Think of your website like a car. You could have the shiniest paint job (great content), but if the engine (technical SEO) isn’t tuned up, you won’t get far in search rankings.
Technical SEO is all about making your site easy for search engines to crawl, understand, and rank. And the best part? You don’t need to be a developer to fix the basics.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
✔ How to control search engine access with robots.txt
✔ Why XML sitemaps are your site’s GPS for Google
✔ Free tools to check (and fix) your technical SEO fast
Let’s dive in.
1. Robots.txt: Your Site’s Bouncer
What It Does
A robots.txt file tells search engines which pages they can or can’t crawl. It’s like a “Do Not Enter” sign for parts of your site.
Common Uses
- Block duplicate content (like search result pages)
- Hide private pages (login/admin areas)
- Prevent crawling of low-value pages
Example Setup
User-agent: *
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search/
Allow: /blog/
Pro Tip: Always test your robots.txt in Google Search Console to avoid accidentally blocking important pages.
2. XML Sitemaps: Your Site’s Map for Search Engines
Why You Need One
An XML sitemap is a roadmap of your most important pages. Without it, Google might miss new or deep-linked content.
What to Include
- Key pages (homepage, main services, blog posts)
- Fresh content (updated in the last 30 days)
- Canonical URLs (no duplicates)
Quick Fix: If you don’t have a sitemap, this free XML Sitemap Generator creates one in seconds.
3. Speed & Mobile-Friendliness (Google’s Top Priorities)
Check Page Speed
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to find slowdowns.
Common fixes:
- Compress images
- Enable browser caching
- Minify CSS/JS
Test Mobile Usability
Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing. Check your site with:
- Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
- Responsive design tools like Chrome DevTools
4. Structured Data: Speak Google’s Language
Structured data (Schema markup) helps Google display rich snippets, like star ratings or FAQs, in search results.
Easy Wins:
- Add Article markup to blog posts
- Use LocalBusiness markup for brick-and-mortar stores
- Validate with Google’s Rich Results Test
5. Fix Broken Links & Redirects
Broken links (404 errors) waste crawl budget and hurt UX. Tools to find them:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free up to 500 URLs)
- Google Search Console’s Coverage Report
Redirect Best Practices:
- Use 301 redirects for moved content
- Keep chains short (avoid multiple hops)
Free Technical SEO Tools to Bookmark
| Tool | What It Checks |
| Google Search Console | Indexing errors, mobile usability |
| Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Backlinks, site health |
| SEOMinikit’s Robots.txt Tester | Robots.txt validation |
Final Checklist: Is Your Site SEO-Ready?
Before hitting publish, ask:
✅ Is my robots.txt blocking the right pages?
✅ Does my site load in under 3 seconds on mobile?
✅ Do I have an updated XML sitemap?
✅ Are all redirects and links working?
✅ Is structured data implemented?
For deeper dives, Moz’s Technical SEO Guide breaks down advanced fixes.
Key Takeaways
- Technical SEO is the foundation – No amount of great content matters if Google can’t crawl your site.
- Start with robots.txt and sitemaps – They’re low-effort, high-impact fixes.
- Free tools do the heavy lifting – You don’t need a big budget to compete.
Now go audit your site, your future rankings will thank you!