Technical SEO Checklist: How to Audit Your Website for Search Engines

Technical SEO is the foundation everything else is built on. Without it, your brilliant content and hard-won backlinks won't reach their full potential. This checklist covers the essentials every website should get right.

Crawlability & Indexing

robots.txt

Your robots.txt file tells search engines what they can and can't crawl. Common mistakes include accidentally blocking important pages or CSS/JS files that Google needs to render your pages.

• Ensure your robots.txt is accessible at yoursite.com/robots.txt
• Don't block CSS, JavaScript, or image resources
• Block admin areas, login pages, and internal search results
• Include your sitemap URL

XML Sitemap

Your sitemap is a roadmap for search engines. It should list every important page you want indexed:

• Include only canonical, indexable URLs (no duplicates, no redirects)
• Update lastmod dates when content actually changes
• Keep under 50,000 URLs per sitemap file
• Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console

Canonical Tags

Canonical tags tell Google which version of a URL is the "master" copy. This prevents duplicate content issues from URL parameters, trailing slashes, or www vs. non-www variations.

Every page should have a self-referencing canonical tag pointing to its preferred URL.

Site Speed & Core Web Vitals

Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal. The three metrics to optimize:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Target under 2.5 seconds. Optimize images, use CDN, minimize server response time
• FID / INP (Interaction to Next Paint): Target under 200ms. Reduce JavaScript execution, defer non-critical scripts
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Target under 0.1. Set image dimensions, avoid injecting content above the fold

Quick Speed Wins

• Compress images to WebP/AVIF format
• Enable gzip/Brotli compression on your server
• Lazy-load images below the fold
• Minimize CSS and JavaScript bundles
• Use a CDN for static assets
• Preconnect to required third-party origins

Mobile Optimization

Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of your site for ranking. Ensure:

• Responsive design that adapts to all screen sizes
• Tap targets are at least 48x48 pixels with adequate spacing
• Font sizes are readable without zooming (minimum 16px body text)
• Viewport meta tag is correctly configured
• No horizontal scrolling on any page

HTTPS & Security

• All pages served over HTTPS (no mixed content warnings)
• HTTP automatically redirects to HTTPS
• SSL certificate is valid and not expiring soon
• Security headers configured (HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options)

Structured Data

Schema markup helps Google understand your content and can earn rich results (star ratings, FAQ dropdowns, breadcrumbs) in search results:

• Organization schema on homepage
• BreadcrumbList on inner pages
• Article schema on blog posts
• Product schema on product pages
• FAQ schema on FAQ pages

Validate all markup at Google's Rich Results Test before deploying.

Running Your Audit

1. Start with Google Search Console — check Coverage, Experience, and Enhancements reports
2. Run a crawl with a tool like Screaming Frog to find broken links, missing meta tags, and redirect chains
3. Test Core Web Vitals at PageSpeed Insights for your top 10 pages
4. Check mobile usability with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test
5. Validate structured data with the Rich Results Test
6. Fix issues by priority: crawlability first, then speed, then mobile, then structured data

Schedule this audit quarterly to catch issues before they impact your rankings.