Technical SEO basics: speed, mobile and indexing

Your website can have the best content in the world, but if Google can't find it, can't read it or finds it slow and broken on phones, it won't show it to many people. Technical SEO is making sure the foundations are solid.

You don't need to understand the code. It helps to know what's being checked, so you can ask the right questions.

1. Can Google find your pages? (Crawling)

Google sends automated visitors, called crawlers, to read websites. They follow links from page to page.

• Every important page should be linked from somewhere on your site
• A sitemap, a file listing all your pages, helps Google find everything
• A robots.txt file tells crawlers what they may and may not read; it must not accidentally block your whole site

2. Is Google keeping your pages? (Indexing)

Being read isn't the same as being included. Google adds pages it finds useful to its index, the library it searches from. Google Search Console shows which of your pages are indexed and why some aren't.

Common reasons a page isn't indexed: it's a near-copy of another page, it's marked “noindex” by mistake, or it has very little content.

3. Does it work well on a phone? (Mobile)

Google mainly looks at the mobile version of your website. Text should be readable without zooming, buttons easy to tap and nothing wider than the screen. Our guide on mobile-first websites explains why this matters so much in India.

4. Is it fast? (Speed)

Slow pages lose visitors and Google notices. Speed depends on things like image sizes, how much code loads and the quality of the hosting. Google measures real-world speed with a set of signals called Core Web Vitals, and you can test any page with Google Lighthouse.

5. Is it secure? (HTTPS)

Your address should start with https and show a padlock. Browsers warn visitors about sites without it. See HTTPS and SSL explained.

6. Does Google understand what the business is? (Structured data)

Structured data is a small block of code that spells out facts: this is a sweet shop, here's the address, these are the hours, this is the logo. It helps Google show your details accurately. See structured data explained.

7. Are there broken links and errors?

Links to pages that no longer exist frustrate visitors and waste Google's time. When a page moves, it should redirect to its new address.

A simple technical checklist

1. Address starts with https, with a padlock
2. Site works well on a phone
3. Pages load quickly on mobile data
4. A sitemap exists and is submitted to Search Console
5. Important pages are indexed
6. No broken links; old addresses redirect
7. Structured data describes the business

Getting help

Technical SEO is built into every website we make. You can see the results in our measured Lighthouse scores. For an existing website, our SEO service checks and fixes the foundations first, before any other work.