When it comes to improving your website’s performance, content and keywords often steal the spotlight. However, the real unsung hero of your website’s success is technical SEO. Without a strong technical foundation, even the best content may never reach its full potential.
In this article, we’ll walk you through a comprehensive technical SEO audit checklist to ensure your website not only ranks higher on search engines but also offers an exceptional user experience. Let’s dive in!
What is a technical SEO audit?
A technical SEO audit is an evaluation of the technical aspects of your website that impact its ability to rank in search engines. It’s like a health check-up for your website, focusing on aspects such as crawlability, speed, mobile-friendliness, and more.
Think of it this way: no matter how appealing your house looks, people won’t visit if the doors are locked or the road to your house is blocked. Similarly, your website needs to be accessible and functional to draw in visitors.
Why technical SEO matters
Search engine visibility: Google’s algorithms reward technically optimised sites with better rankings. Improved user experience: Faster load times, responsive designs, and secure connections keep users engaged. Increased ROI: Better SEO equals more traffic, which translates to higher conversions and revenue.
The ultimate technical SEO audit checklist
1. Website crawling and indexing
Ensuring search engines can effectively find and understand your website’s content is the first crucial step in a technical SEO audit. This section focuses on how to verify and improve your site’s crawlability and indexability.
- Crawlability: Use tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console to check if search engines can crawl your site. Fix any “noindex” or “nofollow” errors.
- Sitemap: Ensure you have an updated XML sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console.
- Robots.txt file: Verify that your robots.txt file isn’t accidentally blocking important pages.
2. Page speed optimisation
In today’s fast-paced digital world, website loading speed is paramount for both user experience and search engine rankings. This part of the checklist guides you through key areas to optimise your site’s speed.
- Core web vitals: Assess your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) scores using Google PageSpeed Insights.
- Reduce load time: Optimise images, minify CSS/JS, and leverage browser caching.
Hosting: Choose a reliable hosting provider to ensure fast server response times.
3. Mobile-friendliness
With the majority of internet users browsing on mobile devices, ensuring your website is fully responsive and provides a seamless mobile experience is no longer optional—it’s essential. This section highlights key mobile optimisation checks.
- Responsive design: Test your site’s mobile performance with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
- Touch targets: Ensure buttons and links are easy to click on smaller screens.
- Page speed on mobile: Optimise specifically for mobile load times.
4. HTTPS and security
Website security is a critical ranking factor and a cornerstone of user trust. This part of the audit focuses on ensuring your site is secure and free of easily detectable vulnerabilities.
- SSL certificate: If your site isn’t using HTTPS, switch immediately. Google prioritises secure websites.
- Broken links: Run a check for broken links using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush and fix them.
5. URL structure
A well-structured URL not only helps search engines understand your content but also improves user navigation. This section covers best practices for creating clean and effective URLs.
- Canonical tags: Prevent duplicate content issues by setting canonical URLs for similar pages.
- Clean URLs: Use short, descriptive URLs with keywords where applicable.
6. Structured data and schema markup
Structured data provides search engines with explicit clues about the meaning of your content, potentially leading to enhanced visibility in search results. This section guides you on implementing and testing schema markup.
- Testing: Use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to validate your schema.
- Rich snippets: Add schema markup for reviews, FAQs, products, or recipes to enhance Search Engine Results Page (SERP) visibility.
7. Analytics and reporting
Understanding your website’s performance through data is crucial for identifying areas of improvement and measuring the impact of your technical SEO efforts. This section focuses on setting up and monitoring key analytics tools.
- Monitor Search Console: Regularly check for crawl errors, coverage issues, and performance insights.
- Set up Google Analytics: Ensure you’re tracking traffic, bounce rates, and conversions effectively.
8. Technical errors
Identifying and resolving technical errors is vital for maintaining a healthy and high-performing website. This section highlights common technical issues to look out for during your audit.
- 404 errors: Redirect broken links to relevant pages using 301 redirects.
- Duplicate content: Audit for duplicate content issues and address them with canonical tags or meta directives.
How to conduct your audit
- Use tools: Leverage tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush for a thorough analysis.
- Fix critical issues first: Address errors that significantly affect rankings, such as 404s or slow page speed.
- Document progress: Create an SEO roadmap to track issues, fixes, and improvements.
Accelerate website SERP results
A well-executed technical SEO audit is the backbone of any successful SEO strategy. It ensures that your site is accessible, fast, and user-friendly—making it easier for search engines and users to interact with your content.
Regular audits not only boost your website’s performance but also protect your rankings in an ever-evolving digital landscape. So, grab your checklist, start auditing, and watch your website climb the SERPs!
Ready to elevate your website’s performance? Contact Pippa at Digital Squeak today for a comprehensive technical SEO audit and start climbing the SERPs!
