Search Engines Archives

July 7, 2025Motifo

Technical SEO Basics Every Marketer Should Know

Ever launched a great-looking website, only to find that it barely shows up in search results? Chances are that it’s a technical SEO problem.

Many marketers focus on content and keywords. But the real foundations are crawlability, indexing, and site structure. If search engines can’t crawl or understand your site properly, all your content work might go to waste.

We’ll break down technical SEO for you in plain language. You’ll learn practical steps to help search engines find your site, get your pages indexed, and avoid common mistakes that slow you down. These technical SEO tips are clear and beginner-friendly.

Ready to learn how to get your site the attention it deserves? Let’s get started.

Crawlability: A Core Element of Technical SEO

Let’s start with understanding crawlability. It’s a search engine’s ability to access and scan your site’s pages. If crawl bots like Googlebot can’t find or load your pages, those pages won’t show up in search results.

This foundational SEO concept will help you ensure search engines find and index your content.

What Crawlability Means

Think of your website like a hotel. Crawlability is how easily a guest, like Googlebot, can walk through halls and open doors. If paths are broken or locked, your best rooms stay hidden (do you like it if you can’t find your hotel room easily? We certainly don’t).

Clean internal linking and logical directory paths are important for effective crawlability.

How Googlebot Visits Your Website

Search engines follow links to explore content. If you have broken links, hidden in scripts, or buried too deep in menus, they might get skipped.

Always make sure your main pages are linked prominently and follow a sensible structure.

Avoiding Mistakes in Your Robots.txt File

Your robots.txt file controls what bots can access on your site. It’s a powerful file, but you can easily misconfigure it and accidentally block important content from search engines.

When in doubt, keep your robots.txt simple, and check regularly what you’re restricting.

Why You Need an XML Sitemap

Your XML sitemap is a file that tells search engines which pages on your site you want them to index. It helps bots find your deeper content and improves crawl efficiency, especially if you have a new or large site.

Keep it updated and submit it through Google Search Console.

Crawl Budget: Don’t Let Bots Waste Time

Crawl budget refers to how many pages Google will crawl from your site. Even if you have a small site, you can waste this budget on duplicate content, junk URLs, or unnecessary filters. This reduces how often Google crawls your important pages.

Pro Tip: Run a Screaming Frog crawl to see your site through a bot’s eyes. It reveals what is getting missed.

Crawlability issues can wreck a website, often without you even knowing. Fixing them can improve your rankings even without changing a single word of your content.

Indexing: Getting Found the Right Way

You’ve probably wondered why some of your pages aren’t showing up in search results although the bots have crawled them. Here’s the thing: getting crawled doesn’t guarantee your pages will appear in search.

Indexing is how search engines store and organise your content after crawling it. If your pages aren’t indexed, they won’t appear in search results. It’s one of the most important factors in technical SEO that often gets ignored.

Crawling vs Indexing: Main Differences

Search engines first crawl your pages, then decide if they should index those pages.

Here’s a simple comparison:

	Crawling	Indexing
What it does	Finds pages via links or sitemap	Stores pages in the search engine
Outcome	The page is discovered	Page can appear in search results
Tool to use	Crawl Stats in Search Console	URL Inspection tool in GSC

Check If Your Pages Are Indexed

Use the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console to check your page’s index status.

You can also search directly in Google like this: site:yourdomain.com/page-url

If nothing shows up, your page isn’t indexed and needs attention.

Canonical Tags Prevent Duplicate Confusion

When your content appears at multiple URLs, search engines can get confused about which version to show. Canonical tags help you signal which version is the main one.

Add <link rel=”canonical” href=”preferred-url”> in the <head> tag
Always point to the version you want ranked

When Noindex Makes Sense

Some of your pages don’t need to appear in search results. But you can keep them accessible to visitors while preventing search engines from indexing them. That’s when you use the noindex tag.

You add this tag to pages to prevent them from showing in search results. However, it doesn’t stop search engines from crawling and accessing the content.

