The Inner Sanctum: A Guide to Internal Pages and Resources

In the grand architecture of your website, your internal pages and resources are the components that make up the entire structure. This includes not just the visible HTML pages, but also all the supporting files like CSS, JavaScript, images, and PDFs. A comprehensive technical SEO strategy involves auditing every one of these internal assets to ensure they are performant, accessible, and optimized for search engines. A healthy internal site is a prerequisite for any successful external SEO effort.

Think of your website as a car. The HTML pages are the chassis and body, but the CSS, JavaScript, and images are the engine, wiring, and paint. For the car to perform at its best, every single component needs to be in perfect working order. For a deep dive into this topic, check out this beginner’s guide to technical SEO from Ahrefs.

A Comprehensive Guide to Your Internal Assets

A complete audit involves looking at each type of internal resource and understanding its specific role and optimization requirements. The following guides provide a complete overview.

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The Backbone of Your Site: A Guide to Internal HTML Pages

Internal HTML pages are the foundation of your website. Learn why auditing them for crawlability, indexability, and content quality is essential for SEO success.

A Guide to Auditing and Optimizing Internal Images for SEO

Internal images are a critical asset for user engagement and SEO. Learn how to audit your images for performance, accessibility, and indexability to maximize their value.

Internal vs. External CSS: A Guide to Performance and SEO

Internal CSS can be useful for single-page styling but often harms SEO by increasing page size and preventing caching. Learn when to use it and why external stylesheets are usually better.

Internal vs. External JavaScript: A Guide to Performance and SEO

Internal JavaScript can be useful for small, page-specific scripts but often harms SEO by increasing page size and preventing caching. Learn when to use it and why external files are usually better.

A Guide to Optimizing Internal PDFs for SEO

Google can index PDFs, but they often provide a poor user experience. Learn the best practices for optimizing your internal PDFs for search, or when to convert them to HTML.

A Guide to Auditing ‘Other’ Internal Resources for SEO

Internal ‘other’ resources like fonts, videos, and text files can impact site speed and crawl budget. Learn how to audit these files to ensure they are not harming your SEO.

For another excellent resource, check out this guide to technical SEO from Moz.

An illustration of a well-structured maze, symbolizing the importance of a clear and logical internal site structure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a page and a resource?

In the context of a technical SEO audit, a ‘page’ is typically an HTML document that is intended to be viewed by a user. A ‘resource’ is any other file that the HTML page needs to load to render correctly, such as CSS, JavaScript, and image files. Both need to be audited and optimized.

How can I get a complete list of all my internal pages and resources?

The most effective method is to use a website crawler like Creeper. It will start from your homepage and follow every link to discover all of your internal pages and the resources they load, providing you with a complete inventory for your audit.

What is crawl budget and how do internal issues affect it?

Crawl budget is the finite number of pages a search engine will crawl on your site in a given period. Internal issues like redirect chains, broken links, and slow-loading resources waste this budget, as the crawler spends time on non-essential tasks instead of discovering and indexing your valuable content.

Ready to tackle all your SEO issues head-on? Start your comprehensive audit with Creeper today.

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