Viral Marketing Blog | The Viral Marketing Company

Why Technical SEO is the Foundation of Your Website’s Success in 2025

Written by Jordan Van Ahn | August 16, 2025 5:34:31 PM Z

Imagine you’ve built a beautiful house — stunning decor, perfect layout — but it’s sitting on a shaky foundation. No matter how great it looks, it won’t stand the test of time. The same goes for your website.

You can create amazing content or eye-catching designs, but if your technical SEO isn’t solid, your site might not show up on Google or Bing’s search results. For junior marketers, small business owners, or anyone new to SEO, technical SEO is like laying the foundation for your digital house—the core of your digital marketing strategy, which, in 2025, is pretty much all marketing.

In this guide, we’ll show you why technical SEO is the foundation of your website’s success and how to build it strong using user-friendly tools like Yoast SEO, HubSpot, or your CMS. We’ll cover the key areas to focus on, including the often-overlooked Bing Webmaster Tools, and share simple steps to boost your rankings and keep visitors happy.

Plus, we’ll explain how to avoid small issues that can snowball into bigger problems. Let’s start building a rock-solid foundation for your digital marketing!

What is Technical SEO, and Why Does It Matter?

Technical SEO is about ensuring your website is structurally sound so search engines like Google and Bing can crawl, index, and rank your pages effectively. Think of it as the foundation of your digital house: just as a house needs a solid base to support its walls and roof, your website needs technical SEO to support your content and marketing efforts. It covers things like site speed, mobile-friendliness, security, and making sure search engines can find all your pages.

In 2025, technical SEO is more critical than ever because digital marketing is marketing. Search engines are smarter, prioritizing fast, user-friendly, and secure sites that deliver great experiences. As your website grows, small issues — like a slow page or a broken link — can pile up, weakening your foundation and hurting your rankings.

If you’re wondering why your site isn’t ranking better, try asking an AI tool like Grok or Gemini. It might suggest one of the fixes we’ll cover here, and depending on your site’s context, it could be the key to strengthening your digital marketing foundation. Tools like Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools also help you spot cracks in your foundation early, preventing a snowball effect of neglected details.

Key Areas of Technical SEO (Made Easy)

You don’t need to be a construction expert to build a strong foundation for your website. Here are five key areas of technical SEO, with simple ways to improve them using tools you’re likely already familiar with, like Yoast SEO or your CMS.

1. Site Speed: Build a Fast Foundation

A slow website is like a house with creaky floors—it frustrates visitors and weakens your structure. Google’s Core Web Vitals (metrics like how fast your main content loads) are key ranking factors, and Bing also rewards speedy sites.

As your digital marketing grows, a slow site can drag down your entire strategy.

How to Improve

  • Check Your Speed: Use Google PageSpeed Insights or Bing Webmaster Tools (under “Site Scan”) to get a speed score and easy fixes, like compressing images.
  • Optimize Images: Large images are like heavy furniture weighing down your foundation. On WordPress, plugins like Smush or ShortPixel shrink images automatically. HubSpot and Squarespace have built-in image optimization too.
  • Use Your CMS: Platforms like Wix or HubSpot offer caching or lazy loading (where images load only when scrolled to). Check your settings to enable these.
  • Choose a Fast Host: A reliable host like SiteGround or Wix is like good soil for your foundation. Slow hosting can undermine even a well-built site.

Quick Win: Compress images for your next blog post using Canva (export at 100KB or less) or Smush. It’s an easy way to make your digital house load faster.

2. Mobile-Friendliness: Make Your Foundation Phone-Friendly

With over half of searches happening on mobile devices, Google and Bing prioritize sites that work seamlessly on phones. Google uses mobile-first indexing (judging your mobile site first), and Bing’s algorithms are catching up.

A clunky mobile experience is like a foundation that cracks under pressure, hurting your digital marketing as traffic grows.

How to Improve

  • Test Mobile Performance: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test or Bing Webmaster Tools’ “Mobile Friendliness” report to spot issues like tiny text or hard-to-tap buttons.
  • Pick a Responsive Theme: WordPress, HubSpot, and Squarespace offer mobile-ready templates. Check your CMS settings to ensure “responsive design” is enabled.
  • Simplify Navigation: Ensure menus are easy to use on small screens, like clear pathways in a well-designed house. Avoid pop-ups that block content.
  • Use Yoast: Yoast SEO’s readability checks help ensure content looks great on all devices.

Quick Win: View your site on your phone. If navigation feels awkward, tweak your menu in your CMS’s design settings or ask your web team for help. Still stuck? Ask an AI tool like Grok or Gemini for mobile optimization tips—it might suggest a fix tailored to your site.

3. Crawlability: Help Search Engines Explore Your House

Search engines use bots to crawl your site and index your pages, like inspectors checking every room in your house. If your site has roadblocks — like broken links or blocked pages — Google and Bing might miss key content, and it won’t show up in search results.

As your digital marketing scales, these small cracks can weaken your foundation.

How to Improve

  • Submit a Sitemap: A sitemap is like a blueprint for your house, listing all your pages. Yoast SEO or HubSpot can create and submit one automatically to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  • Check for Errors: Use Google Search Console’s “Coverage” report or Bing Webmaster Tools’ “Site Explorer” to find pages that aren’t indexed (e.g., due to 404 errors).
  • Fix Broken Links: On WordPress, try the Broken Link Checker plugin. HubSpot’s SEO tools can also flag broken links.
  • Keep URLs Simple: Use clear, keyword-rich URLs (e.g., yoursite.com/seo-tips instead of yoursite.com/page123?id=456). Most CMS platforms make URL editing easy.

