SEO Low-Hanging Fruit, Part 2: Technical Fixes That Unlock Performance

Technical SEO might sound intimidating, but it’s not just for developers. In fact, some of the most valuable SEO wins don’t require touching code at all. They just require knowing where to look. 

Make sure to read part 1 before diving into this one! 

Behind-the-Scenes Wins That Drive Real Results

This second part of our SEO Low-Hanging Fruit series covers the technical side of SEO: the structure, speed, crawlability, and visibility of your site. If the on-page fixes we covered in Part 1 are about telling your story clearly, technical SEO is about making sure Google can actually read and trust that story.

We’ll break this down into DIY-friendly fixes you can start today, and pro-level tasks that are better handled by your SEO team or agency.

DIY Technical SEO Fixes

Set Up Google Search Console & Fix Indexing Issues

Here’s the thing: if Google can’t see or understand your site, you’re not even playing the game.

Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool, and it’s arguably the most important one in your toolkit. It tells you whether Google can crawl and index your website, shows performance data, and flags critical issues you might not be aware of.

How to Set Up Google Search Console:

• Go to search.google.com/search-console
• Choose your website property type (domain-wide or URL prefix)
• Verify ownership — the easiest way is usually via your DNS provider or using Google Analytics if it’s already installed
• Submit your sitemap (usually located at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml)

Once you’re in, check for:

• Pages excluded from indexing (and why)
• Errors like “Soft 404” or “Duplicate without user-selected canonical”
• Coverage issues that may be blocking critical pages from appearing in search

Quick DIY Fixes:

• Ensure all key pages are included in your sitemap
• Use the “URL Inspection” tool to test and reindex important URLs
• Look out for accidental ‘noindex’ tags in your page headers
• Fix any broken links that Google flags in the “Pages” report

Image Optimization for Speed and SEO

Page speed is more than a nice-to-have — it directly impacts both user experience and rankings. Large, uncompressed images are one of the most common culprits of slow-loading pages. And the best part? This is one of the easiest SEO wins you can implement without touching a line of code.

What You Should Be Doing:

• Compress images without significant quality loss
• Use modern formats like WebP where possible
• Add descriptive, keyword-rich ALT tags for accessibility and SEO
• Set proper image dimensions to prevent layout shifts (important for Core Web Vitals)

How to Fix It:

• Step 1: Run your site through PageSpeed Insights
• Step 2: Look for any image-related warnings (e.g., “Defer offscreen images” or “Efficiently encode images”)
• Step 3: Download your unoptimized images and run them through a compression tool

Free Tools to Use:

• TinyPNG / TinyJPG
• Squoosh by Google
• ShortPixel (freemium)

Optimize Site Architecture: The 3-Click Rule

Every important page on your site should be reachable in three clicks or less from the homepage. If it’s buried deeper than that, it’s going to be harder to find — for both users and search engines.

Why It Matters:

• Google’s crawl budget isn’t infinite — deeply buried pages may not be indexed
• Users won’t go on a treasure hunt to find what they need
• Clean navigation improves user flow and reduces bounce rates

What to Look For:

• Important pages with no internal links pointing to them (orphan pages)
• Pages only accessible through long category chains or complex filters
• URLs buried behind JavaScript-heavy navigation or AJAX calls

How to Fix It:

• Use a crawling tool (like Screaming Frog) to map your site’s structure
• Flatten out deep hierarchies — if a page matters, give it a direct route
• Create or update hub pages that link to deeper-level content
• Add contextual internal links from high-traffic pages

Pro-Level Technical SEO Fixes

Mobile & Responsive Design Fixes

Mobile-first indexing is the default for Google. If your site doesn’t perform well on mobile, it doesn’t perform, period.

What to evaluate:

• Does your mobile layout adapt cleanly to different screen sizes?
• Are buttons and links easy to tap without zooming?
• Is text readable without pinching or horizontal scrolling?
• How fast does your site load on a 3G/4G connection?

Common mobile issues that hurt SEO:

• Unplayable media or third-party scripts that don’t render properly
• Popups or interstitials that cover the main content
• Fonts or CTAs that are too small to interact with

How to fix it:

• Run your site through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
• Use a responsive framework (like Bootstrap or a mobile-first WordPress theme)
• Minimize blocking scripts and optimize above-the-fold content for speed
• Ensure all key pages are fully functional and styled correctly on mobile

Tip: Open your website in your browser, right-click anywhere and select “inspect”. From here, you can see how you website layout and look change on different screen sizes (mobile or desktop).

Implement Structured Data for Rich Snippets

Structured data (also known as schema markup) helps Google better understand your content, and it makes your pages eligible for rich results like product prices, reviews, FAQs, and more.

Why it matters:

• Increases visibility with rich snippets (which can boost click-through rates)
• Helps Google categorize your content more accurately
• Improves eligibility for features like voice search and featured snippets

Types of structured data to consider:

• Article / BlogPosting
• Product / Offer
• FAQ / How-To
• LocalBusiness / Organization

How to implement it:

• Use a structured data generator (like Merkle’s Schema Markup Generator)
• Add the JSON-LD code directly into your page’s head section or via a CMS plugin
• Test it using Google’s Rich Results Test before publishing

Free & Paid Tools for Technical SEO

Free Tools:

• Google Search Console
• PageSpeed Insights
• Mobile-Friendly Test
• Google Rich Results Test
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider (up to 500 URLs)

Paid Tools:

• Screaming Frog (full version)
• Ahrefs / Semrush (crawl diagnostics, mobile issues, speed, and structure insights)
• GTmetrix (site speed and performance breakdown)

Technical SEO Doesn’t Have to Be Intimidating

You don’t need to be a developer to get your hands dirty with technical SEO. Many of the highest-impact fixes start with tools like Google Search Console or PageSpeed Insights, and a willingness to look under the hood.

Start with what you can tackle now: clean up your indexing, compress your images, flatten your site structure. Then partner with a pro to implement mobile UX upgrades and schema markup that really elevates your site.

In Part 3, we’re shifting focus to off-page SEO: backlinks, link hygiene, and building your site’s authority from the outside in.

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