If you run a local business like a chiropractic practice, coffee shop, or fitness studio, you’ve probably heard plenty about SEO. You might already be posting on social media, writing blog articles, or asking customers to leave Google reviews. Those are all significant steps, but there’s another part of SEO that doesn’t get as much attention: technical SEO.
Technical SEO isn’t about what your website says. It’s about how your website works behind the scenes. Think of it like the plumbing or electrical wiring in a building. You may not always see it, but if something goes wrong, it can have a ripple effect on everything else.
If your website takes too long to load, has broken links, or doesn’t look right on a phone, both Google and your potential customers will notice, which can mean missing out on people searching for help nearby because Google prefers to show sites that are fast, secure, and easy to use.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what technical SEO is, why it matters for local businesses, and how improving a few key details can help your website show up higher in search results and bring more local visitors through your doors.
What Is Technical SEO
Technical SEO is all about ensuring your website is easily discoverable, understandable, and accurately displayed in search engine results. While content and keywords help people discover your business, technical SEO helps search engines do the same thing.
When Google visits your website, it sends out automated programs called “crawlers” or “bots.” Their job is to explore your site, follow links, and gather information about your pages. If your site is slow, has confusing links, or isn’t mobile-friendly, those crawlers may struggle to understand it. That makes it harder for your business to appear in local search results, even if you have great content and glowing reviews.
You can think of technical SEO as the framework that supports all the other online activities you undertake. It covers things like:
- How fast your website loads
- Whether it’s secure with HTTPS
- How your pages are organized and linked together
- Whether it looks and functions properly on mobile devices
- How easily Google can “crawl” and index your content
For a local business website, getting these technical elements right can make all the difference. A well-built website helps search engines, like Google, understand what your business offers, where it’s located, and why it’s relevant to people searching nearby.
In short, technical SEO ensures that the strong content, reviews, and reputation you’ve worked hard to build can actually be seen and trusted online. When these technical details are in place, your website runs smoothly for both search engines and customers. Next, let’s look at the key technical factors every local business website should focus on.
Key Technical SEO Factors for Local Business Websites
Once you understand what technical SEO is, the next step is knowing what to focus on. The good news is that improving your site’s technical health doesn’t always require a significant overhaul. By paying attention to a few key areas, you can make your website easier for both search engines and customers to use.
Here are the most important technical SEO factors every local business should keep an eye on:
1. Mobile-Friendly Design
Most local searches happen on smartphones. Your website should automatically adjust to fit smaller screens, with easy-to-read text and buttons that are simple to tap. A mobile-friendly site not only improves user experience but also helps you rank higher in Google’s mobile search results.
2. Fast Page Speed
People don’t wait for slow websites. If your pages take more than a few seconds to load, visitors may leave before they have a chance to see what you offer. Compressing images, utilizing browser caching, and selecting a reliable web hosting service can significantly improve speed.
3. HTTPS Security
A secure website builds trust. HTTPS encryption protects your visitors’ data and shows Google that your site is safe to display in search results. If your web address still starts with “http” instead of “https,” it’s time to install an SSL certificate.
4. Clear Site Structure
Think of your website like a map. A well designed website as a thoughtful structure supports usability and SEO. Each page should have a clear path to the next one, so both visitors and search engines can easily find what they need. For example, your main navigation might include sections like Home, Services, About, Contact, and Blog. Within those, you can organize subpages for specific services or locations.
5. Crawlability and Indexing
Search engines need permission to explore your website. Tools like your XML sitemap and robots.txt file help guide them. A clean sitemap ensures that Google is aware of all your important pages, while a properly configured robots.txt file prevents unimportant ones from being indexed.
6. Local Business Schema Markup
Schema markup is a type of structured data that helps Google display practical business details—like your address, phone number, hours, and customer reviews—directly in search results. Adding local business schema helps your company stand out and improves local SEO visibility.
7. Fixing Broken Links and Redirects
Broken pages or incorrect redirects can confuse both users and search engines. Check regularly for 404 errors (pages not found) and use 301 redirects when you move or rename pages so visitors always end up in the right place.
8. Internal Linking
Linking related pages within your own site helps users find what they need and helps search engines understand which pages are most important. For example, link from a blog post about posture tips to your chiropractic adjustment service page.
When these technical elements are in good shape, your website runs smoothly, builds trust with search engines, and provides a better experience for your customers.
How to Audit and Maintain Your Website
Your website is like any other part of your business. It needs regular attention to stay healthy and effective. Conducting a quick technical SEO checkup every few months can help you identify minor issues early and maintain your site’s optimal performance.
Here are a few simple ways to review and maintain your site’s technical health:
- Check your site speed: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to see how quickly your pages load and identify potential bottlenecks that may be slowing them down.
- Test mobile-friendliness: Run your site through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to ensure it looks and functions well on phones and tablets.
- Verify security: Confirm that your site uses HTTPS and that your SSL certificate is active and up to date.
- Review crawl and indexing: Use Google Search Console to look for crawl errors, broken links, or pages that are not being indexed correctly.
- Inspect structured data: Test your Local Business schema with Google’s Rich Results Test to ensure your key business details are displaying correctly.
After completing your audit, focus on the most essential improvements first, such as site speed, mobile usability, and security. Set a reminder to repeat the process every few months. Taking these small steps can make a significant difference in how your website performs over time.
If you would rather not handle it on your own, AJT Digital Designs offers a complimentary website audit and consultation review. Completing a review of your website can help your local business assess its website’s technical SEO health and identify practical areas for improvement.
Conclusion
Technical SEO may not be the flashiest part of your marketing strategy, but it is the foundation that keeps everything else working. A website that is fast, secure, and easy to navigate helps both search engines and customers trust your business. That trust leads to more clicks, calls, and conversions.
By taking the time to regularly review and maintain your website, you are setting your local business up for long-term success. Minor and consistent improvements today can lead to stronger visibility, better user experiences, and lasting growth in your community.
If you are unsure where to start, AJT Digital Designs can help. Request a complimentary website audit and consultation to evaluate your site’s performance and identify opportunities for technical SEO improvement. Together, we can make sure your website works as hard as you do to attract and serve your local customers.
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