Growth

Comprehensive Checklist for a Technical SEO Site Audit

Ankit Agarwal

Oct 14, 2024 • 10 min read

You’ve worked hard on your website content and followed every on-page SEO tip, but the results still aren’t showing. Your site isn’t ranking as high as it should, and organic traffic isn’t picking up. Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

One of the most common reasons websites fail to perform well in search results is due to technical SEO issues. These are often hidden problems with how search engines crawl, index, and interpret your website. Even if your content is stellar, technical issues can prevent it from reaching its full ranking potential.

The solution? A comprehensive technical SEO audit. This blog will guide you through an easy-to-follow checklist to identify and fix those issues, helping you boost your site’s visibility on search engines like Google.

What is a Technical SEO Audit?

A technical SEO audit is like a health check for your website. It focuses on fixing the backend elements that impact search engine performance. Unlike content optimization or link building, technical SEO ensures that search engines can effectively crawl and index your site. Without a properly functioning website, even the best content may not be seen by your audience.

A well-executed audit will reveal issues like:

Poor site speed
Crawl errors
Mobile responsiveness issues
Duplicate content
Misconfigured XML sitemaps
Broken links

The Solution: A Comprehensive Technical SEO Audit Checklist

To ensure your website is optimized from a technical standpoint, you’ll need to address several key areas. Below is a structured, step-by-step checklist that can serve as your roadmap for performing a technical SEO audit.

1. Ensure Crawlability & Indexability

The first step in any technical SEO audit is ensuring search engines can crawl and index your website. If your pages aren’t being indexed, they won’t appear in search results.

Example: A missing or misconfigured robots.txt file could block critical pages from being crawled, resulting in lower rankings. By fixing this, one SaaS company saw a 30% improvement in organic traffic.

2. Optimize Site Speed & Performance

Page speed is a critical ranking factor, and it directly affects user experience. If your website loads slowly, users will likely bounce, which signals to Google that your site isn’t providing a good experience.

Example: By optimizing the images on Kylie Cosmetics’ website without compromising their quality, the site’s performance could improve by 1.35 times. According to SimilarWeb, Kylie Cosmetics attracts an average of 1.3 million visitors per month. With a 2.5% conversion rate and an average order value of $100, this optimization could potentially generate an additional $1,015,752 in annual sales, as estimated by Think With Google

3. Mobile-Friendliness: Essential for SEO Success

With more people browsing on mobile devices, mobile-friendliness has become a key ranking factor. Google’s mobile-first indexing means the mobile version of your site is considered for ranking before the desktop version.

Example: The Breakthrough Agency helped NEOM Organics transform its mobile experience, driving a 107% increase in sales. By optimizing the website for mobile, we boosted traffic by 105% and revenue by 110%. NEOM's online sales grew 35% overall, and they won a Magento Excellence Award for Best Mobile Experience.

4. Check URL Structure & Canonicalization

A clear and consistent URL structure improves user experience and helps search engines understand the hierarchy of your content.

Example: An SEO agency fixed its messy URL structure, applying canonical tags to duplicate pages. This resulted in a 20% improvement in crawl efficiency and a higher ranking for key pages.

5. Improve Security: Switch to HTTPS

Google favors secure websites. HTTPS is a ranking factor, and having an insecure site can lead to browser warnings that scare users away.

Example: A B2B company switched from HTTP to HTTPS and noticed a 25% increase in organic traffic within a few months due to improved trust and security.

6. Fix Broken Links & Optimize Internal Linking

Broken links create a poor user experience and can confuse search engines. A good internal linking strategy helps guide search engines and users to relevant pages.

Example: A finance blog fixed over 100 broken links, which improved user navigation and contributed to a 10% increase in organic traffic.

7. Add Structured Data & Schema Markup

Structured data helps search engines understand the content on your site better. It can also enhance your appearance in search results with rich snippets like reviews or product information.

Example: After implementing schema markup for reviews and FAQs, an online store saw a noticeable increase in its rich snippet visibility on Google, leading to a higher click-through rate (CTR).

Technical SEO Case Study: Achieving a 531% Traffic Increase for a 300-Page Website with Tomaque

Introduction Tomaque worked with a client who had an old website with 300 pages but was struggling to gain organic traffic. By applying effective technical SEO strategies, Tomaque helped the client achieve an impressive 531% increase in website traffic. Here's a summary of the challenges, strategies, and results.

