in-a-secure-connection\">1. Invest in a secure connection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Install a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/ssl\/domain-validated-ssl-certificates\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za - Domain Validated SSL Certificates\" title=\"Domains.co.za - Domain Validated SSL Certificates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Secure Socket Layer (SSL)<\/a> on your website. An SSL will encrypt communication between your website and the visiting browser. When you have an SSL installed your URL will display as \u2018https\u2019 with a green padlock icon. Some SSLs also offer a Site Badge, or Seal to display on your website and give visitors that extra peace of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also ensure your plugins are updated to prevent vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-make-sure-your-site-is-responsive\">2. Make sure your site is responsive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>A Responsive Design, is website design that adjusts its display to fit all mobile devices, whether its a smartphone, tablet, or laptop screen. Did you know Google has a Mobile-First approach to indexing results? This means if your website isn\u2019t responsive, irrespective of how well it scores on all other SEO tactics, your website will forfeit on ranking results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-improve-page-loading-speeds\">3. Improve page loading speeds<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Is your page loading fast enough? If it takes <strong>longer than 2 seconds<\/strong> to load it is <strong>too slow<\/strong>. Check your speed with <a href=\"https:\/\/pagespeed.web.dev\/\" alt=\"Link to Google - Page Speed Tool\" title=\"Google - Page Speed Tool\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google\u2019s Page Speed tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can improve your loading speed by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ensuring that all your image files are reduced for web,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>enabling Browser Caching,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>choosing a hosting provider with fast DNS (domain name server),<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>scaling up your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/web-hosting-south-africa\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za - Web Hosting\" title=\"Domains.co.za - Web Hosting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Web Hosting <\/a>needs or choosing a reliable web hosting provider.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/importantance-of-geographic-redundancy\/\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za Blog - How Important is Geographic Redundancy to your Domain Name Server\" title=\"Domains.co.za - How Important is Geographic Redundancy to your Domain Name Server\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Domains.co.za is DNS Geo-Redundant<\/a>? This means we have multiple domain name servers (DNSs) in various other geographic locations, which ensures that in the unlikely event that a server fails, the system will Failover (automatically switch over) to the next DNS location. This limits downtime and business interruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4-run-weekly-audits-for-on-page-seo-issues\">4. Run weekly audits for on-page SEO issues<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Things go wrong online all the time; luckily, they can be fixed! Use tools like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/\" alt=\"Link to Semrush - Semrush SEO Tools\" title=\"Semrush - Semrush SEO Tools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Semrush<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/sitechecker.pro\/\" alt=\"Link to Site Checker - Site Checker Website\" title=\"Site Checker - Site Checker Website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sitechecker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/\" alt=\"Link to Mozilla.org - Mozilla SEO Suite\" title=\"Mozilla.org - Mozilla SEO Suite\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Moz<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\/about\" alt=\"Link to Google - Google Search Console\" title=\"Google - Google Search Console\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Search Console<\/a> to do a weekly audit of your on-page SEO and repair any broken links and other issues that may be discovered on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Good luck!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-choose-the-right-web-hosting-plan\">How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan for Your Website<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>VIDEO:<\/strong>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3IzK1yuOFRc\" alt=\"Link to Domains.co.za - How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan for Your Website\" title=\"Domains.co.za - How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan for Your Website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan for Your Website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3IzK1yuOFRc\" alt=\"Domains.co.za YouTube - How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan for Your Website\" title=\"Domains.co.za YouTube - How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan for Your Website\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) of your website is important, in this article we discuss the technical SEO aspect of a site. The good news: Most of your SEO can be done by yourself so it is cost-effective. The bad news: It\u2019s not a once-off thing. But the best news is, that if you keep at it, your organic ranking will improve and customers who are looking for something that you sell will find you more easily. If you have the budget for an SEO specialist \u2013 go for it \u2013 because SEO can get very technical. The following tips are ideal for beginners, our Site Builder customers, or website owners that want to ensure they are covering the basics. The Three Types of SEOOn Page SEOOff-page SEOTechnical SEOWhat is Technical  <a alt='Ticking The Technical SEO Box' title='Ticking The Technical SEO Box' href='https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/ticking-the-technical-seo-box\/' class='moreElipsis'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1009,1011,1008],"tags":[1592,1590,1591],"class_list":["post-1138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-domain-tips","category-general","category-how-to-guides","tag-off-page-seo-utilises-other-advertising-platforms","tag-on-page-seo-for-search-engines","tag-technical-seo-on-your-website-backend"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1138"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3458,"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138\/revisions\/3458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domains.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}