Technical SEO for Advanced Marketers: Structured Data, Crawling, Canonicalisation, and Architecture
Written by Brendan Byrne
| Monday, November 24, 2025
Technical SEO for Advanced Marketers: Structured Data, Crawling, Canonicalisation, and Architecture
Technical SEO sits at the foundation of every strong search strategy. While content and backlinks help search engines understand the value of your pages, it’s the technical framework behind your website that ensures search engines can properly discover, evaluate, and rank the information you publish.
For product-driven brands—especially those in competitive niches—technical SEO becomes even more essential. It shapes how search engines understand your products, how efficiently they crawl your catalogue or blog content, and how reliably your pages are indexed without duplication or dilution. Getting the technical layer right ensures every marketing effort achieves its full potential.
Below is a deep dive into the most important technical components advanced marketers should be prioritising today: structured data, crawling and indexing, canonicalisation, and site architecture.
1. Structured Data: Teaching Search Engines to Understand Your Products
Structured data (schema markup) allows search engines to interpret your content with precision—not guesswork. When implemented correctly, it increases your eligibility for rich results and enhances your visibility in search results.
Why Structured Data Matters
Search engines often struggle to understand complex pages, especially product and blog pages. Schema markup bridges that gap by providing context. For product pages, it signals vital attributes:
- Product name
- Image
- Price
- Rating
- Ingredients
- Brand
- Availability
This makes structured data particularly powerful for eCommerce sellers looking to boost the visibility and trust of their product listings.
Types of Structured Data to Prioritise
Advanced SEOs should focus on:
- Product schema – for structured product attributes
- How-to schema – for tutorials or routines
- FAQ schema – enhances visibility and occupies more SERP real estate
- Article schema – supports clarity for blogs and educational content
- Breadcrumb schema – improves navigation in SERPs and user pathways
For Mud Organics, for example, adding robust Product schema to key pages (like your Sea Buckthorn Serum) ensures search engines fully recognise the purity, benefits, and differentiators of the product. This helps customers discover it more easily and improves trust at first glance.
2. Crawling & Indexing: Controlling What Search Engines See
Search engines cannot rank pages they cannot crawl or index. Yet many websites unintentionally block important content or allow low-value pages to consume crawl budget.
Optimise Crawl Efficiency
Crawl waste is a common issue. Large eCommerce sites often end up with:
- Auto-generated filter pages
- Duplicated URL parameters
- Outdated promotional pages
- Near-duplicate product variations
- Pagination conflicts
To improve crawl efficiency:
- Submit an optimised XML sitemap
- Include only high-value pages: products, blogs, and core landing pages.
- Use the robots.txt strategically
- Block low-value folders (e.g., /cart/, /account/, /search/).
- Limit parameter-based duplication
- Use URL parameter rules or canonical tags.
- Ensure fast server response times
- Slow TTFB can reduce crawling frequency.
Enhance Indexation Signals
Search engines should index your best content effortlessly. To achieve this:
- Use proper canonicals
- Ensure internal linking supports your high-value pages
- Avoid orphan pages
- Use noindex on thin, duplicated, or utility pages
A well-indexed website leads to stronger visibility and more consistent ranking performance.
3. Canonicalisation: The Cure for Duplicate Content
Duplicate content is one of the silent killers of SEO. Even when content looks unique to the user, URLs can lead to duplication through:
- URL parameters
- Sorting and filtering
- HTTP vs. HTTPS
- Trailing vs. non-trailing slashes
- Print versions of pages
Canonical Tags Explained
A canonical tag tells search engines which version of a URL is the primary source. This protects ranking power, consolidates links, and avoids confusion.
When to Use Canonicals
Advanced SEO professionals should implement canonicals when:
- Product pages have multiple variants
- Blog posts have print or AMP versions
- Filtered category pages exist
- You run A/B tests
- Tracking parameters appear in URLs
Canonicalisation prevents search engines from diluting organic performance, helping your product pages maintain maximum authority.
4. Site Architecture: Building a Crawl-Friendly, User-Centric Structure
Your website’s architecture should be logical, scalable, and intuitive. A good structure makes it easier for search engines to find content and easier for users to move through the funnel.
Best Practices for Modern Site Architecture
- Three-Click Rule
- Users (and crawlers) should reach any important page within three clicks from the homepage.
- Organised Category Hierarchies
- Group products and content under clear, intent-based categories.
- Strong Internal Linking
- Link related blog posts to product pages and vice-versa.
- For example, your blog content discussing skincare routines should link back to your product collection:
- 👉 https://mudorganics.com.au/products/sea-buckthorn-serum
- Use Breadcrumb Navigation
- Enhances navigation and supports contextual SEO.
- Avoid Deep or Orphaned Pages
- Every important page must connect logically within the site.
Architecture and Product SEO
For product-focused websites, strategic architecture helps distribute authority across:
- Collections
- Bestsellers
- New arrivals
- Related blog content
This enhances ranking signals and supports upsell/cross-sell opportunities—especially during high-traffic seasons.
Integrating Technical SEO With Product Performance
Technical SEO isn’t just about pleasing search engines—it is directly tied to customer experience and product visibility.
Here’s how technical SEO supports your product success:
- Structured data increases product visibility in search rich results.
- Crawl optimisation ensures product pages are continually discovered and refreshed.
- Canonicalisation protects product authority when content overlaps or variations exist.
- Site architecture supports strategic internal linking, improving product exposure and conversions.
By building a technically sound foundation, your marketing efforts gain long-term stability—ensuring customers can discover, trust, and purchase your products effortlessly.
Conclusion
Technical SEO is no longer optional—it is a critical component of long-term growth for any website, especially product-focused eCommerce businesses. With search engines becoming more sophisticated, brands must take control over how their content is interpreted, crawled, and surfaced.
