Technical optimization is not just a one‑off checklist of fixes — it is the foundation for stable search growth. Loading speed, redirects, code quality and responsiveness directly affect both SEO performance and conversions. The cleaner your technical base is, the easier it is to scale content and promotion.
“Technical optimization is not cosmetic work, it is the foundation. Once you get it right, everything else — content, links, ads — starts working noticeably better.”
Sergey Kozlov
1. Fixing technical issues
Misconfigured servers and CMS settings damage indexation and user experience. Typical problems include:
- incorrect 301 redirects that send users and crawlers to non‑existent or irrelevant pages;
- duplicate content caused by missing or incorrectly set
rel="canonical", which spreads relevance across multiple URLs; - errors in
robots.txtthat block important sections from being crawled; - missing or weak meta tags (title, description) that reduce click‑through‑rate from search results.
Basic configuration examples
# .htaccess – redirect http and www to https
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.+)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://example.com/$1 [L,R=301]# robots.txt – allow important sections, block system paths
User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /tmp/
Allow: /<!-- canonical inside the <head> of a product page -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/catalog/product-1/">At this stage you rely on Google Search Console, crawlers like Screaming Frog and log analysis. They show which URLs respond with errors, get duplicated or fall out of the index. Once redirects, canonical tags and configuration files are fixed, the site becomes predictable for search engines.
2. Code optimization and cleanliness
For SEO and performance it is not enough to know what is rendered on a page — it also matters how the code is structured:
- ordered, semantic markup (a single H1, logical H2/H3, proper lists and tags);
- minimal inline styles and duplicated CSS;
- deferred loading of heavy scripts and no render‑blocking JavaScript;
- careful handling of third‑party widgets and tracking, which often slow pages down.
Example: basic page template
<main>
<h1>SEO services</h1>
<p class="lead">Short explanation of the page.</p>
<section>
<h2>Who this is for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Online stores</li>
<li>Corporate websites</li>
<li>Services and SaaS</li>
</ul>
</section>
</main>
<!-- Load styles and scripts without blocking rendering -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/style.css">
<script src="/assets/js/app.js" defer></script>Refactoring code reduces HTML, CSS and JavaScript size, makes the project easier to maintain and lowers the risk of new bugs when you iterate.
3. Responsiveness and cross‑browser support
Technical optimization always includes responsive layout. Even if the design looks great on desktop, real users on phones can face:
- tiny interactive elements and overlapping blocks;
- horizontal scroll and clipped forms;
- confusing navigation and complex menus.
Testing is done on real devices and via tools such as Mobile‑Friendly Test, DevTools and viewport emulators. The goal is to make it equally easy for users and crawlers to work with your pages on any screen.
4. Improving loading speed
Speed has a direct impact on both SEO and conversions. Technical work on performance typically includes:
- compressing images and using lazy loading with modern formats (WebP, AVIF);
- bundling and minifying CSS and JavaScript and setting up caching;
- moving heavy scripts to the bottom of the page or loading them on demand;
- optimising server and database performance and using a CDN where it makes sense.
Examples of resource optimization
<!-- Lazy loading images -->
<img
src="/assets/img/placeholder.webp"
data-src="/assets/img/hero.webp"
class="lazy"
alt="Example"
loading="lazy"><!-- Critical CSS inline, the rest asynchronously -->
<style>
body { font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Inter", sans-serif; }
</style>
<link rel="preload" href="/assets/css/style.css" as="style">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/style.css"># Example of static asset caching in nginx
location ~* \.(css|js|png|jpg|jpeg|webp|svg)$ {
expires 30d;
add_header Cache-Control "public";
}To measure impact you use PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse and WebPageTest. They show how much each resource contributes to load time and help prioritise fixes.
5. Improving structure and navigation
Technical optimization also affects site architecture. Key pages should be easy to reach, and internal linking should be logical and genuinely useful.
- important sections are reachable in 2–3 clicks from the homepage;
- internal links point to truly relevant content, not just “for the sake of it”;
- there are few broken links and no over‑complicated navigation.
Mini structure snapshot
Depth
≤ 3 clicks from the homepage is healthy; 4+ levels are a reason to review structure.
Internal links
Aim for 2–5 relevant links to key pages from each important page.
Broken links
0–1% of total internal links is a reasonable benchmark.
The outcome is a site where users can quickly find what they need and crawlers can efficiently crawl and re‑index content.
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