I recently started working more deeply on website optimization and noticed that many sites with good content still struggle to rank properly.

After some analysis, I found that technical SEO plays a much bigger role than expected. Some issues I faced were:

  • Slow mobile loading speed
  • Pages not getting indexed properly
  • Core Web Vitals warnings
  • Duplicate URL problems

After fixing these technical issues, the same pages started improving in search visibility within a few weeks.

I would really like to know from experienced members here:
Do you usually prioritize technical SEO first, or on-page SEO?

taha09 commented: ChatGPT said: Technical SEO first—fix speed, indexing & duplicates. Then on-page SEO. Foundation before content. +0

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Do you usually prioritize technical SEO first, or on-page SEO?

Technical SEO is on-page SEO.

commented: Technical SEO can have a major impact on ranking especially on mobile search +5

PSEO is cooler and more automated.

First of all, programmatic seo is not mutually exclusive from technical seo. Automated or not, you still need to use technical seo to make sure you have great semantic html, etc. Either way, that technique doesn't really work anymore, and hasn't for about a year or so now I think.

In my experience it really helps to start with technical SEO. No matter how good your content is things like slow mobile speed, page not being indexed, core web vitals issues or duplicate URLs can stop your site from showing up in search results. Once these problems are fixed, working on onpage SEO like improving title, heading, keywords and internal linking actual make a real difference. Taking care of the technical side first creates a solid foundations, and then optimizing your content helps you site shine in search results.

Yes, technical SEO helps Google understand and crawl your site better, which can boost your rankings.

In short: Technical SEO creates a strong foundation, allowing your content and backlinks to actually work. Without it, rankings stagnate — with it, your site becomes easier for Google to read, faster for users to browse, and ultimately more competitive in SERPs.

This part is necessary in SEO as there are issues in the website technically than it could directly impact your website ranking, like Robots.txt. loop redirection, https and without https, www or without www domain, and there are many technical issues that can redirecly impact the website

Yes, technical SEO help to improve rankings but it works is differently than content or backlinks

Even though technical SEO is part of on page SEO, you can start implementing technical SEO strategies like improving page speed, minifying JS or CSS files, improving Robots.txt file, improving image delivery, compressing images, etc. This will be a good starting point for you to improve your website's performance.

In most cases, technical SEO should come first. If google cannot crawl, index or load your pages properly even the best content will struggle to rank. Fixing issues like site speed, indexing errors, core web vitals and duplicate URLs creates a strong base. After that content optimization become much more effective. so think of technical SEO as the foundation and on page as the growth layer. Both are important but technical seo usually needs to be handled first.

I have worked on my content and keywords but still, I have been struggling to see my site rank higher. At first, I thought optimizing on-page SEO is enough, but the results were slow;

Then, I started looking into technical SEO and realized my site had some issues like slow loading speed, indexing issues. Thereafter, I started checking out technical SEO and realized that my website has speed and indexing issues.

From my experience, technical SEO looks very essential. Having good content is one thing but if the website has technical problems, ranking becomes difficult. I’m still learning but now I think having a solid technical foundation is as important as building quality content.

Technical SEO sets the stage for your site’s rankings. If your site loads slowly, doesn’t work well on phones, has broken links, or pages that Google can’t reach, you’re holding yourself back.

Getting the technical stuff right won’t rank you to the top instantly, but it lets search engines actually find and understand what you’ve built. After that, your content and links have a chance of ranking in a better position.

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