Technical SEO

HTTPS is a secure version of the HTTP protocol that is used to transfer data between a site and a user. For HTTPS to work, a SSL certificate is installed on the site, which encrypts the data and makes the connection secure.

Today, HTTPS is not only a security issue, but also an important factor in SEO optimization.

What are HTTPS and SSL

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a data encryption technology.
It protects information that is transferred between the user's browser and the site server.

When a site has an SSL certificate installed:

• site address begins with https://
• icon appears in the browser lock
• data is transmitted in encrypted form

Without SSL, the site operates via http://, and the connection is considered insecure.

Why HTTPS is important for SEO

Search engines consider site security when ranking. Therefore, HTTPS directly affects promotion.

1. Search Engine Ranking Factor

Secure sites receive a slight advantage in search results.
Search engines prefer to show protected sites to users.

2. User Trust

If a site is running without SSL, the browser may display a warning:

“Insecure Connection”

This reduces user trust and may cause visitors to simply close the site.

HTTPS, on the contrary, shows:

🔒 secure connection
🔒 secure data transfer

3. Protecting user data

SSL protects:

• logins and passwords
• bank card data
• registration forms
• personal information

This is especially important for:

• online stores
• sites with registration
• services with personal accounts

4. Improved behavioral factors

When users trust a site, they:

• stay on the site longer
• make purchases more often
• are less likely to leave the page

All this has a positive effect on SEO.

5. Without HTTPS, many services work worse

Some modern technologies work correctly only with HTTPS, for example:

• online payment
• push notifications
• geolocation
• modern browser APIs

How to enable SSL on website

You can enable HTTPS in several ways.

1. Free SSL

The most popular option is Let's Encrypt by the way hosting Timeweb gives it for free + there are other free ones certificates
Benefits:

• free
• quick to install
• supported by most hosting

2. SSL from hosting

Many hosting providers allow you to connect SSL in one click through the control panel.

3. Paid SSL certificates

Paid certificates are often used by large projects and online stores.
These may include:

• additional company verification
• data insurance
• extended protection

How to correctly switch from HTTP to HTTPS

It is important to make the transition correctly so as not to lose positions in the search.

Basic steps:

1. Install SSL certificate
2. Configure 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS
3. Update links within the site
4. Update sitemap. xml
5. Add a new version of the site in the webmaster panel

How to check if HTTPS is working

It's very easy to check:

1. Open the site in a browser
2. Look at the address bar

If there is:

🔒 padlock icon
and the address starts with https://

—means SSL is working.

HTTPS is a mandatory standard for modern websites. SSL connection:

• increases site security
• increases user trust
• improves SEO
• helps you rank higher in search

Therefore, every website that wants to receive traffic from search engines should run over HTTPS.

Today, more than 70% of users access websites from smartphones. Therefore, Google switched to the Mobile-First Indexing principle - this means that the mobile version of the site is evaluated first.

If a site doesn’t work well on a phone, it loses search rankings and customers.

What is mobile optimization

Mobile optimization is setting up a website for correct display and fast operation on smartphones and tablets.

Responsive design is an approach in which a website automatically adjusts to fit the screen size.

Why it's important for SEO

Google considers:

• mobile usability

• loading speed

• text readability

• correct display of elements

If a site is not adapted, it receives a lower rating.

Main errors in the mobile version

1. The site is not adapted to the screen

The user has to enlarge the page.

📌 Solution: use responsive design

2. Text is too small

Text is difficult to read without magnification.

📌 Solution:

• font size from 16px

• sufficient padding

3. Buttons are too small

The user cannot click on elements.

📌 Solution:

• enlarge buttons

• add padding between elements

4. Slow Loading

Mobile internet is often slower.

📌 Solution:

• image optimization

• lazy loading

• code minification

5. Using Flash and legacy technologies

Modern browsers do not support them.

📌 Solution: use HTML5 and modern standards

How to check mobile optimization

• Google Mobile-Friendly Test - responsiveness check

• Google Search Console - mobile error report

• Google PageSpeed Insights - analysis speed

Principles of responsive design

1. Flexible grid (Grid)

Content scales to fit the screen.

2. Media queries (CSS)

Allow you to change styles for different devices:

3. Flexible Images

4. Mobile-first approach

First, a design is created for mobile devices, then for the desktop.