Client Background The client’s website had a lot of valuable content but was not attracting much organic traffic. They needed technical SEO improvements to boost their search engine visibility and audience.

Challenges

Low Search Rankings: The website’s pages weren’t ranking well on search engines, resulting in low traffic.
Technical Issues: Problems like slow page load times, broken links, duplicate content, and poor site structure were affecting performance.
Lack of Optimization: The site lacked keyword optimization, proper meta tags, and structured headings.

Goals

Increase organic traffic by improving search rankings.
Fix technical issues impacting site performance.
Optimize on-page elements like meta tags, headings, and URLs.

Strategies by Tomaque

1. Website Audit: Tomaque conducted a full audit to identify technical issues and optimization gaps.

2. Performance Boost: They improved page load speed, compressed images, and enabled browser caching to enhance the user experience.

3. Fixing Technical Issues: Broken links were redirected, duplicate content was fixed, and the site structure was improved for better crawlability.

4. Keyword Research and On-Page Optimization: Extensive keyword research was done, followed by optimizing meta tags, headings, and content to align with target keywords.

5. Internal Linking: A better linking structure was created to improve the site’s crawlability and relevance.

Results

531% Increase in Traffic: In six months, the website saw a huge boost in organic traffic due to better search engine visibility and performance improvements.
Improved Rankings: The website’s pages, which had poor search rankings, now achieved higher positions.
Better User Experience: Faster load times and improved navigation led to better engagement and longer visits.
Higher Conversion Rates: The increase in traffic and better user experience also led to more conversions and business growth.

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Prioritized Checklist for a Technical SEO Audit: Maximizing Impact for Improved Rankings and Performance

When conducting a Technical SEO audit, prioritizing tasks is essential to maximize impact on site performance and search engine rankings. Based on the checklist provided earlier, here’s a prioritized list of tasks:

1. Fix Critical Site Errors

Resolve broken links (404 errors): These impact user experience and crawlability. Fix or redirect them immediately.
Eliminate duplicate content: Ensure each page has unique content to avoid penalties and confusion for search engines.
Correct server errors (5xx errors): Server issues prevent pages from being accessed or crawled.

2. Improve Site Speed

Optimize page load speed: Slow websites lead to high bounce rates and lower rankings. Compress images, leverage browser caching, and minify code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
Enable lazy loading: Load images and videos only when they’re needed to reduce initial page load time.

3. Enhance Crawlability and Indexability

Submit XML sitemap: Ensure the XML sitemap is updated and submitted to Google Search Console so all important pages are indexed.
Fix robots.txt issues: Make sure essential pages are not blocked from being crawled by search engines.
Check and optimize internal linking: Improve internal links to distribute link equity, making sure important pages are easily crawlable.

4. Optimize Mobile-Friendliness

Ensure mobile responsiveness: A large portion of traffic comes from mobile users. Test your site to ensure it’s mobile-friendly and loads properly on all devices.
Fix viewport issues: Ensure the site’s viewport is configured correctly to adjust to different screen sizes.

5. On-Page SEO Optimization

Optimize title tags and meta descriptions: Ensure every page has unique and optimized titles and descriptions containing target keywords.
Fix heading tags (H1, H2, etc.): Ensure there’s proper use of headings for structure and relevance. H1 should be used once per page, with keywords strategically placed in headers.
Optimize URLs: Use clean, descriptive URLs with relevant keywords.

6. Structured Data Implementation

Add schema markup: Implement structured data for products, articles, FAQs, etc., to enhance rich snippets in search results.

7. Resolve HTTPS and Security Issues

Ensure HTTPS is implemented: All pages should be served via HTTPS. Fix any mixed content issues (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages).
Install an SSL certificate: If not already done, install SSL to secure data transfers and gain user trust.

8. Check for Indexing Issues

Fix orphaned pages: Ensure every page is connected through internal links, preventing orphaned pages from going unnoticed by search engines.
Monitor Google Search Console for errors: Regularly check for any crawl or indexing issues that need immediate attention.

