Technical SEO in 2017: Building a Foundation for Search Success

In 2017, technical SEO was no longer just a checklist to tick off before launching a website. It had evolved into a strategic, innovation-driven discipline that could make or break a site’s performance in search engine results. As Google and other search engines refined their algorithms, the importance of technical SEO grew. It was no longer just about making sure a site was crawlable and indexable—it was about optimizing for speed, structure, and user experience in a way that aligned with the ever-changing digital landscape.

The year 2017 brought with it a renewed focus on structured data, performance optimization, and advanced tools like Google Search Console and Yoast SEO. Technical SEO was no longer just for developers or technical specialists—it had become a critical component of any comprehensive digital marketing strategy. As Google emphasized structured data and rich snippets, websites that adapted quickly saw significant improvements in visibility and user engagement.

The core of technical SEO in 2017 revolved around a few key principles: ensuring that all important content was indexed, optimizing the site for crawling and rendering, and leveraging modern technologies like Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and JavaScript-based rendering. These elements were essential for building a website that not only met the technical requirements of search engines but also delivered a seamless experience for users.

Understanding the technical underpinnings of SEO allowed marketers and web developers to move beyond superficial optimizations and focus on long-term, sustainable improvements. In this guide, we will explore the seven essential technical SEO strategies from 2017, analyze their impact, and provide actionable steps for implementing them on your site. We’ll also examine the tools and methodologies that made these strategies possible, and how they can be adapted for modern SEO practices.

The Core of Technical SEO: Indexing and Crawling

The Importance of Indexing

Indexing is the foundation of technical SEO. If search engines can’t find and index your pages, they can’t rank them. In 2017, the focus on indexing was more critical than ever, especially with the rise of JavaScript-heavy websites and dynamic content. A site might have thousands of pages, but if only a fraction are indexed, its visibility in search results is significantly reduced.

To ensure that your content is being indexed, you can use the site:yourdomain.com search operator in Google or other search engines. This allows you to see how many of your pages are visible in the search index. Ideally, the number of indexed pages should be close to the total number of pages on your site, minus those that are intentionally excluded (e.g., duplicate content, internal tools, or admin pages).

If you notice a significant discrepancy, the next step is to investigate why certain pages aren’t being indexed. Common culprits include:

Robots.txt Restrictions: If your robots.txt file is blocking crawlers from accessing important pages, they will never be indexed.
Meta Robots Tags: Pages with a noindex meta tag will be ignored by search engines.
JavaScript Rendering Issues: If your site relies heavily on JavaScript and doesn’t use server-side rendering (SSR), crawlers may not be able to read the content.
Redirect Chains or Loops: Pages that redirect multiple times or create loops can confuse crawlers and prevent indexing.

By addressing these issues, you can significantly increase the number of indexed pages and improve your site’s visibility in search results.

Ensuring Crawlability

Crawling is the process by which search engines discover and analyze the content on your site. A site that’s not crawlable is a site that doesn’t exist in the eyes of search engines. In 2017, the challenge of crawling had grown due to the increasing use of dynamic content, AJAX-driven interfaces, and complex site architectures.

To ensure that your site is crawlable, consider the following best practices:

Use a Sitemap: A well-structured XML sitemap helps search engines discover all the important pages on your site.
Avoid Thin Content: Pages with little to no content or duplicate content can be ignored or penalized by search engines.
Fix Broken Links: Internal and external links that lead to 404 pages can hinder crawlers and reduce the site’s authority.
Optimize for JavaScript Rendering: If your site uses JavaScript to load content, ensure that it’s compatible with Google’s crawler (Googlebot).
Use Canonical Tags: If your site has duplicate content or multiple URLs for the same page, use canonical tags to point to the preferred version.

By making your site more crawlable, you help search engines understand your content better, which in turn improves indexing and ranking potential.

Structured Data and Rich Snippets

The Rise of Structured Data

Structured data, or schema markup, became a cornerstone of technical SEO in 2017. This form of markup allows webmasters to provide search engines with explicit information about the content on their pages. Instead of relying on guesswork, search engines could use structured data to display rich snippets, which are enhanced search results that include additional information like ratings, prices, and event dates.

Google’s emphasis on structured data was clear. Gary Illyes, Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst, noted that structured data would play an increasingly important role in search results. In 2017, Google expanded its support for various types of structured data, including:

Product Reviews
Recipes
Job Listings
Event Information
Product Prices

Implementing structured data required a technical understanding of JSON-LD or Microdata. However, tools like Yoast SEO and Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper made it easier for non-technical users to add this markup to their content.

