1. Optimize site architecture
“Architecture is your foundational stage,” Shomrat said. “If the overall website structure is not optimized for search performance, then any individual page on that site is not set up to have its best chance at being crawled, appearing with search results and ultimately converting into a revenue-driving asset.”
No two sites are the same, but most search professionals agree site architectures should generally have a logical flow with a hierarchy of pages. This helps users and crawlers make sense of your site.
2. Ensure pages are crawlable
Your pages should be accessible to search engines and users via valid status codes. SEOs should make sure the pages they want to be included in the index have a 200 HTTP status code.
Search marketers should also ensure their robots.txt files aren’t blocking pages they want to be indexed. A misplaced disallow directives could prevent crawlers from viewing your pages at all.
3. Check which pages allow indexing
Just because your pages are crawlable doesn’t mean they’re indexable. Marketers need to make sure their pages’ robots tags allow for indexing.
“If a page is not indexed by search engines, then it will not appear to users in their search results at all,” Shomrat said.
4. Improve page experience
People are less likely to convert on sites that offer poor experiences, such as slow-loading pages. Google and other search engines encourage site owners to optimize their technical structures to prevent this from happening, allowing their content to shine in the search results.
“If you do not fix your [technical] foundation, your content and keyword investments are not going to get the return that you expect,” Shomrat said.