How to Improve Mobile SEO

1. Use Responsive Design

2. Speed up site loading

3. Simplify navigation

4. Make larger buttons

5. Remove unnecessary elements

6. Test the site on different devices

7. Optimize Core Web Vitals

Additional Tips

• Avoid pop-ups

• Make the menu convenient (burger menu)

• Use AMP (if relevant)

• Keep an eye on UX/UI

Business Impact

Mobile optimization directly impacts:

• conversion

• behavioral factors

• user retention

If the site is inconvenient, the user will leave for a competitor in seconds.

Mobile optimization is no longer an option, but a necessity. Without responsive design, it is impossible to successfully promote a website on Google.

Robots. txt is one of the basic technical SEO tools. It helps you control which pages on your site can be crawled by search engines, including Google.

Correct robots setup. txt allows you to speed up indexing, avoid duplicates and protect service sections of the site.

What is robots. txt

robots. txt is a text file that is placed in the root of the site:

It contains instructions for search engines such as Google Search.

Basic robots directives. txt

1. User-agent

Indicates which robot the rule applies to:

* - means for all search robots.

2. Disallow

Disallows access to certain pages or sections:

3. Allow

Allows access to specific pages:

4. Sitemap

Indicates the path to the sitemap:

Пример правильного robots. txt

📌 Это значит:

• админка и оформление заказа закрыты

• остальные страницы открыты для индексации

Частые ошибки

1. Полный запрет индексации

❌ Закрывает весь сайт от Google

Закрытие CSS и JS

❌ Может нарушить отображение сайта

📌 Решение: не закрывать важные ресурсы

3. Отсутствие sitemap

Без карты сайта роботу сложнее находить страницы.

4. Неправильные пути

Ошибки в написании URL делают правила бесполезными.

Как проверить robots. txt

Через браузер

Откройте:

Via Google Search Console

• Checking the robots. txt

• Crawling error analysis

Configuration recommendations

• Close service pages (admin panel, cart, filters)

• Leave content that needs to be ranked open

• Add a link to the sitemap. xml

• Don't block CSS and JS

• Check the file regularly after changes

robots. txt and SEO

Robots. txt does not guarantee that pages will be removed from the index, but:

• manages crawling budget

• helps index important pages faster

• reduces server load

Important point

If you need to completely remove a page from the search - use:

• meta tag noindex

• or tools in Google Search Console

robots. txt is a simple yet powerful SEO tool. Proper configuration helps search engines correctly understand the structure of the site and promote it faster in Google.

Site loading speed is one of the key ranking factors in Google. If pages open slowly, you lose not only search positions, but also real customers. Let's figure out how it works and what to do with it.

Why speed matters for SEO

Search engines, including Google, take user experience into account. Slow site:

• increases bounce rate

• reduces time on site

• deteriorates conversions

• affects search rankings

This is especially important after the implementation of Core Web Vitals - download quality metrics.

Key Speed ​​Metrics

1. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

The loading time of the main content of the page.
📌 Norm: up to 2.5 seconds

2. FID (First Input Delay)

Delay before the first user interaction.
📌 Normal: up to 100 ms

3. CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

How much the interface “jumps” when loading.
📌 Norm: less than 0. 1

You can check these indicators through Google PageSpeed ​​Insights.

What slows down the site

1. Heavy Images

Unoptimized images are one of the main reasons for slow loading.

📌 Solution:

• use WebP

• compress images

• enable lazy loading

2. Bad hosting

A cheap or overloaded server greatly affects the speed.

📌 Solution:

• choose fast VPS or cloud hosting

• use CDN

3. Unnecessary scripts and CSS

Too many files increase loading time.

📌 Solution:

• merge and minify files

• delete unused code

4. No caching

Without cache, the site reloads every time.

📌 Solution:

• enable browser caching

• use server cache

5. Slow javascript

JS may block the page from loading.

📌 Solution:

• defer/async)

• optimization scripts

Speed testing tools

• Google PageSpeed Insights - main tool

• Google Search Console - shows Core Web Vitals problems

• GTmetrix - detailed speed analysis

• Pingdom - testing from different countries

How to speed up a website: step by step

1. Optimize images

2. Enable caching

3. Connect CDN

4. Minify CSS and JS

5. Remove unnecessary plugins (especially in CMS)

6. Switch to fast hosting

7. Use HTTP/2 or HTTP/3

8. Set up lazy loading

Additional Tips

• Use AMP (if appropriate for your project)

• Follow mobile version of the site

• Check the speed regularly after updates

• Do not overload the site with animations

The Impact of Speed on Sales

Fast site = more profit.

