Unpacking 3 Critical Technical SEO Challenges and Their Solutions

In the realm of digital marketing, technical SEO remains an indispensable component for optimizing websites to ensure they perform well in search engine rankings. In a recent Whiteboard Friday session, SEO consultant Kristina Azarenko highlighted three critical technical SEO challenges that many website owners face, along with actionable solutions to overcome these issues. Let’s dive into these challenges and their resolutions.

1. Buttons vs. Links

Understanding the distinction between buttons and links is fundamental in technical SEO. Buttons are typically used to trigger an action, such as submitting a form or adding an item to a shopping cart, while links serve to navigate users from one page to another. When these two elements become confused in their implementation—such as using a button to serve as a link instead of the proper hyperlink—this can lead to significant SEO implications.

The Crucial Difference

From a user perspective, the functionality may appear similar; however, from a web development viewpoint, the difference is stark. Google uses different methods to interact with each. When using buttons styled as links and utilizing JavaScript events (like onclick), Google may not correctly interpret this interaction, leading to a denial of the intended search engine benefit.

Solution: Always use HTML <a> tags for links to ensure that Google recognizes and indexes them appropriately. Reserve button elements for actions where no navigation is required.

2. Images as Backgrounds

Images play a critical role in SEO, evident through their capacity to appear in Google’s image search results. However, if images are added as CSS background images, their potential for indexing is compromised. Google effectively treats background images as irrelevant to search rankings, leading to missed opportunities for traffic.

The Indexing Issue

When you include images solely through CSS, you explicitly inform Google to disregard those images from an indexing standpoint. This is detrimental when one aims for those images to contribute to search traffic.

Solution: Use the HTML <img> tag for any images that need to be indexed. If background images are purely for design elements and are not intended for SEO, it’s acceptable to use CSS. However, ensure that any crucial images are directly embedded with proper <img> elements to maximize their SEO benefits.

3. Image Lazy Loading

Lazy loading techniques can significantly enhance page load speeds by only loading images as they become visible to the user. While this method improves user experience, it presents challenges for search engines. Google’s crawler does not scroll or interact with content the same way users do, meaning that images loaded later in a user session may not be indexed.

The Scrolling Dilemma

Since Google does not scroll through pages as users do, if images are only loaded upon scrolling, Google may index placeholder images rather than the desired content images.

Solution: Always provide a default image URL in the src attribute of your <img> tags to guarantee that Google can access and index the actual images. Using the srcset attribute allows you to specify different image sources for various screen resolutions, improving both site performance and SEO.

Conclusion

Technical SEO is intricate and demands attention to detail, as small missteps can lead to substantial drops in traffic. By understanding the fundamental differences between buttons and links, adhering to image best practices, and optimizing lazy loading correctly, website owners can navigate these challenges effectively.

As highlighted by Kristina Azarenko, the first step in addressing technical SEO issues is recognizing them, assessing their significance, and implementing feasible solutions in alignment with site goals and resources. By focusing on these critical areas, you can enhance your site’s performance and visibility in search results.