diagnosing technical seo issues

| #engagePDX | @alexisKsanders
diagnosing
technical seo
issues

so, i’ve been
taking math for the
last 8 months…
currently in calc two, just keep integrating…

largely, math and
SEO don’t
connect,

but one thing math does
(and quite beautifully) is
presents a framework
for solving different
types of problems

which can be useful
when confronting
technical SEO
issues.
you
(with a framework to solve any problem you may face)

a framework to
identify technical seo issues
(to resolve and prioritize issues)
retroactively

typical setup:
• you get an email with
symptoms of the issue,
• you see something that
doesn’t feel right, and
• may be labelled as a fire

step 1:
don’t panic.
https://www.deviantart.com/jon-
wood/art/OMG-ONOZ-59707980

it can be hard not to,
but it’s important to
approach problems
with an analytical,
logical mindset
the only class i’ve ever experienced flight
reaction to was during a statistics exam…

• take a deep breathe (5s in, 5s out)
• step away for (5m)
– grab a coffee
– take a walk
– laugh about something
• re-prioritize the day
• remember it’s not expected that you
know all the answers (but will try)
https://giphy.com/gifs/hoppip-coffee-time-
adventure-687qS11pXwjCM

step two:
understand
the problem
(and level of priority)
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/60780-if-
i-had-an-hour-to-solve-a-problem-i-d
understanding problem (91.6̅6%)
findingsolution(8.3̅3̅%)
time usage recommendation when faced with a
new problem (per einstein)

• what do we know already?
• do we have any data collected?
• what are the symptoms surrounding
the issue?
• do we need to solve asap?

priority level
must be
established
hair on fire
won't affect performance
must to be fixed now
S.O.S…
escalate immediately
urgent priority
"drop everything & do this right now"
it is affecting site performance
fix w/in days
high priority
fix w/in week
"when you get a chance"
it will probably affect performance
low priority
fix w/in quarter
fix w/in year
shouldn't affect performance

step three:
develop a
plan to solve

internal
o are others in the
industry seeing
this problem?
o is any news/
update related?
o is there anything
familiar about this
problem?
o have we seen
this before?
o what data should
we collect?
external

create hypothesis:
• is there anything that you can
think of that may be causing
this?
• outline indicators that would be
true (if hypothesis is valid)
• outline where to start

step
four:
attempt
plan.

• prove or disprove
hypothesis
• try to eliminate what it
couldn’t be
• write notes on what you
see +screenshots

what does [x] say:
o page (inspect > element)
o analytics platform + google search
console + bwt
o log files
o relevant SEO tools

analytics
elements to
review
https://www.merkleinc.com/blog/troubleshoo
ting-data-fluctuations-seo-reporting
seasonality
cross-channel
news and external
forces
site issues
device
internal
search
entry
page
search
engines
holidays
browser
location-
based

some technical SEO tools:
saijo george has a list of many more tools, check it out
here: https://saijogeorge.com/best-marketing-tools/
<h1>TechnicalSEO.com</h1>
monitor pages status render as search engines
crawlers log file analyzers
structured data tools robots.txt mobile-first
<h1>TechnicalSEO.com</h1> <h1>TechnicalSEO.com</h1>
<h1>TechnicalSEO.com</h1>

some speed tools:
dissect page speed google’s speed fixes prioritized speed report
+
"Network" panel
"Coverage" report
dev working environment CDN finder find server

also, analytics!
performance analytics keyword analytics
use analytics proactively to id’ issues, check out troubleshooting ideas here:
https://www.merkleinc.com/blog/troubleshooting-data-fluctuations-seo-reporting

more tools
keywordtool.io
keyword rankings content ideation
links performance
crawlers mobile-friendliness data

starting point for technical issues:
1. user-agent switcher to googlebot
2. check DOM (inspect > element)
3. throw urls in screamingfrog*
4. check analytics platform
5. check gsc data
6. check keyword ranking tracker
7. review log files
*oncrawl, botify, deepcrawl, and semrush all
also offer crawlers that can be used here.

common root of technical SEO problems:
color coordination from moz.com/blog/seo-
cyborg (crawl, render, index, signaling, rank)
+ technologies
× not using a href links
× infinite scroll
× lazy loaded images
× poor crawl efficiency (+traps)
× using CSS background images
× inaccurate status codes
× robots.txt jacked up (or goes
down)
× duplicate content (especially
close variants)
× SSR version ≠ consistent
× large resources on page (speed)
× javascript not being rendered
appropriately
× recently migrated site
× noindex html tag or header
× canonical tags
× hreflang tags
× some weird feature in GSC or BWT
× structured data not validating
× AMP not validating
× PWA not validating

step five: determine a
course of action

y n
do we know cause?
can it be resolved?
don’t worry about itfix it
can we alleviate
symptoms?
anything we can do to
id’ problem?
give it a try

step six:
write a
response

be terse.

start with the solution.

add:
+analysis notes,
+screenshots,
+label

a format:
• solution:
• cause:
• recap of issue:
• analysis notes:
• including - screenshots, data, labels, etc.

alternative:
 executive summary:
 includes all top items - solution, cause,
recap of issue
 analysis notes:

extend knowledge to your team.

if you are thinking,
“i never have SEO fires
(and/or firedrills).”

i’m happy for you
:’-) ( tear of happiness)

however, if you are proactively
looking for issues (b/c good work never ends),

here’s an aspirational goals:
check off every box on
moz.com/blog/seo-cyborg

+if your experience is perfect,
you can always aim to
improve site speed.

top tip: prioritize.

you don’t have to be perfect to
do well in search, but a solid set
of priorities never hurt.

there are a ton
of tools to help
with this, e.g.,
opportunity
summary
High Impact
High
Effortneveravoid
prioritizelow-hanging fruit
1
2
3
4
5

gantt charts
January February March April May June July August September October November December
<task/initiative>
<task/initiative>
<task/initiative>
<task/initiative>
<task/initiative>
<task/initiative>
<task/initiative>

good old fashion chart
Recommendations Estimated Impact Estimated Effort
<action item> <high, med, low> <high, med, low>

recap:
o Steps for dealing with fire(drill):
1. panic disengaged
2. understand problem
3. make plan (to analyze)
4. do plan (+analyzing)
5. suggest a solution (or something that gets closer to one)
6. write a succinct write-up (w/detailed analysis notes)
o a ton of possible action items to focus on (here:
moz.com/blog/seo-cyborg)
o prioritize top initiatives

closing thoughts:
question, play, learn, test,
report, repeat.

fin.

sophia's
aunt
when we went
snowtubing
after a long sissy-
sophie day at her
favorite froyo loc

merkle seo clients

thank you!
@alexisKsanders
/in/alexissanders

math framework ideas come from 
calculus: early transcendentals, j. stewart

diagnosing technical seo issues

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