Research Shows:

• 1 Second Delay Can Reduce Conversions by Up to 20%

• Users Leave If the site loads in more than 3 seconds

Site speed is not just a technical parameter, but an important SEO and business factor. If you want to grow in search and increase sales, speed optimization should be a priority.

Technical audit of a website is the basis of effective SEO promotion. Even the most beautiful and selling website will not bring clients if it has technical errors. Regular testing helps identify problems and improve search engine rankings.

1. Website Loading Speed
Fast loading is one of the key ranking factors. If a site takes longer than 2-3 seconds to load, users leave and rankings drop. It's important to optimize your images, code and server.

2. Adaptation for mobile devices
Most users log in from their phones. The site must display correctly on all devices and work quickly on mobile devices.

3. Page Indexing
Check that all important pages are indexed by search engines. Errors in the robots.txt file or meta tags can prevent your site from being detected by Google.

4. Errors and Broken Links
Having 404 pages and broken links degrades the user experience and negatively impacts SEO. They need to be found and corrected regularly.

5. Site Structure and URL
Clear structure and clear URLs help search engines understand your site better. Page addresses must be logical and contain keywords.

6. SSL Certificate (HTTPS)
Security is an important factor. The site must be running over HTTPS, otherwise users may see warnings about an insecure connection.

7. Duplicate pages
Duplicate content can lower your site's rankings. It is important to set up canonical links and eliminate duplicate pages.

Technical audit is a mandatory stage for any website. It helps eliminate errors, improve SEO and increase the number of customers. If you want to get the maximum result, it is better to entrust the audit to specialists and correct all shortcomings in a timely manner.

What is a Canonical URL

Canonical URL is a special tag that tells search engines which version of a page is the main one if a website has multiple pages with identical or very similar content.

It is used to combat duplicate content, which can negatively impact SEO.

The canonical tag is specified in the page's HTML code and looks like this:

This tag tells search engines like Google and Yandex that this specific URL should be considered the primary one.

Why a Canonical URL is needed

1. Solves the problem of page duplicates

Identical pages with different URLs may appear on the website. For example:

The search engine may treat them as different pages.

Canonical indicates that there is only one main page.

2. Passes SEO weight to the main page

If multiple pages have the same content, links can be distributed among them.

Canonical helps to pass all SEO weight to a single page, which improves its rankings.

3. Helps with proper indexing

Search engines understand:

• which page to index
• which pages to consider duplicates
• which page to show in search results

When to use Canonical

Canonical is useful in the following cases:

1. Pages with parameters

For example:

Canonical points to the main page.

2. Online stores

In stores using WooCommerce, a single product can be located in multiple categories:

Canonical helps choose the main product page.

3. Page duplicates

For example:

Canonical indicates which version is the main one.

How to add a Canonical URL

1. Via WordPress SEO plugins

If the site runs on WordPress, canonical is added automatically via SEO plugins:

• Yoast SEO
• Rank Math
• All in One SEO

These plugins automatically add a canonical tag for each page.

2. Add manually

You can add the tag to the <head> section of the page:

Canonical vs Redirect

Many people confuse canonical and redirect.

The difference:

Canonical

• tells search engines the main page
• the user can open different URLs

301 Redirect

• completely redirects the user
• the old URL is no longer used

Common Canonical Errors

1. Specifying the wrong URL

Canonical must point to a real, existing page.

2. Canonical to another page without reason

If the pages are different, canonical should not be used.

3. Mismatch between canonical and sitemap

The sitemap.xml file should contain only canonical pages.

How to check Canonical

You can check it in several ways:

1. open the page source code
2. find the canonical tag

or use tools:

Google Search Console

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

A Canonical URL is an important technical SEO tool that helps search engines correctly determine the main page of a website.

It allows you to:

• avoid page duplicates
• pass SEO weight to the main page
• improve website indexing

Canonical is especially important for:

• online stores
• large websites
• websites with URL parameters