Field Notes · Category
Technical SEO.
44 articles on technical seo — tactical, evidence-led guidance from our team.
What is a Google Penalty? Manual Actions and Algorithmic Demotions Explained
Google penalties can devastate a site's organic traffic. This guide explains the difference between manual actions and algorithmic demotions, and how to recover.
Technical SEOHow Does Google's Search Algorithm Work? The Key Systems Explained
Google's search algorithm is not a single system — it is hundreds of interconnected signals and systems. This guide explains the key components.
Technical SEOWhat is a CDN? Content Delivery Networks and Website Performance
A CDN dramatically improves website loading speed by serving content from servers close to users. This guide explains how CDNs work and their SEO benefits.
Technical SEOWhat is an Orphan Page? How Isolated Pages Hurt SEO
Orphan pages have no internal links pointing to them, making them nearly invisible to search engines. This guide explains how to find and fix them.
Technical SEOWhat is Pagination SEO? Managing Multi-Page Content Correctly
Pagination creates SEO challenges around duplicate content, crawl budget, and link equity distribution. This guide explains how to handle it correctly.
Technical SEOWhat is Site Speed Optimisation? A Complete Guide for 2026
Website speed directly affects both search rankings and user experience. This guide covers the most impactful site speed improvements for 2026.
Technical SEOHow to Find and Fix Broken Links: A Technical SEO Guide
Broken links waste crawl budget, harm user experience, and lose link equity. This guide explains how to find and fix them systematically.
Technical SEOWhat is a Nofollow Link? Link Attributes Explained for SEO
Nofollow links tell search engines not to count a link for ranking purposes. This guide explains when they apply and what they mean for your link building.
Technical SEOWhat is Passage Ranking? How Google Ranks Specific Sections of Pages
Google's passage ranking indexes and ranks specific sections of web pages, not just whole pages. This guide explains how it works and what it means for content structure.
Technical SEOWhat is Log File Analysis? Advanced Technical SEO for Crawl Insights
Log file analysis reveals exactly how Googlebot crawls your site — information unavailable from any other source. This guide explains what it is and when it matters.
Technical SEOWhat is Entity SEO? How Search Engines Understand Brands and Concepts
Entity SEO is how you help search engines understand your brand as a distinct, recognised concept. This guide explains the principles and techniques.
Technical SEOWhat is Link Juice? Understanding How Authority Flows Through Links
Link juice is the informal term for the ranking authority that flows through hyperlinks. This guide explains how it works and how to use it strategically.
Technical SEOHow to Do a Technical SEO Audit: A Step-by-Step Guide
A technical SEO audit systematically identifies issues preventing a website from ranking. This step-by-step guide covers how to conduct one effectively.
Technical SEOWhat is Thin Content? How to Identify and Fix It
Thin content can harm your site's overall search performance even when only some pages are affected. This guide explains how to identify and fix it.
Technical SEOWhat is Breadcrumb Navigation? UX, SEO, and Schema
Breadcrumb navigation improves both user experience and SEO by showing page hierarchy. This guide explains how to implement breadcrumbs correctly.
Technical SEOWhat is HTTPS? SSL Certificates and Website Security for SEO
HTTPS secures your website and is a confirmed Google ranking factor. This guide explains what HTTPS is and what you need to know about SSL certificates.
Technical SEOWhat is Google PageSpeed Insights? How to Improve Your Website Speed Score
Google PageSpeed Insights measures how fast your website loads and gives specific improvement suggestions. This guide explains how to interpret and act on the results.
Technical SEOWhat is Open Graph? Social Media Metadata for Better Link Sharing
Open Graph meta tags control how your content appears when shared on social media. This guide explains what they are and why they matter.
Technical SEOWhat is Alt Text? Image Accessibility and SEO
Alt text describes images for accessibility and search engines. This guide explains how to write effective alt text that serves both purposes.
Technical SEOWhat is Lazy Loading? Images, Performance, and SEO
Lazy loading defers the loading of off-screen images until they are needed. This guide explains how it works and how to implement it without hurting SEO.
Technical SEOWhat is Hreflang? International SEO for Multilingual Websites
Hreflang tags tell search engines which language and country version of a page to show different users. This guide explains how international SEO works.
Technical SEOWhat is Google Discover? Content Discovery Beyond Search
Google Discover shows personalised content recommendations without a search query. This guide explains what it is and how to get your content featured.
