Technical SEO for Non-Technical Founders: The Only Guide You Need

Why Technical SEO Matters

You can write the best content in the world, but if Google can't properly crawl and index your site, you won't rank.

Technical SEO is the foundation. It's the infrastructure that makes everything else work.

The good news? Most technical SEO is:

1. Do it once, done forever
2. Straightforward to implement
3. Easy to check with free tools

This guide covers what actually matters, in plain English.

The Technical SEO Checklist

Before diving deep, here's your quick checklist. If you can check all these boxes, you're ahead of 80% of startups:

• Site loads in under 3 seconds
• Mobile-friendly design
• HTTPS (SSL certificate)
• Google Search Console set up
• XML sitemap submitted
• Robots.txt configured properly
• Meta titles and descriptions on all pages
• No duplicate content issues
• Proper heading structure (H1, H2, H3)
• Image alt text on all images

Let's explain each one.

Part 1: Speed & Performance

Why Speed Matters

Google explicitly uses page speed as a ranking factor. But more importantly, slow sites lose visitors.

Stats:

• 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take more than 3 seconds to load
• Every 1 second of delay reduces conversions by 7%

How to Check Your Speed

Use these free tools:

1. Google PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev)

   • Gives you a score out of 100
   • Shows specific issues to fix
   • Tests both mobile and desktop

2. GTmetrix (gtmetrix.com)

   • More detailed breakdown
   • Shows waterfall of what's loading

3. WebPageTest (webpagetest.org)

   • Most detailed analysis
   • Tests from different locations

Common Speed Issues & Fixes

Large images

• Compress images before uploading
• Use WebP format instead of PNG/JPG
• Lazy-load images below the fold

Too many HTTP requests

• Combine CSS/JS files where possible
• Remove unused plugins/scripts
• Use a CDN (Cloudflare is free)

Slow hosting

• Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages for static sites
• Consider upgrading from shared hosting

No caching

• Enable browser caching
• Use a CDN with caching

The Quick Win

Sign up for Cloudflare (free tier). Put your site behind it. Instant CDN, caching, and security improvements.

Part 2: Mobile-Friendliness

Why Mobile Matters

Google uses mobile-first indexing. This means they primarily look at the mobile version of your site for ranking purposes.

If your site isn't mobile-friendly, you're handicapped in rankings.

How to Check

1. Google's Mobile-Friendly Test (search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly)
2. Simply load your site on your phone

Common Issues

Text too small: Users shouldn't have to zoom to read.

Clickable elements too close: Buttons/links should have enough spacing.

Horizontal scrolling: Content should fit the screen width.

Slow mobile load: Mobile connections are often slower.

The Fix

If you're using a modern framework (Next.js, etc.) or website builder (Framer, Webflow), mobile responsiveness is usually built in.

If not, you may need to:

• Use responsive CSS
• Test on actual mobile devices
• Fix specific issues flagged by Google's test

Part 3: Security (HTTPS)

Why HTTPS Matters

Google uses HTTPS as a ranking signal. Browsers also show warnings on non-HTTPS sites, killing trust.

How to Check

Look at your URL. Does it show:

• 🔒 https://yoursite.com ✅
• ⚠️ http://yoursite.com ❌

How to Get HTTPS

Most modern hosting includes free SSL certificates:

• Vercel: Automatic
• Netlify: Automatic
• Cloudflare: Free SSL
• Traditional hosting: Let's Encrypt (free) or buy a certificate

If you don't have HTTPS, fix this today. It's free and essential.

Part 4: Google Search Console

What It Is

Google Search Console (GSC) is Google's free tool for website owners. It shows:

• What searches you appear for
• Your click-through rates
• Indexing issues
• Security problems
• Mobile usability issues

How to Set Up

1. Go to search.google.com/search-console
2. Add your property (verify ownership)
3. Submit your sitemap
4. Wait a few days for data to populate

What to Check Regularly

Performance report:

• Which queries drive impressions and clicks
• Your average position for keywords
• Click-through rate

Coverage report:

• Pages that are indexed
• Pages with errors
• Pages excluded (and why)

Mobile Usability:

• Any mobile issues Google detected

Must-Do Actions

1. Submit your sitemap (we'll cover this next)
2. Check for errors in the Coverage report
3. Request indexing for important new pages

Part 5: Sitemaps

What Is a Sitemap?

A sitemap is an XML file that tells search engines what pages exist on your site and how important they are.

Do You Need One?

For small sites, Google can find pages by crawling. But sitemaps:

• Help Google discover all your pages
• Prioritize what's important
• Speed up indexing of new content

Always have one. It doesn't hurt.

How to Create One

If using Next.js: Use next-sitemap package If using WordPress: Yoast SEO creates one automatically Other frameworks: Most have sitemap plugins/packages

Where to Put It

Standard location: yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Then submit it in Google Search Console under "Sitemaps."

Part 6: Robots.txt

What It Is

A robots.txt file tells search engines what they can and can't crawl on your site.

Location

Always at: yoursite.com/robots.txt

Basic Format

User-agent: *
Allow: /
Sitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

This tells all search engines they can crawl everything, and points them to your sitemap.

