10 Technical SEO Issues That Hurt Rankings & How to Fix Them
Introduction
Technical SEO plays a critical role in improving your website’s search engine rankings. While great content and backlinks are essential, Technical SEO Issues can prevent your site from being indexed, ranked, or crawled properly.
Common problems include:
✔ Slow website speed affecting user experience.
✔ Indexing issues preventing pages from appearing in search results.
✔ Mobile usability problems leading to lower rankings.
✔ Broken links and duplicate content hurting SEO.
In this guide, we’ll explore 10 Technical SEO Issues and their Fixes to help optimize your website’s speed, security, and indexing.
10 Common Technical SEO Issues & How to Fix Them
1️⃣ Slow Website Speed
Issue: A slow-loading site negatively impacts SEO rankings and user experience.
✔ How to Check:
- Use Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix.
✔ Fix:
✅ Optimize images (use WebP format).
✅ Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for faster loading.
✅ Enable browser caching & Gzip compression.
✅ Minimize JavaScript & CSS blocking resources.
📌 Example: A site reduced its load time from 5.2s to 2.3s by optimizing images and enabling caching.
2️⃣ Mobile Usability Issues
Issue: If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, Google will rank it lower on mobile search results.
✔ How to Check:
- Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
✔ Fix:
✅ Implement responsive design (CSS media queries).
✅ Fix text too small and clickable elements too close errors.
✅ Use Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for faster loading.
📌 Example: A blog optimized for mobile saw a 30% increase in mobile traffic.
3️⃣ Duplicate Content
Issue: Google penalizes websites with duplicate pages as it confuses search engines.
✔ How to Check:
- Use Siteliner or Copyscape to detect duplicate content.
✔ Fix:
✅ Add canonical tags (<link rel="canonical">).
✅ Redirect duplicate pages using 301 redirects.
✅ Avoid URL parameters creating multiple page versions.
📌 Example: A travel site fixed duplicate content issues and saw a 20% boost in organic rankings.
4️⃣ Broken Links (404 Errors)
Issue: Dead links hurt user experience and waste Google’s crawl budget.
✔ How to Check:
- Use Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Ahrefs Site Audit.
✔ Fix:
✅ Replace broken links with correct URLs.
✅ Use 301 redirects for removed pages.
✅ Audit internal & external links regularly using Google Search Console.
📌 Example: Fixing hundreds of 404 errors helped a news site regain lost rankings.
5️⃣ Improper XML Sitemap
Issue: A faulty or missing sitemap makes it harder for Google to crawl your pages.
✔ How to Check:
- Check Google Search Console > Sitemaps.
✔ Fix:
✅ Create a proper XML sitemap using Yoast SEO (WordPress).
✅ Remove “noindex” pages from the sitemap.
✅ Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.
📌 Example: A new site indexed 3x faster after submitting a clean sitemap.
6️⃣ Indexing Problems
Issue: Some pages don’t appear in Google’s search results.
✔ How to Check:
- Use Google Search Console > Coverage Report.
✔ Fix:
✅ Check robots.txt (ensure pages aren’t blocked).
✅ Use the URL Inspection Tool to request indexing.
✅ Improve internal linking for better crawlability.
📌 Example: A blog post got indexed within 48 hours after internal linking and re-submitting.
7️⃣ Poor Core Web Vitals (Page Experience Signals)
Issue: Pages failing Core Web Vitals lead to lower rankings.
✔ How to Check:
- Use Google Search Console > Core Web Vitals Report.
✔ Fix:
✅ Improve Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) by optimizing images.
✅ Reduce First Input Delay (FID) by minimizing JavaScript execution.
✅ Fix Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) by ensuring proper spacing.
📌 Example: A site improved LCP by 50% after image optimizations.
8️⃣ Incorrect Use of Robots.txt & Noindex Tags
Issue: Important pages may get blocked from indexing due to incorrect settings Technical SEO Issues.
✔ How to Check:
- Use robots.txt tester in Google Search Console.
✔ Fix:
✅ Ensure robots.txt does not block key pages.
✅ Remove “noindex” tags from essential content.
✅ Allow Google to crawl JavaScript & CSS.
📌 Example: A website doubled indexed pages after fixing robots.txt errors.
9️⃣ Missing or Incorrect Canonical Tags
Issue: Without proper canonicalization, Google may rank the wrong version of a page.
✔ How to Check:
- Inspect HTML source code for
<link rel="canonical">.
✔ Fix:
✅ Add correct canonical tags on duplicate pages.
✅ Use self-referencing canonicals where necessary.
📌 Example: Fixing canonicals helped an eCommerce site consolidate ranking signals.
🔟 HTTPS & Security Issues
Issue: Websites using HTTP instead of HTTPS are considered less secure and may rank lower.
✔ How to Check:
- Use Google Search Console > Security Issues.
✔ Fix:
✅ Install an SSL certificate (Let’s Encrypt, Cloudflare).
✅ Fix mixed content errors (HTTP & HTTPS links on the same page) Technical SEO Issues.
📌 Example: Switching to HTTPS boosted trust and SEO rankings.
Technical SEO Best Practices vs. Common Mistakes
| Best Practices | Common Mistakes |
|---|---|
| Optimizing website speed | Ignoring slow-loading pages |
| Using structured data & canonical tags | Duplicating content without canonicalization |
| Fixing broken links regularly | Allowing 404 errors to accumulate |
| Submitting updated sitemaps | Not updating sitemaps after adding pages |
| Using HTTPS & security measures | Keeping an HTTP-only website |
FAQs on Technical SEO Issues
1. What is the most common technical SEO issue?
Slow website speed is one of the most common issues, impacting user experience and rankings.
2. How do I know if my site has indexing problems?
Check Google Search Console > Coverage Report to see which pages are not indexed Technical SEO Issues.
3. How often should I audit my website for SEO issues?
Perform an SEO audit every 3-6 months using Google Search Console and SEO tools Technical SEO Issues.
4. Why is HTTPS important for SEO?
Google considers HTTPS a ranking factor, improving security and trustworthiness.
5. How do I fix Core Web Vitals issues?
Optimize LCP, FID, and CLS by reducing JavaScript blocking, optimizing images, and fixing layout shifts Technical SEO Issues.
