Technical optimization
Search Engine Land is your source for technical SEO news and content. You’ll find a variety of up-to-date and authoritative resources, including the latest news, tactic-rich tutorials, and the latest data to help you work smarter and make better decisions.
What you read here is written by our experienced in-house team, and subject matter experts from leading brands and agencies.
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Ask the SMXperts — Schema & Structured Data, JavaScript
Three #SMXperts answer questions from the Advanced Technical SEO session at SMX Advanced and share their insights on JavaScript and structured data, two topics at the forefront of website development and search engine ranking.
SearchCap: AdWords Google Sheets, Google Posts testing & technical SEO
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google launches AdWords add-on for Google SheetsJun 4, 2018 by Ginny Marvin The add-on to download AdWords account data into Google Sheets is now in beta. Mobile SERP survival: Technical SEO […]
Mobile SERP survival: Technical SEO checklist
A responsive website is not enough to survive in the mobile-first indexing era, says contributor Barry Adams. Here's a list of technical SEO and general optimization aspects you need to be aware of and fix on your site if necessary.
Ask the SMXpert: SEO markup and structured data
Looking for insights into newer markup options and advanced structured data? SMXpert Alexis Sanders shares additional pointers to help you refine, update and optimize your content.
Ask the SMXperts: The latest in advanced technical SEO
SMXperts Dawn Anderson, Bastian Grimm and Brian Weiss answer technical SEO questions on time to first meaningful paint, indexation and crawling controls, challenges associated with voice search and more.
Google Image Search updates guidelines, adding structured data, speed and more
Google has finally refreshed content for its image search publishing guidelines.
Hreflang tags: How to serve correctly regionalized content
Contributor Marcus Miller gives us an overview of international and multilingual SEO and lists ways hreflang tags can be used to help search engines understand language and regional content variations.
4 hreflang tag errors Google corrects for you
Can we fix it? Yes we can! Do we need to? Contributor Patrick Stox says it may not be worth your time to fix hreflang tags since Google is probably fixing them for you.
Hijacking Google search results for fun, not profit: UK SEO uncovers XML sitemap exploit in Google Search Console
SEO wins bug bounty from Vulnerability Reward Program, Google search team confirms the exploit no longer works
SearchCap: Google’s antitrust infringement, Bing Ads ‘fan’ community & technical SEO
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s antitrust infringement continues ‘unabated’, Google Shopping competitors tell European Commission Mar 1, 2018 by Ginny Marvin Four months in, 19 rivals say too little has changed. You’ll love what the […]
Keeping up with technical SEO
Remember the phrase “peak oil” that was bandied about by doomsayers just a few short years ago? The notion that the world was about to imminently run out of oil, and that would be the end of cars, planes and trains and everything else that runs on petroleum? “Peak oil” today sounds about as ludicrous […]
Technical SEO in the age of semantic search and Google
Contributor Ryan Shelley explains that technical SEO is more important than ever -- but for long-term ranking success, understanding how Google processes data is key.
What’s next for technical SEO?
As web technologies continue to grow and evolve, interest in technical SEO is growing along with it. Columnist Patrick Stox looks ahead to see what advancements are on the horizon and how these may impact technical SEO.
Tips to troubleshoot your technical SEO
Stumped by a technical SEO issue? Columnist Patrick Stox has some tips and tricks to help you diagnose and solve some common problems.
19 technical SEO facts for beginners
Want to dip your toes into technical SEO? Columnist John Lincoln shares some fun tidbits for those just starting out.
Google adds structured data for subscription & paywalled content for new flexible sampling program
Excited for the new flexible sampling program for Google web search and Google News? Well, make sure you don't get in trouble for cloaking by using this new structured data.
SearchCap: Bing Ads quality policy and conversion changes, Apple search ads & technical SEO
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: 5 ways to balance technical & non-technical SEOAug 8, 2017 by Jim Yu Though tactics and strategies differ greatly for technical and non-technical SEOs, columnist Jim Yu believes it’s critical that […]
5 ways to balance technical & non-technical SEO
Though tactics and strategies differ greatly for technical and non-technical SEOs, columnist Jim Yu believes it’s critical that they find ways to work together. Each is powerful on its own, but it’s in the combined efforts of both that the real magic happens.
5 must-do technical SEO audit items in 2017
As the search world evolves, so must your technical SEO audits. Columnist Aleyda Solis discusses some new items to add to your audits in order to stay current.