Good use cases for noindex include:

Blog tag and archive pages
Thin or outdated content
Internal search results pages

Add this to your page’s like this: <meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”> .

JavaScript Can Hide Important Content

If your site relies heavily on JavaScript, search engines might miss important content. This is common with frameworks like React or Vue.

As a solution:

Use server-side rendering when possible
Use tools like Rendertron or prerender.io for pages that depend on JavaScript

Pro Tip: Use the “View Crawled Page” option in Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool. It shows you exactly what Googlebot sees when it crawls your pages, so you can fix rendering issues before they hurt your rankings.

Once search engines have indexed your pages properly, you can focus on how they’re structured. That’s what we’ll explore in the next section.

Site Structure: Building for Both Bots and Humans

Your site structure is how your pages connect and flow throughout your website. A clean structure helps your visitors find what they need quickly and gives search engines a clear path to follow.

However, if your pages are buried or your links are inconsistent, your visibility drops and your rankings suffer. This is especially true if you have a content-heavy or e-commerce site.

Flat vs Deep Architecture: How Many Clicks is Too Many?

A flat structure keeps your main pages within two to three clicks of your homepage. In contrast, your pages sit too far down deep architecture. They can slow down indexing and leave your important content hidden.

Here’s how to optimise your site structure:

Group your pages under clear categories
Link your popular content higher up the chain
Use sitemaps and internal links to help bots reach your deeper pages when needed

Internal Linking Increases Visibility and Flow

Internal links guide users, signal relevance to search engines, and distribute authority across your site.

Site Structure: Building for Both Bots and Humans

Examples of effective linking patterns:

Blog posts linking to relevant service or product pages
Category pages linking to subcategories and featured content
Body text linking to helpful guides or FAQs

Good internal linking keeps users engaged and improves your crawl coverage.

Helpful Menu Tips for Users

Clarity beats creativity when it comes to your site’s menus. Here are five ways to keep your navigation menu user-friendly:

Use common, recognisable labels (e.g., Home, Services, Contact)
Keep it simple. Avoid more than one dropdown level
Feature your most important pages in the top nav
Make sure it works on all screen sizes
Include a search bar if your site has more than 30 pages

Your site’s menu should feel easy for visitors instead of being a puzzle.

Breadcrumbs Improve Structure and Search Listings

Breadcrumbs show your users their path through your site and support crawl logic. They also help Google understand your page relationships.

Example: Home > Courses > SEO > Technical SEO

They add internal links and can even appear in search results with proper schema markup.

Smart URL Structure Improves Clarity

Your URLs should be easy to read and naturally include relevant terms. Avoid long strings, special characters, and unnecessary IDs in your URLs. Here are examples of good and bad URLs.

Good URL: example.com/seo-services/local-seo
Bad URL: example.com/cat?id=45&ref=xyz123

Clean URLs are easier for users to remember and more useful for bots, too.

Pro Tip: Before you build or redesign your site, sketch out the full structure on paper. Because if you plan ahead, it will save you hours of cleanup later.

Next, we’ll look at why performance and speed have such a big impact on your rankings and crawlability.

Speed & Performance: The Overlooked SEO Lever

Your site speed and performance directly influence how often your site gets crawled, how quickly it’s indexed, and how well it ranks. Search engines want to serve content that loads fast and works smoothly for users.

When your pages load slowly, they frustrate visitors and waste your crawl budget. It can reduce your chances of appearing in search results.

Why Speed Impacts Crawling and Indexing

Search engines assign a limited window to crawl each site. When your pages have long load times, bots spend that time waiting instead of accessing more of your content. This reduces how much of your site gets indexed.

These are the crawling and indexing issues that happen when your site loads slowly:

Bots may abandon slow-loading pages.
Pages deeper in the structure may get skipped.
Frequent delays can lower the overall crawl rate.

A faster site makes it easier for bots to do their job efficiently.

Core Web Vitals: What Search Engines Measure

Google uses Core Web Vitals to assess how your pages perform for real users. These metrics affect both rankings and user satisfaction.