Technical SEOWhat is People Also Ask? How to Appear in PAA Boxes
'People Also Ask' boxes appear on the majority of Google results pages and capture significant attention. This guide explains what they are and how to appear in them.
Technical SEOWhat is Google's Knowledge Graph? Entity SEO Explained
Google's Knowledge Graph connects entities — people, organisations, places, and things — into a structured understanding of the world. This guide explains what it means for SEO.
Technical SEOWhat is a Featured Snippet? How to Win Google's Answer Box
Featured snippets appear above organic search results and capture significant click traffic. This guide explains how to win them.
Technical SEOWhat is Anchor Text? How Link Text Affects SEO
Anchor text — the clickable text in a hyperlink — sends important signals to search engines about what linked pages are about. This guide explains anchor text strategy.
Technical SEOWhat is Domain Authority? Understanding Website Authority in 2026
Domain Authority is a metric used to estimate a website's ranking strength. This guide explains what it means, how it's calculated, and how much it actually matters.
Technical SEOWhat is Google's Helpful Content Update? What Changed and What It Means for Your Site
Google's Helpful Content system changed how the search engine evaluates content quality. This guide explains what changed and how to ensure your content meets the new standard.
Technical SEOWhat is Duplicate Content? How It Affects SEO and How to Fix It
Duplicate content causes search engines to split ranking authority across multiple pages. This guide explains the causes, effects, and fixes for duplicate content.
Technical SEOWhat is a 301 Redirect? URL Redirects Explained for SEO
301 redirects move web pages permanently and transfer their SEO authority. This guide explains how redirects work and how to avoid the common mistakes that harm rankings.
Technical SEOWhat is Robots.txt? Controlling Search Engine Crawling
Robots.txt tells search engine bots which parts of your site to access. This guide explains how it works and how to use it without hurting your rankings.
Technical SEOWhat is an XML Sitemap? Helping Search Engines Find Your Pages
XML sitemaps help search engines discover and prioritise your pages. This guide explains what they are, how to create them, and when they matter.
Technical SEOWhat is Google Search Console? A Practical Guide for Website Owners
Google Search Console is the most valuable free SEO tool available. This guide explains what it shows you and how to use it effectively.
Technical SEOWhat is Structured Data? How to Help Search Engines Understand Your Content
Structured data makes your content machine-readable for search engines and AI tools. This guide explains what it is and why it matters in 2026.
Technical SEOWhat is Internal Linking? SEO Strategy for Site Architecture
Internal linking is one of the most powerful and underused SEO techniques. This guide explains how internal links work and how to use them strategically.
Technical SEOWhat is Mobile-First Indexing? How Google Crawls Your Website
Google uses the mobile version of your website for ranking. This guide explains mobile-first indexing and what it means for your technical SEO.
Technical SEOWhat is Page Indexing? How Search Engines Decide Which Pages to Show
Understanding how search engines index pages is fundamental to technical SEO. This guide explains the indexing process and how to control which pages appear in search.
Technical SEOWhat is Topical Authority? How to Become the Definitive Source on Your Topic
Topical authority — being recognised as the most comprehensive source on a subject — is now more important than domain authority for many SEO outcomes. This guide explains how to build it.
Technical SEOWhat is E-E-A-T? Google's Quality Standard Explained
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is Google's quality framework for evaluating content. This guide explains what it means in practice.
Technical SEOWhat is a Canonical Tag? Duplicate Content Management Explained
Canonical tags tell search engines which version of a page is the 'master' copy. This guide explains when and how to use them correctly.
Technical SEOWhat is Schema Markup? Structured Data Explained for Non-Developers
Schema markup tells search engines what your content means, not just what it says. This guide explains schema markup in plain English.
Technical SEOWhat is Crawl Budget? And How to Use It Efficiently
Crawl budget determines how much of your site Google will crawl and how often. This guide explains what it is and how to optimise it.
Technical SEOCore Web Vitals: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How to Pass Them
Core Web Vitals are Google's user experience metrics that directly affect search rankings. This guide explains what they are and how to improve them.
Technical SEOWhat is Technical SEO? A Plain-English Guide for 2026
Technical SEO covers everything that helps search engines crawl, index, and understand your website. This guide explains the core concepts clearly.