Web Development · Advanced level

Advanced level · Module 3: Web Performance and Search Optimisation · Lesson 4 of 4

Technical SEO and Measurement

Help search engines crawl and understand a site, and measure visits with respect for privacy.

In this lesson you will

  • Apply titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, sitemaps and robots.txt
  • Add structured data and measure traffic responsibly

Key concepts

title and meta descriptioncanonical URLsitemap.xml and robots.txtstructured data (JSON-LD)

The lesson

Give every page a unique, descriptive title and meta description. Use one canonical URL per page so search engines do not see duplicates, and list public pages in sitemap.xml referenced from robots.txt.

Content rendered only by JavaScript can be slower to index; server-rendered or pre-rendered HTML for public pages is safer. Keep private and admin pages out of search with noindex.

Structured data in JSON-LD describes an organisation, courses or events in a machine-readable way, but must match what the page shows. Measure traffic with privacy-respecting analytics and submit the sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Nobody can guarantee rankings; useful content and a sound, fast site are what you control.

Step by step

  1. Write titles and descriptions for every page.
  2. Add canonical links, a sitemap and robots.txt.
  3. Add Organization structured data and validate it.
  4. Plan analytics and Search Console set-up.

Practice activity

Complete the SEO pass for the training centre site and write the final performance and SEO report.

Expected result: Every page has unique metadata, the sitemap and structured data validate and the report shows measured results against targets.

Check your understanding

  1. What is a canonical URL for?

    Show answer

    Naming the preferred URL of a page so search engines treat duplicates as one.

  2. Should structured data describe things not shown on the page?

    Show answer

    No; it must match the visible content.

Taught live by an instructor — online or in person. Free course lessons are for self-study and do not lead to a certificate — see registration options.