Main performance indicators:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Time to load the main content. Aim for under 2.5 seconds.
Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Measures responsiveness to user input. Should be under 200 milliseconds
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Visual stability during loading. Keep it 0.1 or less.

Improving these scores helps both bots and humans use your site more smoothly.

Optimise Files for Faster Load Times

Large images and bloated code are common culprits behind your slow website. Simple adjustments to your site can create noticeable improvements.

You can utilise these practical optimisation tips:

Turn on lazy loading for images below the fold
Compress images with tools like TinyPNG or use the WebP format
Minify code files to reduce unnecessary characters and size

These changes reduce load times without affecting your site’s layout or design.

Technical SEO Tips: Use CDN and Caching to Improve Delivery

A CDN stores versions of your site on multiple servers around the world. Caching saves parts of your site locally for your return visitors.

Performance benefits:

Shorter load times for users in different regions
Fewer delays during peak traffic
Less strain on your main server

These tools offer a strong return for minimal setup effort.

Pro Tip: Use PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to test page performance before you go live. They show exactly where delays are happening.

Handling Modern Web Tech: JavaScript & Dynamic Content

JavaScript powers a large share of modern websites. Tools like React and Vue make your pages more responsive and dynamic. But they often interfere with how search engines crawl and index your content.

If bots can’t see what your users see, that content won’t rank. This is one of the most important aspects of your technical SEO strategy.

How JavaScript Frameworks Affect Indexing

If your site is built with JavaScript frameworks, it sometimes loads important content only after the page finishes rendering. Search engines might crawl the shell of your page but miss what loads afterwards.

If that late-loading content includes your main text or links, your pages may never make it into Google’s index.

Make JavaScript SEO-Friendly

Three common solutions work well with modern scripts:

Hydration: Your page loads as basic HTML first, then JavaScript kicks in to make it interactive and dynamic.
Server-side Rendering (SSR): The server builds the complete page before sending it to users, so everything’s ready immediately.
Pre-rendering: You generate static HTML versions of your pages ahead of time so search engines can easily read them.

Each approach improves your site’s crawlability and keeps your content visible in search.

Avoid Crawl Traps with Dynamic URLs

Your search filters and parameters can create multiple versions of the same page. These duplicates confuse crawlers and waste your crawl budget.

Use these techniques to prevent that:

Add canonical tags to point to the main version.
Set URL parameter rules in Google Search Console.
Avoid linking to filtered URLs directly in your main navigation menu.

Pro Tip: Use site:yourdomain.com in a Google search with parts of your content. If you’re missing results, it could mean Google is struggling to index those pages.

Strengthen Your SEO With a Solid Technical Foundation

Technical issues are usually the reason behind disappointing SEO results. We’ve covered how crawlability, indexing, structure, speed, and JavaScript all influence how search engines interact with your site. Handling these elements well supports every other part of your SEO strategy.

The technical SEO tips in this guide are designed to give you clarity and control over your site’s performance. Clean architecture, fast load times, and search-friendly rendering help your content get seen more often and by the right people.

If you’re ready to find what’s holding your site back, we’re here to help. At Motifo, we take a practical, honest approach to SEO. No gimmicks, no false promises. Just smart fixes and measurable results.

Get in touch for a strategy session and start building a stronger SEO foundation today.

August 11, 2023Motifo

Proven Strategies to Boost Your Website’s Search Rankings

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can make or break a website’s success. It doesn’t matter whether you’re just starting with your dream business venture or if you’ve been running an established website for years now; either way, SEO should be a priority for any website owner looking to increase their visibility online and acquire more customers. That said, many people don’t know how to go about properly optimizing their site and improving its search engine rankings – a clear roadblock to the success of your digital presence and all the possibilities that come along with it. Don’t worry though, as this blog post aims to help! Here are some proven strategies you can use today to boost your website’s search engine rankings!

