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What is technical SEO?
Find the barriers before choosing the fixes.

Technical SEO investigates whether the website’s pages, resources and signals support discovery, processing and a usable visit. I use the findings to prioritise real issues rather than chase every tool warning.

See a Practical ExampleExplore the guide

Himanshu Swaraj
Practical guidance and implementation

18 years in search marketing
Investigation, prioritisation and review

Meet Himanshu

STARTING POINT

Start with the important pages and their purpose.

Understand the purpose

A service page, a product category and an account page do not need the same search treatment. I establish which pages should be found, then check the access, structure and technical conditions around them.

Choose the useful investigation

That keeps the review connected to the business. The useful question is which issue prevents the intended page from working properly, how widely it occurs and what needs to change.

KEY AREAS

Separate the questions before choosing the work.

Access and responses

Review failed requests, redirect destinations and server behaviour for important pages and resources. Confirm whether a reported error still exists before acting. The Google Penalty Checker can support an initial page review; its findings do not confirm a manual action.

Crawling and indexing

Investigate URLs that should appear in search. Separate access rules, index directives and page purpose instead of treating every exclusion as a problem. If you need to draft crawler access rules, use the robots.txt generator and review the output before publishing it.

Canonical and duplicate URLs

Review alternate URL versions, preferred representatives and consistency across internal links and sitemap entries. Similar pages may need consolidation or clearer distinct purposes. For a small site, the XML sitemap generator can help prepare a list of intended canonical URLs; it does not resolve conflicting signals for you.

Rendering

Compare the content delivered initially with the information available after scripts run. Check whether important content or links depend on interactions. Use the search engine spider simulator as a supporting check of the initial HTML; confirm rendering separately in Search Console.

Architecture and links

Make important pages reachable through useful navigation and contextual links. Broken destinations and disconnected pages can interrupt visitors and discovery.

Performance and usability

Investigate page loading and interaction on real devices and appropriate testing tools. Separate an initial server-response check from full browser or field-performance evidence.

Redirects and site changes

Review the intended destination, unnecessary hops and missing replacements when URLs change. Keep a record of what was moved and what should remain available.

Structured data

Check supported markup against the visible page and current search-engine requirements. Correct markup does not replace accurate content or guarantee a special result.

WORKED EXAMPLE

An old internal link can hide the real problem.

Suppose a category page moved to a new URL, but the menu still links to an old address that returns an error. The new page may be fine; the path to it is broken.

I would verify both URLs, update links we control and decide whether an appropriate redirect is needed. Then I would recheck the route and related templates, rather than assume the new page needs a content rewrite.

QUESTION → EVIDENCE → ACTION

Confirm the goalDecide what the page should help a visitor do.

Inspect the issueVerify the current page, response and relevant context.

Validate the changeRecheck the original issue after implementation.

01 / GOAL

Reach the category

A visitor follows the menu to a useful page.

02 / FINDING

Old destination fails

Confirm the actual response and intended replacement.

03 / ACTION

Repair the route

Update controlled links and plan any suitable redirect.

04 / VALIDATE

Check the complete path

Retest the page, menu and affected templates.

PRACTICAL CHECKS

Keep the task and the follow-up clear.

01

Define the review scope

Identify important pages, templates and intended search destinations.

02

Gather evidence

Use crawl findings, live responses, rendered content and available search reports.

03

Prioritise by impact

Consider affected pages, business importance, confidence and implementation effort. See how I prioritise an SEO audit for a practical way to compare the next tasks.

04

Implement the agreed change

Record ownership, dependencies and what was actually changed.

05

Validate and monitor

Retest the original issue and related paths, then review later search evidence where relevant.

IMPORTANT DISTINCTIONS

Technical work supports the page. It does not replace its purpose.

Check what the finding establishes

A technically accessible page may still answer the wrong question. On-page work improves what it communicates; technical review checks the conditions needed to reach and process it.

Use the right supporting evidence

Internal linking connects both. I review the technical finding alongside the user journey so the fix supports a useful page and a clear next action.

COMMON MISTAKES

Avoid creating a new problem while fixing the first.

Fixing a warning without confirming the cause

Check the live evidence and affected page types before applying a broad change.

Changing shared templates without testing

A small edit can affect many URLs. Check representative pages and preserve a way to review the change.

Treating a passing score as a complete audit

A score summarises selected checks. It does not establish that content, indexing and the customer journey all work.

TOOLS AND SUPPORT

Use focused checks. Interpret the results.

Broken linksInvestigate destinations linked from a public page; confirm important failures.Open the resource →Response speedCheck the initial HTML response and transfer time, not full browser rendering.Open the resource →SEO audit supportGet help verifying findings and prioritising implementation.Open the resource →

KEEP LEARNING

Continue with the question that matters next.

Crawling and indexationRead the guide →Internal linkingRead the guide →Structured dataRead the guide →On-page SEORead the guide →How SEO worksRead the guide →
Browse the Learn hub

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Himanshu Swaraj

Himanshu Swaraj, SEOFreelance consultant

My 18 years in search marketing shape how I approach a website problem: confirm the need, inspect the evidence and make the next task clear.

I can help investigate the issue and implement agreed improvements. The scope identifies responsibilities, access needs and review points.

Meet Himanshu

QUESTIONS

The practical answers.

Is technical SEO the same as on-page SEO?

They overlap, but answer different questions. Technical review investigates access, processing and site conditions; on-page work improves the information and relevance of an individual page.

Does every tool warning need fixing?

No. Confirm the issue, intended page behaviour and impact. A warning can be outdated, low priority or expected for that type of URL.

Can technical fixes guarantee rankings?

No. Removing a barrier does not guarantee inclusion or a position. Relevance, competition and other conditions still matter.

Does a speed checker complete the performance review?

No. An initial response or transfer-time check is narrower than a browser test or real-user performance evidence. Choose the test that answers the question.

What should a technical audit deliver?

A useful audit explains verified findings, affected pages or templates, priorities and recommended actions. Implementation and follow-up should have clear responsibilities.

Where should I start with an indexing problem?

Start with the exact URL and whether it should be indexed. Review its response, access, directives, content and canonical context before choosing a change.

FURTHER READING

Check the primary guidance.

GET PRACTICAL HELP

Need help finding what is holding the site back?

Share your website and the issue. I’ll review the scope before recommending the work.

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