How to Fix SEO Issues

Learn how to fix SEO issues by resolving crawl errors, broken links, indexing problems, duplicate content, and website performance issues.

Search engine optimization is not only about choosing the right keywords or publishing new blog posts. A website can have good content and still struggle in search results because of technical problems, confusing page structures, inaccurate business information, slow loading times, or broken links.

If you are wondering how to fix SEO issues, the first step is to understand what is actually wrong with the website. A proper SEO audit can reveal problems that may not be obvious when you simply browse the site as a visitor.

In a recent website audit, we identified several issues that are common across business websites. These included incorrect business information, poorly structured headings, multiple pages targeting similar services, slow mobile performance, broken links, and unnecessary external links.

Here are the main technical SEO issues to look for and how to fix them.

1. Check and Correct Your Business Information

For local businesses, accurate business information is essential. Your website should clearly communicate the same information about your business across its important pages and structured data.

During an audit, we found incorrect business hours in the website’s hidden data, an unlisted phone number, an additional address that was not properly represented on the website, and empty social media profile fields.

These may appear to be small details, but inconsistent information can create confusion for both visitors and search engines.

How to fix this SEO issue

Check the following information across your website:

Business name
Phone number
Address
Opening hours
Website URL
Contact information
Social media profiles
Local business structured data

Make sure the information in your schema markup matches what is actually displayed on the website. You should also compare your website information with your Google Business Profile and other important business listings.

The goal is simple: your business information should be accurate and consistent wherever customers and search engines can find it.

2. Fix Your Website’s Heading Structure

Another common technical SEO issue is poor heading structure.

Headings help organize a webpage and make it easier for visitors to understand the content. They also provide search engines with additional context about the structure and topics covered on a page.

In our audit, the homepage had 14 main headings because blog titles displayed in the “Latest Blogs” section were being treated as major headings.

The problem wasn’t necessarily the number of headings itself. The bigger issue was that the heading hierarchy did not clearly represent the importance of the content.

How to fix heading issues

Review the headings on every important page and create a logical hierarchy.

For example:

H1: Dental Clinic in Chennai

H2: Our Dental Services

H2: Why Choose Our Clinic?

H2: Our Doctors

H2: Latest Dental Articles

H3: How Dental Implants Work

H3: When Do You Need a Root Canal?

The exact structure will depend on the page, but headings should be used to organize content rather than simply to make text larger or more prominent.

Also check whether:

Important pages have an appropriate main heading
Headings follow a logical order
Blog titles are not unnecessarily marked as major page headings
Headings describe the content that follows them

A cleaner structure makes the page easier to understand and maintain.

3. Consolidate Pages Competing for the Same Keywords

One of the most important issues found during the audit was multiple pages targeting similar search terms.

For example, the website had two pages related to dental implants in Chennai and three pages related to root canal treatment.

Having several pages about the same service is not automatically a problem. However, if those pages have very similar content and target the same search intent, they may not each provide enough unique value.

This is where a content and URL audit becomes important.

How to fix competing pages

First, identify pages that target the same topic.

Then evaluate:

Organic traffic
Ranking keywords
Backlinks
Search intent
Content quality
Conversion performance
Unique information on each page

If two pages serve essentially the same purpose, consider combining them into one stronger page.

Depending on the situation, you may use:

Content consolidation
301 redirects
Canonical tags
Internal-link updates
Content restructuring

Don’t create separate pages simply because you want to rank for slightly different versions of the same keyword. A better approach is to create a strong, comprehensive page when the search intent is the same.

4. Improve Mobile Website Speed

Website performance is another area that should be part of every technical SEO audit.

In the website we reviewed, the homepage had a mobile performance score of around 60/100 and took approximately five seconds to display its main image.

One factor contributing to the performance problem was the number of embedded YouTube videos. The homepage contained around 24 video embeds.

Videos can be valuable content, but loading a large number of third-party resources on the homepage can increase page weight and affect loading performance.

How to improve website speed

Start by identifying what is actually slowing the page down.

