The Hidden Power of Technical SEO: What Every Website Rebuild Needs to Get Right

We don’t sell SEO services because we believe in focusing on what we do best: websites. If you need regular SEO support, we can recommend a trusted partner. And if you’d like us to manage that relationship for you, we’re happy to do that too. Technical SEO is a different story.

When we build or rebuild a website, technical SEO is part of the job. Why? Because when it’s done well, search engines can properly crawl, index, and display your content. When it’s done poorly, your content might never surface in search results at all. That makes it foundational for any organization that relies on organic traffic.

What Is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO refers to the behind-the-scenes tactics that make your website readable by search engines. This includes the structure of your HTML, how your pages are linked, and how performance is optimized.

It’s different from broader SEO efforts like keyword research, content writing, and backlink building. We don’t do those things. But we do make sure your site is ready for them to work.

We consider technical SEO successful when:

• PageSpeed Insights scores 90+ on SEO
• Deployment checklist tactics are implemented
• The site is accessible for indexing

Why It Matters During a Rebuild

Many of our clients come to us during big changes like a rebrand, merger, or new product rollout. Those changes usually mean a new website. And a new website can accidentally wipe out years of SEO equity if technical foundations aren’t handled properly.

We’ve seen it happen: a site goes live, organic traffic tanks, and everyone scrambles to reverse it. Our job is to prevent that.

That means:

• Structuring content with clear header hierarchies
• Preserving SEO value by redirecting old URLs
• Ensuring pages are crawlable and indexable from day one

Key Practices for Existing Sites

If we’re improving a live site, we start with an audit. Then we prioritize issues by impact and work through them. Here are the core areas we focus on:

Semantic HTML

Using clear, meaningful HTML tags helps search engines and accessibility tools understand your site. This includes things like proper use of <article>, <nav>, and <section>.

Header Hierarchy

Stick to one <h1> per page and use headings consistently. It helps Google and it helps screen readers.

Redirects

When URLs change, 301 redirects make sure users and search engines find the new page. This is especially important when moving platforms or restructuring content.

Robots.txt and Indexation Controls

This file tells search engines what they can and can’t crawl. We ensure indexing is allowed where it should be. We also apply noindex tags to pages that shouldn’t appear in search results and use canonical tags to prevent duplicate indexing.

Performance and Core Web Vitals

Faster sites rank better. We optimize speed by compressing images, minimizing scripts, and limiting third-party calls. We aim for Core Web Vitals scores of 90+ on SEO driven pages, focusing on:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
• First Input Delay (FID)
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Mobile-Friendliness

Mobile responsiveness is essential. We test designs using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and optimize layouts for all screen sizes.

Title Structure

We follow the convention: <Page Name> - <Site Title>, and ensure titles are editable across the site.

Meta Information

Every page should allow editing for title, meta description, and social share fields.

Google Search Console

We register the site using Google Search Console, generate sitemaps, and make sure Google knows how to crawl it. This will be yours to own and view with us.

Bing Webmaster Tools

A more recent practice, we register the site using Bing Search Console for heat mapping and indexing via Bing. This is primarily to make sure ChatGPT can see the site as it is ChatGPT’s preferred search engine.

Broken Link Checking

We scan for internal and external broken links that can harm user experience and reduce credibility with search engines. These are often caught during our initial audit using tools like Screaming Frog or Integrity. We work with clients to fix or redirect broken links depending on their purpose and value.

Crawl Depth and Orphan Pages

We look at how far content is from the homepage and whether any valuable pages are inaccessible through navigation. Pages that aren’t linked anywhere (orphan pages) are harder for search engines to find, so we help surface and integrate them more effectively.

Duplicate Content Cleanup

We look for technical causes of duplicate content like parameterized URLs, pagination issues, or misconfigured redirects. These can dilute SEO performance. Where possible, we consolidate and apply canonical tags.

Accessibility Enhancements

Proper use of alt attributes, ARIA labels, and heading structures improves accessibility and contributes positively to SEO.

What We Do for New Sites

Technical SEO is baked into our process when we build from scratch. We use standard tools to catch errors before launch:

• SEMrush: for comprehensive audits and issue identification/analysis
• Screaming Frog: for site crawl errors, free version covers up to 500 URLs, and premium can crawl unlimited URLs
• Integrity: an affordable crawler for site scanning

Our dev team reviews the errors and addresses what’s relevant. If it’s in the code, we fix it. If it’s in the content, we flag it for the client or their SEO partner. Learn more about our website development capabilities.

Supporting Clients with SEO Goals

Some clients want to go further. While we don’t lead SEO strategy, we do support it by building the right technical foundation.

Schema Markup

We use Schema.org standards to help search engines display rich snippets. It adds structured data to pages that improve how listings appear. Common types include:

• Organization
• Article
• FAQ
• LocalBusiness

Content Management Tools

We typically install and configure:

• WordPress: Yoast SEO (for page titles, meta descriptions, and sitemap management)
• Drupal: Metatag (for page titles, meta tags, open graph, etc.)
• Google Analytics & Tag Manager

We make sure these tools are ready for your team or your SEO partner to use effectively.

Additional Technical Tactics

There are several other tactics we implement depending on client needs and site complexity:

• XML Sitemaps: Automatically generated and submitted to Google Search Console for clear crawl paths.
• Canonical Tags: Help avoid duplicate content penalties by identifying the preferred version of a page.
• Open Graph and Twitter Card Tags: Control how content appears when shared on social platforms.
• Lazy Loading: Improves page speed by deferring the loading of offscreen images and resources.
• Minification and Compression: Reduces file sizes for faster page delivery.
• Multilingual and International Tags: Support for hreflang and regional targeting when needed.
• Secure and Clean URL Structures: Enforcing HTTPS, removing unnecessary query strings, and setting preferred trailing slashes.
• AI-Powered SEO Audits: We also use AI tools to take the first pass at identifying common technical SEO gaps. These tools help flag missing metadata, broken links, and performance issues faster, giving our team a head start before deeper manual reviews.

Ongoing Monitoring

Technical SEO isn’t one-and-done. We recommend periodic health checks using Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and crawl diagnostics to catch regressions over time.

All of these contribute to a healthier site infrastructure, which in turn supports better search visibility and long-term performance.

FAQ

Let’s Make Sure Your Site Is Search-Ready

If your organization is heading into a rebrand or restructuring, technical SEO isn’t optional. It’s essential.

We’re here to make sure the site you launch doesn’t lose hard-earned visibility and gives your content the best chance to be found. Contact us to talk about your next project.