Fixing your tech SEO issues is duct taping your problems.
And by this, I mean, your issues are going to reoccur.
Let me qualify what ‘issues’ are so we’re on the same page.
They’re essentially things that need to be fixed – the uncoverings that you’ll get from a tech audit.
So, for example, if you have problems with your canonicals, they’ll be identified as issues with a solution offered as the recommendation.
This solution is the fix, right?
It’s what you need to do to improve your site.
Well, I’m proposing that a solution as such is simply a duct tape to the real problem that needs to be addressed.
Here’s why I say this –
A tech SEO audit is great!
It’ll have your tech issues identified with solutions offered as fixes for them.
And they will require a fix if you are to improve your website’s ranking ability.
However, this fix is on a website level.
And on a website level, you’ll have to fix the issues regularly because they’ll keep recurring because the root of the issues have not been addressed.
The root of tech SEO issues are not on a website level.
They’re on a people level.
A tech audit will typically cover the why of a problem – and again, this is something that must be addressed.
But it wouldn’t cover how the problem occurred in the first place.
How do tech SEO issues occur…?
You’ve heard me say this before – I’m sure.
They occur because non-SEOs are unaware of how their actions impact SEO performance.
All tech SEO issues can be identified as a lack of SEO awareness with non-SEOs who control and shape your website.
All tech SEO issues stem from a people level not a website level.
Fixing the issues on a website level means they are going to reoccur if they have not been fixed on a people level.
So, with what I mentioned earlier – canonicals. How do you think canonical issues occur?
They could occur from Devs, or from Content Editors, which will be even worse.
Canonical issues are tech issues SEOs see all the time.
If you’ve had your CMS developed without SEO input, and haven’t had SEO work on it (at all), there is a high probability that you’ll have canonical issues that need to be fixed on a people level, as well as on a website level.
You see, unless you have Devs working closely with SEOs, and by closely I mean, the two communicate with each other every single day, you’re going to have tech SEO issues that require fixing on a people level.
And this isn’t to say that Devs are screwing up your SEO.
Devs are not responsible for SEO. SEOs are.
They are, however, one of the non-SEO departments that can directly influence SEO performance.
Why? Because they have control of your website.
When they’re not working closely with SEO and are not aware of how what they do impact SEO, what do you think will come out of this…?
What you’ll end up with is a situation where SEOs constantly identify and fix issues on a website level but do not address the root of the issues in the first place.
What is the root of the issues?
A lack of awareness of SEO within the Dev department.
You see, just as SEOs would work on your website, they’ll also need to work with people – especially the Dev department.
The relationship between the two departments must be facilitated.
And streamlined.
What ends up happening, unfortunately, is SEO is kept to optimise on a website level, never deep diving to do so on a people level.
I propose to you that it is this level that matters more.
Let me say this again, optimisation on a website level is required.
This is to fix the identified issues, which, by the time they’re discovered, are already impacting your website’s ranking ability. So a fix on this level is absolutely necessary.
However, stopping here isn’t going to prevent the issues from recurring.
Tackling SEO at a people level is vastly where the value is when you invest in SEO.
This is the difference maker between you and competitors.
Here’s why…
When you optimise on a website level, you’re doing the basics.
You’re doing what every other website does.
It’s simply housekeeping – or website-keeping stuff.
It’s tech SEO work that is required when you have a website. It’s a necessity when you have a website.
When you optimise on a people level, you maintain the growth of your website.
You have forward momentum in place.
You’re able to be proactive with your SEO, improving your website’s ranking ability whilst maintaining its growth.
The under-spoken truth of SEO is that when you don’t have SEO running on a people level, you leave your website open to regress in its performance in the SERPs.
And if you’re not familiar with SEO regression, you absolutely should consider fixing your tech SEO issues on a people level.