Technical SEO Audit
Technical SEO Audit focuses on the backend and structural aspects of a website that affect crawlability, indexation, site speed, mobile usability, security, and structured data. Optimizing technical SEO ensures that search engines can access, understand, and rank your pages efficiently.
Even high-quality content can underperform if your site has technical issues. Crawling errors, slow loading, or mobile problems can prevent pages from ranking or being indexed.
Key Areas to Audit
1. Crawlability & Indexation
- Ensure search engines can access and index all important pages
- Check robots.txt, XML sitemaps, canonical tags, and noindex directives
Example: A service website had key pages blocked in robots.txt. Fixing this resulted in previously unindexed pages appearing in search results, increasing organic leads by 15%.
2. Site Speed & Performance
- Evaluate page load times, Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS), and server performance
- Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Lighthouse
Example: Compressing images and leveraging browser caching reduced a blog’s LCP from 4.8s to 1.9s, improving rankings for competitive keywords.
3. Mobile SEO
- Ensure responsive design, fast mobile load, and mobile-first indexing compliance
- Check usability and viewport settings
Example: A travel website redesigned for mobile responsiveness, resulting in a 25% increase in mobile organic traffic and improved user engagement.
4. Security & HTTPS
- Verify SSL certificate installation, eliminate mixed content, and implement security headers
- Secure sites are favored by both users and search engines
Example: Migrating an e-commerce site to HTTPS increased trust signals and led to a 7% boost in organic conversions.
5. Structured Data & Schema Markup
- Implement FAQ schema, product schema, and breadcrumbs to enhance SERP visibility
- Improves click-through rates via rich snippets
Example: Adding FAQ schema to a service website helped several pages appear in featured snippets, increasing organic clicks by 22%.
6. URL Structure & Site Architecture
- Ensure clean, descriptive URLs and logical hierarchy
- Implement breadcrumbs and flat site architecture for easier crawlability
Example: Reorganizing URLs and improving internal linking on an online magazine led to higher crawl efficiency and improved rankings for secondary keywords.
Best Practices for Technical SEO Audits
- Conduct a comprehensive crawl analysis regularly
- Prioritize critical errors that block indexing
- Monitor site speed and Core Web Vitals consistently
- Ensure mobile-first design and security compliance
- Use structured data to enhance search visibility