Exhaustive checklist to audit and optimize your site's technical SEO
A technical SEO audit identifies barriers to your SEO: crawl issues, indexing, architecture, performance, structured data. This guide details 50+ points to check to optimize your site for Google.
Key Audit Areas
Crawl & Indexing
Robots.txt, XML sitemap, meta robots, canonical, pagination, 404/500 errors, 301/302 redirects.
Architecture & Internal Linking
Page depth, thematic silos, internal links, breadcrumb, URL structure, anchor text optimization.
Structured Data & Schema
Schema.org JSON-LD, rich snippets (FAQ, HowTo, Article, Organization), Google Search Console validation.
Mobile-First & Performance
Responsive design, Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP), AMP, mobile usability, HTTPS, HTTP/2.
Complete Technical SEO Audit Checklist
1. Crawl & Accessibility
✓ Checklist
- robots.txt: Verify no critical pages are blocked, add sitemap URL
- XML Sitemap: Include only indexable pages, limit to 50K URLs or 50MB per file
- Google Search Console: Submit sitemap, monitor coverage and errors
- Screaming Frog Crawl: Identify crawl issues, broken links, orphan pages
2. Indexing Control
✓ Checklist
- Meta robots: Use noindex for duplicate/low-value content, verify no strategic pages have noindex
- Canonical tags: Every page must have canonical to itself or preferred version
- HTTP Status: 200 for indexable pages, 301 for permanent redirects, avoid redirect chains
- 404 Errors: Fix internal links to 404 pages, use 410 for intentionally removed content
3. Site Architecture & URLs
✓ Checklist
- URL Structure: Short, descriptive, with keywords, lowercase with hyphens
- Site Depth: Maximum 3 clicks from homepage to any page
- Breadcrumbs: Implement on all pages with structured data
- Internal Linking: Contextual links with descriptive anchors
- HTTPS: Mandatory on all pages, redirect HTTP to HTTPS
4. Core Web Vitals & Performance
✓ Target Metrics
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): < 2.5s
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint): < 200ms
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): < 0.1
✓ Optimizations
- Gzip/Brotli compression enabled
- Browser cache (Cache-Control headers)
- WebP/AVIF images with lazy loading
- Critical CSS inline, defer for the rest
- JavaScript async/defer, code splitting
5. Mobile-First Indexing
Google now indexes mobile-first only. Ensure:
- Responsive design with viewport meta tag
- Identical content desktop/mobile
- Readable fonts (16px minimum)
- Spaced tap targets (48x48px minimum)
- Avoid Flash, intrusive popups
- Test with Google Mobile-Friendly Test
6. Structured Data (Schema.org)
Help Google understand your content with JSON-LD:
Essential Types
- Organization: Name, logo, social networks
- WebSite: With SearchAction for search box
- BreadcrumbList: Breadcrumb trail
- Article: For editorial content
- Product: E-commerce with reviews, price, availability
- LocalBusiness: For local businesses
- FAQPage: For FAQ pages
Validate with Google Rich Results Test and Schema Markup Validator.
7. International & Multilingual
If targeting multiple countries/languages:
- Use hreflang in head or sitemap
- One URL per language/country (no cookie/JS switching)
- Translated content, not auto-translated
- Canonical to same language
- x-default for default page
8. Security
- HTTPS with valid SSL certificate
- Automatic HTTP to HTTPS redirect
- HSTS header to force HTTPS
- No mixed content (HTTP resources on HTTPS page)
9. Monitoring & Logs
Monitor your site's SEO health:
- Google Search Console: Indexing errors, coverage, Core Web Vitals
- Bing Webmaster Tools: For Bing traffic
- Server log analysis: Understand Googlebot behavior
- Alerts: On ranking or traffic drops
10. Recommended Audit Tools
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Complete crawl
- Google Search Console: Official Google data
- PageSpeed Insights: Core Web Vitals
- Ahrefs / Semrush: Backlinks, keywords, competition
- Lighthouse: Automated audit
Frequently Asked Questions
What tools to use for a technical SEO audit?
Essential: Google Search Console (indexing, errors), Screaming Frog SEO Spider (crawl), Lighthouse (performance), PageSpeed Insights (Core Web Vitals). Advanced: Ahrefs/SEMrush (backlinks, rankings), OnCrawl/Botify (log analysis), Schema Markup Validator (structured data).
How to check my site indexing on Google?
Use site:yourdomain.com in Google to see indexed pages. Google Search Console > Coverage shows valid/excluded/error pages. Check submitted sitemap.xml, robots.txt doesn't block important pages, meta robots tags, canonical points correctly.
What is the difference between technical SEO audit and content audit?
Technical audit: crawl, indexing, architecture, performance, structured data, server logs. Content audit: editorial quality, keywords, search intent, duplicate content, thin content, on-page optimization (title, meta, Hn). Both are complementary.
How often to audit my site's technical SEO?
Complete audit: 1-2 times/year or after major redesign. Continuous monitoring: Google Search Console weekly (new errors, indexing drop), Core Web Vitals monthly, quarterly crawl (new pages, 404). Set up automatic alerts.
How much does a professional technical SEO audit cost in Morocco?
Basic audit (site < 100 pages): 15k-30k MAD. Complete audit (site 100-1000 pages): 30k-60k MAD. Enterprise audit (> 1000 pages, multilingual, multisite): 60k-150k MAD. Includes: detailed report, prioritized recommendations, costed action plan.
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