9. Optimize for Core Web Vitals

Improve Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Reduce the time it takes for the largest visible element to load. This directly impacts user experience.
Enhance First Input Delay (FID): Make sure your website responds quickly to user inputs like clicking or scrolling.
Optimize Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Ensure elements like images, buttons, and fonts load without sudden shifts in layout.

10. Fix Broken Redirects and Redirect Chains

Resolve redirect loops: Ensure that pages redirect correctly and that there are no unnecessary redirect chains that slow down crawling and user experience.

11. Optimize Image SEO

Add alt text to images: Include descriptive, keyword-rich alt text to improve accessibility and SEO.
Compress large images: Use tools to reduce image file size without compromising quality to speed up page load times.

12. Improve URL Structure and Canonicalization

Canonicalize duplicate pages: Use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page when there are duplicates.
Use SEO-friendly URLs: Short, clean URLs that are keyword-rich improve usability and rankings.

Conclusion

A technical SEO audit is not a one-time task; it requires continuous monitoring and updates to ensure your website is always performing at its best. By following this comprehensive checklist, you’ll identify the critical issues holding back your site and take steps to resolve them, leading to better rankings, more traffic, and improved user experience.

Remember, the digital landscape is always evolving. Keep your site healthy with regular audits, and watch your SEO performance soar.

FAQs

How to perform a technical SEO audit?

Check Crawlability and Indexability

Use Google Search Console to identify crawl errors like 404s or blocked pages. Fix broken links and adjust robots.txt settings as needed.

Review Your XML Sitemap

Ensure all important pages are included in your sitemap and accessible at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml.

Analyze Site Speed

Use Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to evaluate loading times. Optimize images, browser caching, and server response times.

Ensure Mobile-Friendliness

Check your site’s mobile performance with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool and address any usability issues.

Check for Structured Data Errors

Use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to identify and correct schema markup errors.

Evaluate Core Web Vitals

Analyze loading performance (LCP), interactivity (FID), and visual stability (CLS) using Google Search Console or PageSpeed Insights.

Review On-Page SEO Elements

Ensure title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags are optimized and unique for each page.

Analyze Internal Linking Structure

Review internal links for relevance and functionality to improve navigation and authority distribution.

Conduct Backlink Analysis

Evaluate the quality of backlinks using tools like Ahrefs or Moz, disavowing any toxic links if necessary.

Monitor Results and Make Adjustments

After implementing changes, traffic and rankings will be monitored with Google Analytics and Search Console. Regular audits are recommended.

Is technical SEO off page?

Technical SEO, as explained by Neil Patel, encompasses all the behind-the-scenes optimization work on a website, separate from content. On-page SEO focuses on elements within your website or content, while off-page SEO involves external factors like backlinks and social media.

How often should I perform a technical SEO audit?

Ideally, you should conduct an audit every 6 months or when you notice a drop in traffic.

What’s the best tool for site speed optimization?

Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix are great tools to measure and improve site speed.

What’s the most common technical SEO issue websites face?

One of the most common issues is slow page load times. Many websites suffer from large, uncompressed images or inefficient code, which can lead to poor performance and higher bounce rates.

How quickly will I see improvements after fixing technical SEO issues?

The time it takes to see results can vary. Some changes, like fixing crawl errors or improving page speed, can show results within a few weeks. However, broader issues like site structure improvements may take longer to reflect in rankings.

Final Thoughts: The Importance of Ongoing SEO Audits

Conducting a technical SEO audit is essential for any business that wants to thrive in today’s digital environment. While content and backlinks are crucial, none of it matters if search engines struggle to crawl and index your website.

This checklist provides a roadmap to help you identify and fix issues that could be damaging your SEO performance. Remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Regularly auditing your site ensures that your website stays healthy, performs well, and is always optimized for both users and search engines.

If you’re serious about boosting your website’s ranking and want to ensure your business stays competitive in search results, make technical SEO audits part of your regular routine. Whether you're a startup, an eCommerce business, or a content-heavy blog, ensuring that your website’s backend is functioning optimally will yield long-term success in organic search.

By following this comprehensive technical SEO checklist, you'll have a strong foundation for optimizing your website’s performance and ensuring it ranks high on search engine result pages (SERPs). Remember, a well-maintained site not only attracts search engines but also improves user experience—ultimately driving more traffic and increasing conversions.

Take action today, and set your website up for sustainable, long-term success!