Technical SEO checklist: 7 essential tips to implement now for 2017
In 2016, there’s been a lot of speculation on the value of technical SEO. It was called makeup; some of it was proclaimed dead; but ultimately, it was brought back to life gracefully and conclusively with outstanding examples of technical SEO tactics resulting in major traffic boosts. So why are opinions on this seemingly uncontroversial […]
Google on what’s important for 2017: Machine learning, AMP & structured data
We asked Google's Gary Illyes what SEOs and webmasters should think about as this year closes.
Case study: JavaScript blocking Google’s view of hreflang
Contributor Sam Gipson troubleshoots issues with a client's hreflang implementation, testing to see if JavaScript elements might interfere with Google recognizing these tags.
AMP pages no longer need structured data to be valid in Google Search Console
Google has downgraded the structured data issues from errors to information notes in the AMP error reports.
What’s new with markup & structured data
Contributor Eric Enge recaps a session from SMX Advanced on structured data markup in its many forms.
The role of technical SEO is “makeup”? Really?
In a response to a column published earlier this week about the place of technical SEO, contributor Patrick Hathaway argues that technical SEO is much more than a "nice to have" feature.
SearchCap: Apple news, successful PPC managers & technical SEO
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Apple brings Siri to Mac, new exposure for non-Google search engines Jun 13, 2016 by Danny Sullivan Soon, you will finally be able to search the web from your Mac desktop […]
The role technical SEO should play: It’s makeup
Columnist Clayburn Griffin argues that while technical SEO can make your site more attractive to search engines, it can only go so far. Once you've implemented your technical optimizations, you still need to have something of substance to best your competitors.
The true value of technical SEOs
While many view technical SEO as a simple matter of implementing best practices on a website, columnist Patrick Stox argues that the best practitioners are doing cutting-edge work that will shape the industry's future.
7 fundamental technical SEO questions to answer with a log analysis (and how to easily do it)
According to columnist Aleyda Solis, a thorough analysis of your server logs can help uncover SEO insights you might not have gleaned otherwise.
SearchCap: Google App Streaming Live, Hreflang Notices & AMP Next Week
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: App Indexing & The New Frontier Of SEO: App Packs & App Store Search Feb 19, 2016 by Emily Grossman In this third and final installment of a series on app […]
Webmasters: Be On The Lookout For Hreflang Implementation Notifications From Google
Yesterday, Google sent out a large number of notifications to webmasters who have implemented hreflang markup incorrectly.
Google Adds JSON-LD Support For Structured Data Markup
Now you can use JSON-LD for your structured data markup for products and/or reviews rich snippets in Google. Also make sure to validate your markup, as Google is now enforcing requirements.
The Latest In Advanced Technical SEO: SMX East Recap
Columnist Tony Edward summarizes presentations from an SMX East session on how to tackle complex technical website issues that impact search engine optimization.
A Guide To Schema Markup & Structured Data SEO Opportunities By Site Type
Structured data can help you to send the right signals to search engines about your business and content. But where do you start? Columnist Tony Edward has some suggestions.
SearchCap: Google Structured Data Ranking, Baidu Mobile Assistant & Google My Business App
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Google May Add Structured Markup & Data To Ranking Algorithm Sep 11, 2015 by Barry Schwartz Google hints it may decide to use structured data in its ranking algorithm some day, […]
SearchCap: Google Penguin, Google Maps, Hotel Booking & Hreflang
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Says Penguin Refresh Months Away From Happening Google’s Gary Illyes reminds us that the Penguin algorithm refresh is still months and months away, as Google works to make Penguin run […]
Google Search Console Sends “Incorrect Hreflang Implementation” Notices To Webmasters
Google sent out mass notifications of hreflang issues to webmasters via the Google Search Console.
The Latest In Advanced Technical SEO From SMX Advanced
Columnist Chris Silver Smith shares expert insights on advanced technical SEO, straight from the mouths of industry veterans!
SearchCap: Google Maps Offline, App Indexing & Structured Data
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Maps Breakthrough: Search And Navigation Without A Connection Google continues to add features and capabilities that keep its maps that much ahead of the competition. Coming out of I/O yesterday […]
Structured Data & The SERPs: What Google’s Patents Tell Us About Ranking In Universal Search
Columnist Barbara Starr delves into several Google patents to explore the ways in which the search giant is displaying search results based on structured data and context.