The Impact of Rich Snippets

Rich snippets not only make your site stand out in search results but also improve click-through rates (CTR). When users see a rich snippet with a five-star rating or a price, they’re more likely to click on your result. In 2017, many websites that implemented structured data saw a noticeable increase in organic traffic and engagement.

However, it's important to note that structured data doesn't directly affect rankings. Instead, it enhances the visibility of your content in the search results. A well-optimized rich snippet can make your listing more appealing and increase the likelihood that users will choose your site over competitors.

Performance Optimization and Site Speed

The Role of Page Speed in SEO

In 2017, page speed was no longer just a user experience concern—it was a direct ranking factor. Google had already announced that page speed was a factor in mobile search rankings, and in 2017, this emphasis only grew stronger.

Google's PageSpeed Insights tool became a key resource for webmasters. This tool analyzed a site’s performance and provided recommendations for improvement. In 2017, the focus was on optimizing for both desktop and mobile, with the latter being particularly important due to Google's mobile-first indexing strategy.

Key performance optimization techniques included:

Minifying CSS, JavaScript, and HTML: Reducing the file size of these resources can significantly improve load times.
Compressing Images: Large images can slow down a site. Using tools like TinyPNG or JPEG Optimizer can reduce file size without compromising quality.
Leveraging Browser Caching: Caching allows a site to load faster for returning visitors.
Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN can reduce latency by serving content from a server closer to the user.
Enabling AMP: Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages project allowed content to load almost instantly on mobile devices.

Websites that optimized for speed saw improvements in both search rankings and user engagement. Google also introduced the "Speed" metric in Search Console, which allowed webmasters to track their site's performance over time.

JavaScript Rendering and Dynamic Content

Challenges with JavaScript-Heavy Sites

As websites became more interactive and dynamic, the reliance on JavaScript increased. While JavaScript provided a richer user experience, it also posed challenges for search engines. In 2017, Google announced that it was improving its ability to render JavaScript-heavy pages, but many websites still struggled with indexing issues.

JavaScript rendering is the process by which a search engine parses and executes JavaScript to access the content it loads dynamically. In the past, this was a major issue for SEO, as many crawlers couldn’t render JavaScript and thus couldn’t index the content. By 2017, Google had made significant improvements in this area, but it was still a best practice to ensure that content was accessible without relying on JavaScript.

Best practices for JavaScript SEO included:

Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Rendering content on the server before sending it to the client ensured that search engines could access the content without JavaScript.
Pre-Rendering: For single-page applications (SPAs), pre-rendering pages before crawling could help ensure that content was accessible.
Testing with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test: This tool could help identify rendering issues on mobile devices.

By addressing JavaScript rendering issues, web developers could ensure that their content was both user-friendly and search-engine-friendly.

Mobile Optimization and Mobile-First Indexing

The Shift to Mobile-First

In 2017, Google announced the rollout of mobile-first indexing, a major shift in how it indexed and ranked websites. Instead of using the desktop version of a page as the primary source of content, Google began using the mobile version. This meant that websites that were not optimized for mobile would suffer in search rankings.

Mobile-first indexing had a significant impact on technical SEO. Websites that used responsive design or had a dedicated mobile site needed to ensure that the mobile version of the content was complete and of high quality. If the mobile version was missing content or had a poor user experience, it could hurt the site’s visibility in search results.

Key considerations for mobile SEO in 2017 included:

Responsive Design: Using responsive design allowed a single site to adapt to different screen sizes, ensuring that the same content was available on both desktop and mobile.
AMP Implementation: Google’s AMP project was designed to make mobile pages load quickly and efficiently.
Mobile Usability Testing: Tools like Google's Mobile-Friendly Test could help identify issues with mobile usability, such as tap targets that were too small or content that was not readable without zooming.

Websites that embraced mobile-first principles saw improved rankings and a better user experience on mobile devices.

Security and HTTPS

The Importance of HTTPS

In 2017, HTTPS became a standard practice for secure websites. Google had already announced that HTTPS would be a ranking signal, and by 2017, most major websites had transitioned to HTTPS. This was not just a security concern but also an SEO one.

HTTPS provided several benefits:

Improved Security: HTTPS encrypts data between the user and the server, protecting sensitive information from being intercepted.
Better User Trust: Browsers like Chrome began displaying a "secure" icon for HTTPS sites, which increased user trust.
SEO Benefits: While HTTPS was a relatively small ranking signal, it was still a factor in Google's algorithm.

