Get Your Technical SEO Basics Perfect

Why this matters

Everything so far has been content work — the paint job. This step is the engine check. If your site loads slowly, blocks Google's crawler, or tells it "don't look at this page," the content work goes to waste. Most of these fixes take five minutes and you only do them once.

What a sitemap actually is

A sitemap is a simple file that lists every page on your site. You hand it to Google so it doesn't have to wander around guessing what exists. Think of it like a table of contents for your website — except it's written for Google's crawler, not for humans. The file lives at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml, and it's just a list of URLs with a few extra details like when each page was last updated.

The technical checklist

Here's every technical thing Google looks at under the hood. You don't need to know how each one works yet — just tick off the ones you've already got, and we'll fix the gaps below.

• Your site uses one version of the URL (www or non-www, not both)
• Your site loads over HTTPS (the padlock icon in the browser bar)
• You have a sitemap.xml file that lists every real page
• You have a robots.txt file that isn't accidentally blocking Google
• None of your pages have a hidden "noindex" tag keeping them out of search
• Your site loads fast on a phone (under 3 seconds)
• Your Core Web Vitals pass — three speed scores Google publishes for every site
• Every page has a unique, descriptive title in the browser tab
• Every page has a meta description that reads like a one-line pitch
• Pages link to each other where it makes sense (internal links)
• Every image has alt text describing what it shows
• Your homepage has structured data — the hidden business card from Step 02
• You don't have duplicate pages showing the same content at different URLs

If you can tick off ten or more, you're ahead of most small businesses. If you're missing a few, the steps below tell you exactly how to fix each one.

Fixing the gaps

1. 1

   Force HTTPS and pick one domain version

   mediumDeveloper~15 min

   Log into your hosting dashboard (Cloudflare, Netlify, or whoever hosts your site) and look for "Always use HTTPS" or "Force SSL." Turn it on. Then decide: www.yoursite.com or just yoursite.com? Pick one and set up a redirect so the other version points to it. Having both live confuses Google into thinking you have two separate sites.

2. 2

   Generate and submit your sitemap

   mediumDeveloper~20 min

   If you use WordPress, install a plugin like Yoast or Rank Math — they create the sitemap automatically. If you built your site with a framework like React or Next.js, you may need to create the file manually (it's just a list of URLs in XML format). Once the file exists at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml, paste that URL into Google Search Console under "Sitemaps" in the left menu.

3. 3

   Check your robots.txt

   easyDeveloper~5 min

   Type yoursite.com/robots.txt into your browser. If the file says "Disallow: /" — that means you're blocking Google from your entire site. Remove that line. If the file is empty, missing, or just says "Allow: /" with a link to your sitemap, you're fine.

4. 4

   Hunt for accidental noindex tags

   mediumDeveloper~10 min

   Open each page of your site in a browser, right-click, and choose "View Page Source." Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) and search for "noindex." If you find it, that page is invisible to Google on purpose — or by accident. If it's accidental, remove the tag and re-publish.

5. 5

   Test your mobile speed

   easyAnyone~5 min

   Go to Google's PageSpeed Insights tool and paste your homepage URL. It gives you a score out of 100 and flags what's slow. Green (90+) is great, orange (50–89) is okay, red (under 50) needs work. It also shows your Core Web Vitals — three scores called LCP (how fast the main content appears), CLS (how much the page jumps around while loading), and INP (how fast buttons respond when tapped).

6. 6

   Write proper title tags and meta descriptions

   easyAnyone~20 min

   Open each page and check the text that shows in the browser tab — that's the title tag. It should describe the page in under 60 characters and include your city if you're a local business. Then check the meta description (you set these in Step 03). Each one should be a unique, one-line pitch under 155 characters. No two pages should share the same title or description.

7. 7

   Add internal links between your pages

   easyAnyone~15 min

   Read through each page and look for places where you mention a topic that's covered on another page. Link those words to the other page. For example, if your About page mentions your services, link the word "services" to your Services page. This helps Google understand how your pages relate to each other and makes it easier for visitors to find what they need.

8. 8

   Add alt text to every image

   easyAnyone~15 min

   Find every image on your site and make sure it has alt text — a short description of what the image shows. This helps Google understand your images, and it's also what screen readers use for visitors who can't see them. Keep it simple and descriptive.

   Before<img src="team-photo.jpg">

   After<img src="team-photo.jpg" alt="The team working at a Melbourne cafe">

Check your speed score

What changes after this

Clean plumbing makes everything compound faster. Pages get indexed in hours instead of weeks. Speed scores improve, directly affecting mobile rankings. Not glamorous, but it's the difference between stalling and climbing.

Next on the climb

• →Run PageSpeed Insights on your homepage and your busiest service page. Screenshot your scores — you'll want to compare them in two weeks after making fixes.
• →Next up: we open Google Search Console and learn how to use it — submit your sitemap, check which pages are indexed, see what people are actually searching to find you, and request re-indexing after changes.