You know what, just to answer this question right away, we’re going to say no, technical SEO isn’t generally that important for small local business websites.

Generally speaking, your typical website of this nature is going to be a homepage, a few service pages, maybe a contact form etc. Given the simplicity, and tools available, most of the time these websites will be setup out of the box with basic technical SEO optimisation.

However, and this is a big however, there are plenty of circumstances where sites are setup by inexperienced DIY owners or amateur SEO technicians – and they do flag a lot of seriously detrimental errors. Therefore, this can impact your SEO performance. As we know, if your site isn’t performing on a basic level due to major errors, you could be losing organic traffic and potentially, customers. So, I’ve gone into some detail about this below to help shed some light on what to look for, what’s important and just some general information.

What Is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO means looking after the behind-the-scenes parts of a website. It’s about making sure search engines, like Google, can find and read the site without any problems. Unlike content or design, technical SEO focuses on the code and structure of your website. This part of SEO can help a site load faster and work better on all devices. When a website is well set up, search engines can find it, assess it and show it to more people who are searching online.

It’s important to note though, that technical SEO on any more than a basic level i.e. looking for major crawlability problems and 404 errors, is fairly useless with a small site without much content or additionally functionality/media. This is because there isn’t much to optimise. If it’s a few pages about a window fitting business in a small countryside town, then chances are, (if the basic technical boxes are ticked), you’ll be found by the people you want to be found by, and nothing else is required.

Right, let’s dive into more detail about what these issues actually could be on a more granular level.

Common Technical SEO Issues For Small Local Business Websites

Small business websites with basic and poorly implemented local SEO sometimes have issues that stop search engines from reading them properly. Here are some common problems that many websites face:

404 Errors

A 404 error happens when a visitor tries to open a page that doesn’t exist. This can happen when pages are moved or deleted without a proper redirect. If a site has 404 errors, it not only frustrates visitors but also makes it hard for search engines to understand the site – this is particularly important if these 404 errors are new for previously indexed pages which have traffic or are ranking in search engines. Fixing these errors can help the website show up in more search results, and stop google from reducing your visibility due to the end user (and their crawlers) not finding what they need.

Security Issues

Security is important for every website. One common issue is the use of HTTP instead of HTTPS. HTTPS shows that a website has a secure connection, which gives visitors peace of mind. When a website is not secure, it might be marked as unsafe by some browsers. This can not only drive away potential customers, but signal to search engines that your site could potentially harm users – as a result, they could remove your site entirely from the search results.

Upgrading to HTTPS is pretty easy though, most hosts have a basic free SSL certificate you can apply to your site in a few clicks.

Navigation & Orphan Pages

Now, this one is a bit nuanced, but I’ve come across it a few times. I’ll give you an example:

You made a page, great! You published it, (probably on WordPress) but you didn’t add it to any navigation. Now, in a search engine’s eyes, any link on a crawlable page is navigation. But realistically, it should be in at the very least, your footer, and ideally your header. As well as the occasional internal link – especially if it’s an important page.

If you’ve published a page but Google or other search engines can’t find it, then users can’t either. It will be lost, and likely never found unless you specifically request indexing or by some miracle a crawler finds it. Always make sure your pages are linked and crawlable within your website to avoid this.

Slow Site Speed

How fast a website loads is pretty important these days with the introduction of Google’s Core Web Vitals. Many visitors will leave a site if it takes too long to load, and Google knows it. Site speed is influenced by several factors, such as large images, unoptimised code, and poor hosting. Improving site speed not only helps with SEO but also makes the experience better for users. Generally speaking, a pagespeed score of over 60 for mobile, and over 80 for desktop will suffice.

Missing Sitemaps

A sitemap is literally how it sounds – a map of your website. It tells search engines where all the important pages are. If a website doesn’t have a clear sitemap, search engines may miss some pages, meaning those pages might not show up in search results. Realistically, a website will probably be indexed eventually without one, but it could take an extremely long time. What’s more, when coupled with poor internal linking and navigation, critical pages could just never be shown to potential customers. There are so many plugins for WordPress out there that can help with this, so there’s no excuse.

Case Study: Modern Vintage Weddings

Modern Vintage Weddings is a great example of a recent website that had a long list of technical issues that should never have existed on a fundamental level, which I fixed swiftly. It did actually result in a significant uptick in organic traffic, so this one really shows how sometimes a small business site can significantly benefit from a bit of savvy technical, local SEO. MVW was originally built by the owner using a DIY approach with a theme from Flothemes. Unfortunately, this led to several problems:

• The site had hundreds of broken links, meaning visitors encountered an ungodly amount of 404 errors.
• It was not fully secure because it used HTTP instead of HTTPS for some of its pages.
• The theme prevented a clear use of headings, and many titles were wrapped in <span> meaning there was no defining marker between headings and paragraph content.
• The overall speed of the website was very slow due to unoptimised images, affecting how quickly pages loaded.
• There was no clear sitemap, which made it hard for search engines to index the site.

After these issues were addressed, Modern Vintage Weddings saw noticeable improvements in how the site performed and how easily visitors could navigate it. Although we won’t list specific numbers here, you can read more about it in the case study. However, the overall boost in performance shows that fixing technical SEO problems can be very helpful.

Advice For Small Local Business Owners

To wrap this all up, let’s summarise and note what to do if you’re worried. Even if your website seems to work fine, it’s wise to look for these technical SEO issues:

1. Check for Broken Links
   Take some time now and then to review your website. Look for pages that return a 404 error. If you find any broken links, update them or set up a redirect so that visitors always end up on the right page.
2. Improve Your Site’s Security
   Make sure your website uses HTTPS. Switching from HTTP to HTTPS is a straightforward change that can help improve your ranking and make visitors feel safer while browsing.
3. Review Your Website Structure
   Look at the way your content is organised. Ensure that your headings are clear and follow a logical order. A well-organised site makes it easier for visitors to understand your content and helps search engines index your pages.
4. Test Your Site Speed
   Use one of the many free online tools to see how fast your website loads. If you notice that it is slow, try to find the cause—perhaps large images or extra code—and make the necessary adjustments.
5. Set Up & Submit a Sitemap
   Create a sitemap that lists all the pages on your website. This helps search engines find every part of your site. Once you have a sitemap, submit it to search engines like Google to help improve your site’s reach.

There are more, but these are the main ones that don’t really require any deep technical skills. Even if you are not a tech expert, many online tools can help you understand what might be wrong. If you feel that the issues are too complex to handle on your own, you might want to consider asking for help.

Contact FAR SEO For Technical & Local SEO Expertise

I’m here if any of this seems over your head, too technical or you just don’t have the time. I specialise in technical SEO as well as a variety of other SEO and design based skills to ensure your website get’s found by the right people in all the search engines. I understand what’s important, how the success of it should be measured and most importantly, what will actually provide you with decent ROI. Get in touch today to find out more.