Quick Win: Set up accounts on Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools (both free) and submit your sitemap. It takes 15 minutes and ensures search engines can navigate your digital house.

4. Structured Data: Add Curb Appeal to Your Search Results

Structured data (or schema markup) is like adding a fresh coat of paint to your house—it helps Google and Bing understand your content, leading to enhanced search results like star ratings or FAQ snippets. These “rich results” make your site stand out, boosting clicks as your digital marketing grows.

How to Improve

  • Use Yoast or CMS: Yoast SEO automatically adds schema for blog posts or products. HubSpot and Squarespace often include basic schema out of the box.
  • Add Simple Markup: Start with schemas like “Article” or “FAQPage.” Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper makes it easy to generate code.
  • Test Your Work: Use Google’s Rich Results Test or Bing’s Markup Validator (in Bing Webmaster Tools) to confirm your schema works.

Quick Win: Enable Yoast’s schema settings for articles if you’re on WordPress. It’s a one-click way to add curb appeal. Not sure which schema to use? Ask an AI tool like Grok or Gemini for suggestions based on your content — it could recommend the perfect markup for your site.

5. Security (HTTPS): Lock the Doors of Your Digital House

A secure site (starting with https://) is like a sturdy lock on your front door—it protects user data and builds trust. Both Google and Bing give HTTPS sites a ranking edge, and as your digital marketing grows, an unsecured site can erode confidence and performance.

How to Improve

  • Enable HTTPS: Most hosts (like Wix, Squarespace, or SiteGround) offer free SSL certificates. Contact your provider if your site is still HTTP.
  • Fix Mixed Content: If some images or scripts load over HTTP, you might see “not secure” warnings. Yoast or HubSpot can help identify these issues.
  • Set Up Redirects: Ensure all HTTP traffic redirects to HTTPS. Your CMS or host can usually handle this.

Quick Win: Check your site’s URL. If it’s not HTTPS, ask your host to enable SSL—it’s often a free, one-click fix.

6. CDN Usage: Strengthen Your Foundation with Speed and Security

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is like adding steel reinforcements to your digital house’s foundation—it speeds up your website and makes it more secure by serving content from servers close to your visitors.

Without a CDN, your site might load slowly for users far from your server, weakening your digital marketing efforts. In 2025, with search engines like Google and Bing prioritizing fast sites, a CDN is a must for boosting rankings and user satisfaction.

Good news: many hosting providers (like SiteGround or Wix) and CMS tools (like HubSpot or WordPress) often include a CDN automatically. Check your settings to confirm it’s active—it’s like inspecting your foundation before moving in.

If your setup doesn’t include one, Cloudflare is a fantastic option. It’s more than just a CDN — it also handles DNS (Domain Name System) to improve security and performance. Setting it up is beginner-friendly and can be a game-changer as your site grows.

How to Improve

  • Check for a Built-in CDN: Log into your hosting dashboard or CMS (e.g., HubSpot, WordPress) and look for CDN or performance settings. Enable it if available.
  • Set Up Cloudflare: Sign up at cloudflare.com, follow their simple setup guide to add your site, and let it optimize your content delivery and DNS.
  • Monitor Performance: Use Google PageSpeed Insights or Bing Webmaster Tools to see speed improvements after enabling a CDN.

Quick Win: Check your hosting or CMS for a CDN today. If none is available, sign up for Cloudflare — it takes about 10 minutes and can make your digital house load faster worldwide.

Don’t Let Small Cracks Weaken Your Foundation

As your digital house grows, small technical SEO oversights can pile up, creating a snowball effect that undermines your marketing efforts. Common mistakes include:

  • Broken Links: Use Broken Link Checker (WordPress) or Bing Webmaster Tools’ Site Scan to catch 404s.
  • Too Many Plugins: On WordPress, extra plugins can slow your site, like clutter weakening a house. Stick to essentials like Yoast and Smush.
  • Messy URLs: Keep URLs clean and descriptive, like clear signage. Your CMS usually has an easy URL editor.
  • Skipping Audits: Check Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools monthly to catch cracks before they grow.

Bing Webmaster Tools is a must here. While Google dominates, Bing powers a growing share of searches (especially on desktop), and its detailed reports can catch crawl errors, duplicate content, or mobile issues that Google might miss.

If your rankings are lagging, an AI tool like Grok or Gemini can analyze your site and suggest fixes like these, tailored to your specific context.

Tools to Build a Strong Foundation

You don’t need to be an architect to master technical SEO. These beginner-friendly tools do the heavy lifting:

Start with Yoast (if on WordPress), Google Search Console, and Bing Webmaster Tools. They’re free and give you a clear view of your site’s foundation.

Why Technical SEO Strengthens Your Digital Marketing

Technical SEO isn’t just about search engines—it’s about building a digital house people love to visit. A fast, mobile-friendly, secure site keeps visitors engaged, lowers bounce rates (when people leave quickly), and signals quality to Google and Bing.

For example, a 1-second speed improvement can boost conversions by up to 7%, per studies. In 2025, with digital marketing being marketing, a strong technical foundation is your ticket to success.

Build Your Foundation Now

Technical SEO doesn’t have to feel like heavy construction. With tools like Yoast SEO, HubSpot, Google Search Console, and Bing Webmaster Tools, you can lay a solid foundation and prevent small issues from snowballing. Start by checking your site speed, submitting sitemaps to both Google and Bing, or enabling HTTPS.

If you’re stuck on why your rankings aren’t improving, ask an AI tool like Grok or Gemini for insights — it might pinpoint a technical fix that fits your digital house perfectly.