Search Debt: you have it and what to do about it.

Key points:

• Search debt is akin to tech debt - the cost of additional rework caused by choosing a quicker, short-term solution over a more thorough approach.
• It is almost impossible for any search strategy and implementation to be watertight, especially over the long term.
• But the gaps might be more comprehensive than you think. And they’re probably not where you are looking.
• Close the gaps tactically. And then keep on them.
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I have yet to meet a client with no gaps in their search strategy. Sometimes, the gaps are small; more often, they’re larger. Think of it as a ship leaking water or a boarded window letting light in.

Or revenue and opportunity leaking. I don’t care.

But when I refer to Search Debt, I am not talking about forward-looking SEO opportunities and optimisation as search evolves. I’m talking about rearview mistakes that have accumulated over time.

Mistakes that are inadvertently holding back your broader search efforts.

Conclusion: You have search debt. The sooner you repay that debt, the sooner the lag and penalty dissipate.
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I’m not a search guy, so you should listen to me about search.

When I started my first digital agency in the Yahoo and DEMOZ days, search wasn’t a thing.

And then, when Google came along, it was.

I didn’t resent it as much, though I know the broader agency industry did. Suddenly, we had SEO consultants pulling us by the nose, clients pointing to poorly unoptimised sites, and a shitshow of issues trying to make CMSs come close to what Google wanted.

Many people in agency land really didn’t like those early search consultants.

So clearly, I am not a search guy.

I appreciate and respect the art, and I do not question the sheer value of organic search and the overwhelming value it adds to the traffic and conversion mix. Organic search is unquestionably the golden ticket. I speak from experience. Paid media comes nowhere close.

SEO - or Search - should always be at the top of your growth and optimisation tickets.

However, my ability to optimise a website with my eyes closed would be relatively basic compared to SEO people who profile and minimise JavaScript to improve a page’s Total Blocking Time* (TBT).

Yeah, I don’t do that.

I am a product guy.

And I can confidently say that you can always go further in your search, especially when dealing with your Search Debt.

Why?

1. Because every site has Search Debt.
2. Repeat.
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Work with your SEO agency on all the exciting forward-looking things:

• Content hubs and topic clusters. **
• Schema markup. **
• Optimising for User Intent and improving Time to Value. **
• Mobile and page-speed optimisation. **
• Internal Linking and Dynamic Parameters for Pagination.**
• Even animated images to engage users and increase time spent on your page.
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Exciting things that everyone wants to be involved in.

Just like tech-debt, nobody wants to deal with Search Debt. It isn’t glamorous, and it won’t win any awards.

Except this is where the money is and how you address lag.

It’s simple enough that a Product guy like me can understand, explain, and even fix it.
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What is Search Debt, and why is it different to SEO?

Strictly speaking, it isn't different.

It is all about search engine optimisation.

Instead, it is a mindset. Search Debt is looking backward; SEO is often about looking forward.

I can already hear the SEO crowd screaming that there is no difference in good SEO.

But my experience as a Product guy is different.

Indexability issues, a lack of schema markups, poor mobile optimisation, and, bloody hell, missing meta tags.

Heavy pages, broken links, keyword cannibalisation, poor page structuring for its target topic, incoherent internal linking, and, let me repeat it, heavy pages: low page speed, especially on mobile.

This stuff piles up, especially in bigger companies.

And it’s a search drag.

Forward-looking SEO efforts in search are as strong as their weakest link.

In fairness, a business with a great SEO agency and a proactive, always-on strategy will be looking in all directions, though things always get lost. Every new page and addition to a website will bring with it flaws.

And the longer this happens, the bigger the Search Debt.

Search Debt is the mindset that looking backward should get as much attention as always looking forward.
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How big is my Search Debt?

How long is a piece of string?
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What do I do about my Search Debt?

I apologise to the SEO people, who are probably hoarse by now.

I get it; a good Search strategy should be about lifting all boats.

But how many businesses have a good, always-on Search strategy? SEO retainers can only cover so much, and so much SEO is a set-and-forget exercise without the benefit of ongoing investment.

There are plenty of tools out there that can quickly quantify your Search debt.

From there, you can prioritise and divide and conquer.

There will be low-hanging branches and extensive content work that must be costed and planned.

Removing the anchor holding back your site is the fastest way to see returns.

And you will. You’ll start climbing in all metrics. You will be able to quantify the cost to your business of that Search Debt and hopefully qualify the benefit of investing in a program to deal with your Search Debt continuously.

And as I mentioned, this is something a Product guy can do.

I can’t handle the super cool stuff some SEO people can do like extensive migrations. Though as a Product guy, the unglamourous is my life and I get the benefit of dealing with it.

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*

* Measures the time a page is blocked from responding to user input.

** Content Hubs: comprehensive content hubs covering a broad topic in-depth: linking relevant articles to a central cornerstone page, thus enhancing topical authority.

Topic Clusters: Grouping related content around a theme and thus boosting internal linking and the user experience.

Schema Markup: structured data to help Google understand your content. Bonus: this can lead to rich snippets in search results.

Optimising for User Intent: better aligning your content to your user needs.

Improve Time to Value: delivering user value as quickly as possible by promoting content above-fold.

Mobile Optimisation: mobile-first indexing is a new reality. Be mobile-first.

Page Speed Optimisation: as it says on the tin. What SEO people are all about.

Internal Linking: distributing page authority and guiding users through your website.

Dynamic Parameters for Pagination: better-managing pagination to improve crawlability.

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