Common Mistakes

Blocking important pages:

Disallow: /dashboard  # OK - don't index login areas
Disallow: /           # BAD - blocks entire site!

Blocking assets: Don't block CSS/JS files. Google needs them to render your pages.

How to Check

Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt directly. Make sure it's not blocking anything important.

Part 7: Meta Tags

What Are Meta Tags?

HTML tags that tell search engines (and users) what your page is about. The most important ones:

Title Tag

<title>Your Page Title | Your Brand</title>

Best practices:

• 50-60 characters (longer gets truncated)
• Include primary keyword
• Make it compelling (it's your headline in search results)
• Unique for every page

Meta Description

<meta name="description" content="Your description here.">

Best practices:

• 150-160 characters
• Include keywords naturally
• Call-to-action or value proposition
• Unique for every page

Example

For a project management tool:

<title>TaskFlow: Project Management for Remote Engineering Teams</title>
<meta name="description" content="TaskFlow syncs with GitHub and GitLab to automatically track engineering progress. Eliminate status meetings. Start free.">

Checking Your Meta Tags

1. View page source: Look for <title> and <meta name="description">
2. Google your site: See how it appears in search results
3. Use a tool: Ahrefs, SEMrush, or free tools like Screaming Frog

Part 8: Heading Structure

Why It Matters

Headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) help Google understand your content structure and what's important.

The Rules

One H1 per page: This is your main title.

Hierarchical structure:

H1: Main Page Title
  H2: Major Section
    H3: Subsection
    H3: Subsection
  H2: Another Major Section

Include keywords: Your H1 and H2s should include relevant keywords where natural.

Common Mistakes

❌ Multiple H1 tags ❌ Skipping levels (H1 → H4) ❌ Using headings for styling (use CSS instead) ❌ Keyword stuffing in headings

Part 9: Duplicate Content

The Problem

If Google finds the same content on multiple URLs, it:

• Doesn't know which to rank
• Splits "credit" between URLs
• May not rank any of them well

Common Causes

www vs non-www:

• yoursite.com
• www.yoursite.com

HTTP vs HTTPS:

• http://yoursite.com
• https://yoursite.com

Trailing slashes:

• yoursite.com/page
• yoursite.com/page/

URL parameters:

• yoursite.com/product
• yoursite.com/product?ref=email

The Fix: Canonical Tags

Add a canonical tag to tell Google which URL is the "real" one:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://yoursite.com/page">

Redirects

For www vs non-www, set up a redirect so one always goes to the other. Most hosting platforms have this setting.

Part 10: Image Optimization

Alt Text

Every image needs alt text – a description of what's in the image.

<img src="dashboard.png" alt="TaskFlow dashboard showing sprint progress">

Why it matters:

• Accessibility (screen readers)
• Google Image Search rankings
• Fallback if image doesn't load

Image SEO Best Practices

File names: Use descriptive names

• Good: project-management-dashboard.png
• Bad: IMG_2847.png

File size: Compress images. Large images kill page speed.

Format: Use WebP where supported, PNG for graphics, JPG for photos.

Lazy loading: Load images as user scrolls to them.

Part 11: Internal Linking

What It Is

Links from one page on your site to another page on your site.

Why It Matters

Internal links:

• Help Google discover pages
• Spread "link equity" around your site
• Help users navigate
• Signal what pages are important

Best Practices

Link to important pages: Your most valuable pages should have many internal links.

Use descriptive anchor text:

• Good: "Learn about project management features"
• Bad: "Click here to learn more"

Don't overdo it: Natural, helpful links. Not every possible link.

The Technical SEO Audit

Here's how to audit your site:

Free Tools

1. Google Search Console: Issues Google found
2. PageSpeed Insights: Speed issues
3. Mobile-Friendly Test: Mobile issues
4. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: Crawl your site for free

Quick Audit Process

1. Check Search Console for errors
2. Run PageSpeed Insights on home page and key pages
3. Run Mobile-Friendly Test
4. Check robots.txt and sitemap exist
5. Spot-check meta tags on important pages
6. Verify HTTPS is working

Fixing Issues

Prioritize:

1. Critical: Site not indexed, HTTPS issues, site blocked by robots.txt
2. High: Slow speed, mobile issues, missing sitemaps
3. Medium: Meta tag issues, heading structure
4. Low: Image alt text, minor speed improvements

Technical SEO vs Off-Page SEO

Technical SEO is necessary but not sufficient.

You also need:

• Content: Pages worth ranking
• Backlinks: Authority from other sites

Technical SEO makes sure Google can see your site. Backlinks and content determine if you rank.

Our directory submission service handles the backlink side – building your foundation of off-page SEO.

Conclusion

Technical SEO isn't as scary as it sounds. Most of it is:

1. Set up once correctly
2. Don't break it later
3. Check occasionally

Focus on:

• Speed (Cloudflare + image optimization)
• Mobile-friendliness
• Google Search Console setup
• Proper meta tags

Get the technical foundation right, then focus on content and backlinks – that's where the real growth happens.

Need help with the backlink side of SEO? Check out our directory submission packages – we handle 100+ directory submissions to build your SEO foundation.