How to use this checklist
Technical SEO is about making sure search engines can find, crawl, render and index the pages you want in search, and understand what they are. It doesn’t replace good content, but it can stop good content from being found.
You don’t need every check on every site. A 20-page brochure site needs a light pass; a store with thousands of products needs all of it. Work through the sections in order. Earlier problems (crawling and indexing) make later ones irrelevant until they’re fixed.
Tools you’ll need: Google Search Console (free), a site crawler (several have free tiers for small sites), PageSpeed Insights (free), Google’s Rich Results Test (free), and your browser’s developer tools.
1. Crawlability
- robots.txt loads at
/robots.txt, doesn’t block important content, CSS or JavaScript, and references your sitemap. - No accidental site-wide blocks, such as the WordPress “Discourage search engines” setting left on after launch.
- Server responses are healthy: important pages return 200; no clusters of 5xx errors in Search Console’s crawl stats.
- No crawl traps: filters, calendars, sort orders or session parameters generating endless URL variations.
- Important links are real links (``), not JavaScript click handlers that crawlers may not follow.
2. Indexability
- Important pages have no
noindextag or header (check templates, not just individual pages). - Canonical tags on important pages point to themselves (or to the deliberate preferred version).
- One accessible version of the site: HTTP redirects to HTTPS, and www/non-www redirects to the preferred host.
- Thin or duplicate pages (tag archives, attachment pages, empty categories) are improved, consolidated, or kept out of the index deliberately.
- Search Console’s Page indexing report reviewed: important pages indexed; non-indexed reasons understood. See our Search Console guide.
3. Redirects and status codes
- Permanent moves use 301 (or 308) redirects, not 302s or JavaScript redirects.
- No redirect chains or loops. Every redirect goes straight to the final URL.
- Internal links point to final URLs, not to URLs that redirect.
- No broken internal links (404s from your own pages).
- Removed pages either return 404/410 or redirect to a genuinely equivalent page, not all to the homepage.
- Custom 404 page returns an actual 404 status, not 200 (a soft 404).
Our technical SEO audits are prioritised by impact, and we implement the fixes.
4. Site structure and internal linking
- Important pages are within three clicks of the homepage.
- No orphan pages: every page you want found is linked from at least one other page.
- Navigation reflects priorities: core services or categories are in the main menu or a clear hub.
- Anchor text is descriptive (“WordPress malware removal”, not “click here”).
- Breadcrumbs on deeper pages, with matching BreadcrumbList structured data.
- URLs are readable and consistent: lowercase, hyphens, no unnecessary parameters.
5. XML sitemaps
- A sitemap exists and is submitted in Search Console.
- It lists only canonical, indexable URLs returning 200: no redirects, no
noindexpages, no duplicates. - It updates automatically when content is added or removed.
- Large sites split sitemaps logically (pages, posts, products) under a sitemap index.
6. Technical on-page elements
- Unique title tags on every indexable page, describing the page accurately.
- Unique meta descriptions on important pages (not a ranking factor, but they influence clicks).
- One H1 per page, and a logical heading hierarchy beneath it.
- Images have descriptive alt text where they convey information.
- Open Graph tags for clean link previews when pages are shared.
langattribute set correctly; hreflang only if you genuinely have language or regional versions.
7. Structured data
- Organization markup with your real name, logo, contact details and verified profiles.
- BreadcrumbList on pages with breadcrumbs.
- Article / BlogPosting on articles, with dates and author.
- Product markup on product pages, with price and availability that match the page.
- LocalBusiness only if you have a genuine location customers visit or a real service area.
- Validated with Google’s Rich Results Test and Schema.org’s validator; no errors on important templates.
- Nothing invented: no fake reviews or ratings, and nothing in markup that isn’t visible on the page.
Valid structured data makes pages eligible for rich results; it doesn’t guarantee them.
8. Page experience: speed, mobile, security
- Core Web Vitals reviewed in Search Console; failing page groups identified. See our speed guide.
- Mobile-friendly layouts: readable text, tappable buttons, no horizontal scrolling.
- HTTPS everywhere, no mixed content warnings.
- No intrusive interstitials blocking content on mobile.
9. Rendering and JavaScript
- Key content is in the HTML the server sends, or reliably rendered: check with URL Inspection’s View crawled page.
- Navigation and internal links work without JavaScript errors.
- Important text isn’t hidden behind interactions that require clicks to load from the server.
10. Prioritise what you found
A long list of issues is only useful if you know what to fix first. Rank each finding by impact (how many important pages it affects, how badly) and effort. Fix high-impact, low-effort items first: an accidental noindex, a redirect loop, a blocked folder. Plan the high-impact, high-effort items. Question low-impact, high-effort items before spending time on them.
Then re-check in Search Console as Google recrawls, and repeat the audit every six to twelve months, or after any redesign or migration.
Official reference: Google’s SEO Starter Guide. If you’d like us to run the audit and implement the fixes, see technical SEO.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I run a technical SEO audit?
Every six to twelve months, and always before and after a redesign, migration or major plugin change.
Can I do a technical SEO audit myself?
Yes, for most small sites, with Search Console, a crawler and this checklist. Larger sites and stores benefit from experienced help.
What's the most common technical SEO problem?
On small business sites: accidental noindex or blocked pages after a launch, and redirect problems after a redesign.
Does structured data improve rankings?
It helps search engines understand pages and can make them eligible for rich results, but it isn’t a direct ranking boost.
About this guide
We build, repair, move and maintain WordPress and WooCommerce websites for businesses in the UAE, US, UK and Canada. This guide reflects how we approach the problem in client work, checked against the official documentation linked in the text. Published 16 October 2026.
Found an error or something out of date? Tell us and we’ll correct it.
