Unexpected Problems And Solutions in Technical SEO

Improving the SEO performance of websites is not just limited to keyword research and content production; Technical SEO also plays a big role.

Improving the SEO performance of websites is not just limited to keyword research and content production; Technical SEO also plays a big role.

However, you may encounter some unexpected problems during the technical SEO process. This week, based on the article “3 Unexpected Examples of Technical SEO Problems (And How to Fix Them),” published by Kristina Azarenko on Moz, we will discuss common problems such as the differences between buttons and links, the use of background images, and the lazy loading method. I will offer suggestions on three technical SEO problems encountered and how to solve these problems.

Buttons and Links

To increase user interaction on your website, you must clearly understand the difference between buttons and links.

Buttons trigger specific actions, such as submitting a form or adding a product to a cart, while links direct users from one page to another.

Using links effectively in the main navigation strengthens the internal structure of your site and helps search engines understand your site better.

Web developers often want to stylize links as buttons, which requires redirecting with JavaScript when adding the link to the button. Although it is not noticeable to the user, this method creates significant differences for search engines.

In particular, Google may not directly detect such JavaScript redirects when interacting with content. It’s best to use links to navigate from one page to another or buttons when you want to trigger an action.

Placing internal links correctly using the href attribute in critical places, such as primary navigation, helps Google crawl and index your site accurately. This simple rule will help you in situations where you need to decide which item you should use.

Background Images

It is expected to add images as background images on websites with CSS. However, images added with this method cannot be indexed by Google or included in the rankings because these images are seen as part of the design and are not considered content.

If you want the images to be indexed and ranked by Google, <img>add them directly with their tags and specify their sources.

This method ensures that images are correctly detected and indexed by search engines. In summary, use direct image sources for indexable and sortable photos, and use CSS and background images only as part of the design and not intended to drive traffic.

Lazy Loading

Lazy Loading is an important technique to improve user experience, but when implemented incorrectly, it can negatively impact SEO performance.

Whether the content is text or images, it must be visible so that Google can see the page and evaluate the optimization level.

It is important to note that Google does not interact with the content and does not scroll. So, waiting for Google to engage or scroll with your content will lead to disappointment.

In particular, indexing placeholder images instead of actual images is an excellent example. Placeholder images are lightweight images replaced with the exact image when the user scrolls and are designed not to affect the page loading speed.

But Google doesn’t scroll, so all images need to be visible to Google. Even if placeholder images are used, there should always be a default image URL that Google can index. To do it right, don’t expect Google to engage or scroll with your content; instead, use the image source and default image that Google can see and index.

Technical SEO requires attention to detail. Correctly identifying the problems you encounter, understanding their causes, and implementing practical solutions will ensure your website performs better in search engines. Adjustments to button and link usage, image optimization, and lazy loading strategies will help make your site more friendly to users and search engines.