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12 Technical SEO Mistakes That Are Killing Your Website Rankings

By / August 06, 2025

1. Slow Page Speed & Poor Core Web Vitals

Page speed is no longer optional it’s a confirmed Google ranking factor. Slow websites frustrate users and lead to higher bounce rates.

Common issues:

  • Unoptimized images 
  • Heavy scripts and plugins 
  • No caching or CDN 
  • Poor hosting infrastructure 

How to fix it:

  • Compress and lazy-load images 
  • Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML 
  • Use a CDN (Cloudflare, Bunny, etc.) 
  • Upgrade to performance-optimized hosting 
  • Improve Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)
Top seo mistakes 1024x683 1

2. Website Not Mobile-Friendly

With Google’s mobile-first indexing, your mobile version is what Google primarily evaluates not desktop.

Common mistakes:

  • Text too small to read 
  • Elements too close together 
  • Horizontal scrolling 
  • Slow mobile load times 

Fix:

  • Use responsive design 
  • Test pages with Google Mobile-Friendly Test 
  • Optimize fonts, buttons, and layouts for touch devices

3. Crawlability & Indexing Issues

If Google can’t crawl or index your site, it doesn’t matter how good your content is it won’t rank.

Common problems:

  • Pages blocked in robots.txt 
  • Incorrect noindex tags 
  • Broken internal links 
  • Orphan pages 

Fix:

  • Audit crawl errors using Google Search Console 
  • Ensure important pages are indexable 
  • Improve internal linking structure 
  • Fix broken links and redirects

4. Duplicate Content Problems

Duplicate content confuses search engines and splits ranking authority.

Causes:

  • HTTP vs HTTPS versions 
  • WWW vs non-WWW 
  • Pagination issues 
  • Similar service/location pages 

Fix:

  • Implement canonical tags correctly 
  • Redirect duplicate URLs 
  • Use consistent URL structures 
  • Avoid auto-generated thin pages

5. Poor URL Structure

Messy URLs reduce both user trust and search engine clarity.

Bad example:

example.com/page?id=123&cat=456

Good example:

example.com/technical-seo-mistakes

Best practices:

  • Keep URLs short and descriptive
  • Use hyphens, not underscores
  • Avoid unnecessary parameters

6. Missing or Incorrect XML Sitemap

An XML sitemap helps search engines discover and prioritize your pages.

Mistakes:

  • Outdated sitemap 
  • Indexing noindex pages 
  • Missing important URLs 

Fix:

  • Generate a clean XML sitemap 
  • Submit it to Google Search Console 
  • Keep it updated automatically

7. Broken Links & Improper Redirects

Broken links hurt UX and waste crawl budget.
Common issues:
  • 404 errors
  • Redirect chains
  • Temporary redirects (302) used incorrectly
Fix:
  • Replace broken links
  • Use 301 redirects for permanent changes
  • Avoid redirect loops

8. Incorrect Canonical Tags

Canonical tags help search engines understand the preferred version of a page.

Common mistakes:
  • Self-referencing errors 
  • Multiple canonical tags 
  • Pointing to irrelevant pages 
Fix:
  • Ensure one correct canonical per page 
  • Canonicalize duplicate or similar content properly

9. No Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Without schema, your site misses out on rich results like FAQs, reviews, and breadcrumbs.

Benefits:
  • Higher CTR 
  • Enhanced SERP appearance 
  • Better search engine understanding 
Fix:
  • Implement Schema (Article, FAQ, Service, Organization) 
  • Validate using Google’s Rich Results Test

10. Security Issues (No HTTPS)

Google flags non-HTTPS websites as “Not Secure,” damaging trust and rankings.

Fix:
  • Install SSL certificate 
  • Force HTTPS using 301 redirects 
  • Update internal links and canonical URLs

11. Thin or Low-Quality Indexed Pages

Indexing weak pages reduces your overall site authority.
Examples:
  • Empty tag pages
  • Auto-generated filters
  • Duplicate archives
Fix:
  • Noindex low-value pages
  • Merge similar pages
  • Improve content depth and relevance

12. Poor Internal Linking Strategy

Internal links guide both users and search engines.
Mistakes:
  • No contextual linking
  • Overusing exact-match anchors
  • Important pages buried too deep
Fix:
  • Link important pages from high-authority pages
  • Use natural anchor text
  • Maintain a logical site hierarchy

Why Technical SEO Audits Are Critical

Technical SEO is not a one-time task. Algorithm updates, plugin changes, and site redesigns can introduce new issues.

A regular technical SEO audit helps:

  • Identify ranking blockers
  • Improve crawl efficiency
  • Enhance user experience
  • Boost long-term organic growth

Final Thoughts

Technical SEO mistakes often go unnoticed but their impact on rankings is massive. Fixing these issues can result in quick visibility improvements, even without creating new content.

If your website isn’t ranking despite great content, technical SEO might be the real problem.

Need a Technical SEO Audit?

At Entrustech, we specialize in:

 Get in touch today and let’s fix what’s holding your rankings back.

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