Migrating to HTTPS required careful planning. Webmasters had to ensure that all internal and external links were updated to HTTPS, that redirects were properly configured, and that the site's performance was not negatively impacted by the additional overhead of encryption.

Google also introduced the "HTTPS" report in Search Console, which allowed webmasters to track their site's security status and identify any issues with mixed content or outdated SSL certificates.

Analytics and Performance Monitoring

The Role of SEO Analytics

In 2017, SEO analytics tools played a crucial role in monitoring and optimizing technical SEO. Tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Yoast SEO provided valuable insights into how a site was performing in search results.

Key metrics to monitor included:

Organic Traffic: Tracking organic traffic over time allowed webmasters to see the impact of their SEO efforts.
Keyword Rankings: Monitoring keyword rankings helped identify which pages were performing well and which needed optimization.
Bounce Rate and Dwell Time: These metrics provided insights into user engagement and the quality of the content.
Page Speed: Tracking page speed metrics helped identify performance issues and opportunities for improvement.

By using these tools, webmasters could make data-driven decisions and continuously refine their technical SEO strategies.

Tools and Automation in Technical SEO

Leveraging SEO Tools

In 2017, the rise of SEO automation tools made technical SEO more accessible to non-technical users. Tools like Yoast SEO, Screaming Frog, and Ahrefs allowed webmasters to audit their sites, identify technical issues, and implement fixes quickly.

Key features of these tools included:

Crawlability Checks: These tools could crawl a site and identify issues like broken links, duplicate content, and missing metadata.
Performance Audits: They could analyze a site’s performance and provide recommendations for improvement.
Structured Data Validation: Tools like Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool helped ensure that structured data was implemented correctly.
Indexing Reports: These tools could track which pages were indexed and identify any indexing issues.

Automation also played a role in SEO. Tools like Google Tag Manager allowed webmasters to implement tracking and analytics code without requiring developer support. This made it easier to monitor and optimize SEO performance in real time.

Key Terminology and Concepts

To help clarify the terminology used in technical SEO, here is a table of key terms and their definitions:

Term	Definition
Indexing	The process by which search engines discover and store content from a website in their index.
Crawling	The process by which search engines navigate and analyze the content of a website.
Robots.txt	A file that tells search engines which parts of a website should or should not be crawled.
Structured Data	Markup that provides explicit information about a page's content to search engines.
AMP	Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages project, designed to make mobile content load quickly.
PageSpeed Insights	A Google tool that analyzes a site's performance and provides optimization recommendations.
HTTPS	A secure protocol that encrypts data between the user and the server.
Mobile-First Indexing	A Google indexing strategy that uses the mobile version of a page as the primary source of content.

Understanding these terms is essential for anyone involved in technical SEO, as they form the foundation of modern SEO practices.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Is technical SEO still important in 2023?

A: Yes, technical SEO remains a critical component of SEO in 2023. While some aspects of technical SEO have evolved, the core principles—such as indexing, crawling, performance, and mobile optimization—remain relevant. In fact, with the rise of AI and machine learning in search, technical SEO has become even more important for ensuring that content is accessible, indexable, and optimized for the latest algorithms.

Q: Can I do technical SEO without technical skills?

A: While some aspects of technical SEO require technical knowledge, many tasks can be done by non-technical users with the right tools. Platforms like Yoast SEO, Screaming Frog, and Google Search Console provide user-friendly interfaces that allow marketers and content creators to implement technical SEO best practices without needing to write code or understand server-side configurations.

Q: How often should I audit my site for technical SEO issues?

A: It’s recommended to perform a technical SEO audit at least once every three to six months. However, if you make frequent updates to your site or run large-scale campaigns, you may need to audit more frequently. Regular audits help identify and fix issues before they impact your site’s performance.

Final Thoughts: The Future of Technical SEO

Technical SEO in 2017 was a turning point for the industry. It marked the transition from a narrow, checklist-based approach to a more strategic, innovation-driven discipline. The focus on indexing, crawling, structured data, performance optimization, and mobile-first indexing laid the groundwork for the modern SEO landscape.

As search engines continue to evolve, technical SEO will remain a critical component of any digital marketing strategy. The ability to adapt to new technologies, implement advanced tools, and stay ahead of algorithmic changes will be key to long-term success.

For marketers, developers, and SEO professionals, the takeaway is clear: technical SEO is not just about following a checklist—it's about building a foundation that supports sustainable growth, user engagement, and visibility in search results. By investing in technical SEO today, you're not just optimizing for the present—you're preparing for the future of search.