Utilise SEO-friendly URL structures for your website pages

When it comes to building a website, there are many important factors to consider. One of these is the structure of your URLs. Making them SEO-friendly can greatly enhance your website’s visibility on search engines and help attract more traffic. By implementing meaningful keywords into your URL structure, you can optimize the page’s relevance and improve its chances of ranking higher in search results. Not only does this benefit your website’s visibility, but it also makes navigating your site easier for users. In today’s digital world, having a website with strong SEO practices is essential for success.

Research and use targeted keywords throughout the content on your website

In today’s digital age, having a website is crucial to establishing a strong online presence for your brand or business. But simply having a website isn’t enough – you need to make sure that potential customers can find it easily. That’s where targeted keywords come in. By researching the specific keywords that your audience is searching for, you can strategically place them throughout your website’s content to improve your ranking in search results. But it’s important to use them naturally and not overstuff your content, as this can hurt your ranking. So, take the time to do your research and incorporate those keywords in a way that feels organic and helps to boost your online visibility.

Optimize page titles and meta descriptions for better visibility in search results

In a world where the internet reigns supreme, having a strong online presence is essential for any business or individual hoping to succeed. One crucial aspect of a strong online presence is ensuring that your website appears at the top of search engine results when people search for keywords related to your content. One way to achieve this is by optimizing your page titles and meta descriptions – the summaries that appear under your page title in search results. By crafting clear, concise, and compelling titles and descriptions that accurately convey the content of your page, you can improve your website’s visibility and attract more traffic. It may seem like a small detail, but polishing your page titles and meta descriptions can make a big difference in the digital marketplace.

Increase site speed with image optimization and caching techniques

In our world, site speed has become one of the most crucial factors for online success. Slow-loading pages can cause users to quickly lose interest and turn to competitors for a faster experience. Fortunately, there are two effective ways to improve site speed: image optimization and caching techniques. By optimizing images, you can reduce their file size without compromising quality, allowing pages to load faster. Caching, on the other hand, saves a static version of your website, enabling it to load quickly without accessing the server every time. By implementing these simple yet powerful methods, your site can offer a faster, more enjoyable experience for visitors, setting you up for online success.

Utilise internal links to keep users engaged and direct traffic to other pages within your website

Internal links can be a powerful tool in keeping users engaged on your website. By directing them to other pages within your site, you can encourage them to explore more of what you have to offer. This not only increases the amount of time they spend on your site, but it also improves the chances that they’ll find what they’re looking for. Plus, internal linking can help with website navigation and improve the user experience. By creating a connected network of pages within your site, you can build a sense of coherence and structure that makes it easy for users to find their way around. Whether you’re directing traffic to your blog, product pages, or other important areas of your site, internal links can be a great way to keep users engaged and informed.

Create quality content that is relevant to your target audience

In today’s fast-paced digital age, creating quality content that resonates with your target audience has become more important than ever before. To build a successful brand, it’s vital to tailor your messaging so that it speaks directly to the needs and interests of the people you’re trying to reach. Whether you’re crafting a blog post, designing a social media campaign, or producing a video, your aim should be to provide value and establish a meaningful connection with your audience. By taking the time to understand their preferences and pain points, you can create content that not only informs but also entertains and inspires. Remember, quality content is not only about the message itself, it’s also about how effectively you communicate it to your audience. By striving to produce content that is engaging, informative, and relevant, you can build a loyal following and establish yourself as a trusted authority in your industry.

In short, creating an SEO-friendly website is essential for driving organic traffic to your business. The tips outlined above can help you do so in the most effective way, allowing your target audience to easily find and engage with you. Remember that SEO isn’t an overnight fix—it takes consistent effort over some time to see your website reach its full potential. However, if done right, the long-term rewards are invaluable! With that in mind, start optimizing and you’ll soon see greater visibility across search engines. Good luck!

July 21, 2023Motifo

The Ultimate Guide to Mastering SEO: Tips and Tricks

Are you looking for the inside scoop on mastering SEO? You have come to the right place! This comprehensive guide provides essential tips and tricks to help you effectively optimize your website, catch up with industry standards, and stay ahead of competition. By taking advantage of best practices in keyword research, copywriting, and site structure — among other techniques — you can get your webpages ranked higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and gain more organic traffic. Keep reading to learn all about achieving success through SEO proficiency!