Common improvements include:

Compress large images
Use modern image formats
Lazy-load images and videos
Delay non-essential third-party scripts
Reduce unnecessary JavaScript
Remove unused website elements
Optimize CSS
Use browser caching
Improve server response time
Avoid loading all video embeds immediately

For pages containing multiple videos, consider displaying a thumbnail first and loading the video only when the visitor chooses to play it. Don’t focus only on achieving a perfect speed score. The more important goal is to provide visitors with a fast, usable website, particularly on mobile devices.

5. Find and Fix Broken Links

Broken links are another issue that should not be ignored during an SEO audit.

A broken link can take visitors to a page that no longer exists or produce an error. If important pages contain broken links, visitors may have difficulty navigating the website.

During the audit, four broken links were identified.

How to fix broken links

Regularly crawl your website and identify URLs returning errors.

For each broken link, decide whether you should:

Replace it with the correct URL
Redirect the old page to a relevant new page
Remove the link
Restore the missing page

Don’t automatically redirect every broken URL to the homepage. The replacement should be relevant to the original page whenever possible.

It is also useful to check important navigation links, service pages, blog posts, images, and external resources.

6. Review External Links Carefully

Another issue discovered during the audit was links pointing to other clinics’ websites.

External links are not inherently bad. In fact, linking to useful and trustworthy resources can improve the usefulness of content.

The problem occurs when an external link is irrelevant or does not serve a clear purpose for your visitors.

For example, a healthcare clinic website should carefully review why it is linking to another clinic’s website.

How to fix unnecessary external links

Review every important external link and ask:

Does this link provide useful information to my visitor?

If the answer is no, consider removing it.

For links that are genuinely useful, make sure they point to relevant and trustworthy resources.

The objective isn’t to remove all external links. It is to maintain a website where every important link has a clear purpose.

Why Regular SEO Audits Matter

SEO is not something you fix once and forget.

Websites change constantly. New pages are published, old URLs are removed, developers make template changes, plugins are installed, content is updated, and tracking or third-party scripts are added. A change that seems harmless can sometimes create a technical problem.

For example, adding several video embeds may make a page more engaging but also increase its loading time. Publishing several service pages may create more opportunities to rank, but it can also result in multiple pages targeting the same search intent.

That is why regular technical SEO audits are useful. An audit allows you to identify problems before they become larger website issues.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to fix SEO issues starts with looking beyond keywords and rankings. A technically healthy website should have accurate business information, a logical heading structure, focused and useful pages, good mobile performance, working links, and a clear internal structure.

The most important lesson is that SEO is not about making hundreds of changes just because an algorithm update has been announced. Instead, businesses should focus on building a website that is accurate, useful, accessible, fast, and easy to understand. If your website has experienced a ranking or traffic change, don’t immediately assume that one particular Google update is responsible. Start with a complete SEO audit and identify what has actually changed.

By regularly checking and resolving technical SEO issues, businesses can create a stronger website foundation and provide a better experience for both search engines and visitors.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, SEO is not dead because of AI. It is evolving. Search engines increasingly use AI to understand queries, summarize information, and deliver more direct answers. Businesses still need strong websites, useful content, technical optimization, authority, and visibility across search experiences. The focus is shifting from simply ranking for keywords to becoming a trusted, discoverable source.

Five widely used SEO tools are Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Ahrefs, Semrush, and Screaming Frog SEO Spider. Search Console helps monitor Google’s search performance and indexing, while Analytics provides website behavior data. Ahrefs and Semrush support keyword research, competitor analysis, backlinks, and site audits. Screaming Frog is particularly useful for identifying technical SEO issues.

SEO is still officially called Search Engine Optimization. However, the way people describe search visibility is expanding. Terms such as Search Engine Marketing, Search Experience Optimization (SXO), Search Everywhere Optimization, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are increasingly discussed alongside traditional SEO. These approaches focus on visibility across search engines, AI-generated answers, social platforms, and other discovery channels.

SEO does not necessarily need to be replaced; it can work alongside other digital marketing channels. Good alternatives include paid search advertising (PPC), social media marketing, email marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, referral marketing, and direct traffic campaigns. For businesses seeking immediate visibility, paid advertising can be useful, while social media, email, and referrals can help build longer-term customer relationships.