Understand the basics of SEO and how it works

In the digital world, understanding the basics of SEO can make all the difference when it comes to driving traffic to your website or online content. SEO, or search engine optimization, involves optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages, making it easier for people to find you online. By using keywords, backlinks, and other optimization techniques, you can increase your visibility and attract more visitors to your website. But don’t be intimidated if you’re new to SEO – with some fundamental knowledge and a bit of effort, you can master the basics and start reaping the benefits.

Learn to use keywords to optimize your content

In today’s world, where almost everything is digital, having an online presence is essential. Whether you’re a blogger or a business owner, optimizing your website using keywords can help you stand out and attract more traffic. Keywords are the words and phrases that people use to search for something on the internet, and by incorporating them into your content, you increase your chances of being found. With the right keywords, your content can appear at the top of search engines, which means more visibility and more clicks. Learning to use keywords effectively is a valuable skill to have, one that can help you gain an advantage over others in your field. So, don’t wait any longer, start learning how to use keywords and start optimizing your content today!

Research keywords related to your industry and find out which ones are most effective

In today’s digital age, it’s important for every industry to have a strong online presence, and keywords play a vital role in that. As you research the different keywords related to your industry, you’ll discover that some are more effective than others in driving traffic to your website. By analyzing the data, you can narrow down which words and phrases your target audience is using to search for products or services within your industry. Armed with this information, you can create content that is not only relevant and engaging but also optimized for search engines, ultimately increasing your online visibility and attracting more potential customers. So, don’t underestimate the power of effective keywords and start exploring which ones can take your online presence to the next level.

Write quality content that is optimized for search engines

In today’s digital age, creating quality content that is optimized for search engines is essential for businesses and organizations to stand out in the online world. It’s not enough to simply write great content anymore – you also need to make sure that it can be easily found by search engines like Google. By conducting keyword research and incorporating those phrases into your content, you can increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and driving more traffic to your website. But it’s important to balance optimization with readability and engagement – after all, people are the ones reading your content. So whether you’re writing blog posts, website copy, or social media updates, focus on creating valuable and informative content that both readers and search engines will love.

Use images, videos, and other multimedia content to increase engagement

In today’s digital age, having multimedia content such as images and videos can greatly enhance engagement with your audience. Not only are they visually appealing, but they also provide a different way of conveying information compared to solely written content. Adding a relevant image or video can also catch the attention of those scrolling through social media or browsing your website, encouraging them to stop and read more. This type of content can help to make your message more memorable and shareable, increasing your reach even further. So, if you’re looking for ways to revamp your content strategy and boost engagement, consider incorporating multimedia elements into your next post or webpage.

Monitor your website analytics to understand what works and what doesn’t

In today’s digital age, having a website is crucial for businesses to thrive. However, it’s not just enough to have one; you need to monitor its analytics regularly. Not doing so can leave you in the dark about how your website is doing and what’s working or not. By tracking your website analytics, you can gather valuable insights that can help you make informed decisions to improve your website. You can figure out which pages are popular with your audience and which ones need improvement. You can also track your website’s traffic, bounce rate, and conversion rates, among other metrics, to see how your website is performing overall. In essence, monitoring your website analytics gives you the necessary data to make strategic changes to your website, ensuring that it works optimally, and brings you the results you desire.

SEO is a powerful tool that every business should be leveraging to increase their website’s visibility and rankings on the search engine. Learning the basics of SEO is an important aspect of creating a successful online presence. Understanding how it works, researching keywords related to your industry, creating quality content optimized for search engines, using images and videos, and continuously measuring website analytics will help you properly optimize your website for SEO. Businesses need to stay on top of their SEO game by always including up-to-date information and regularly monitoring analytics so that they can grow and succeed. By doing so, businesses will be able to achieve greater visibility on the web which in turn leads to higher rankings in searches.