How to Perform a Technical SEO Audit Step by Step
How to Perform a Technical SEO Audit Step by Step
Blog Article
Introduction: Why Technical SEO Audits Are a Game Changer
You can have the best content in the world, but if your website isn’t technically sound, Google might never rank it. That’s where a technical SEO audit comes in. Unlike content audits or backlink analysis, a technical audit digs deep into the foundation of your website—how it’s built, how it functions, and how well it’s optimized for both search engines and users.
Whether you’re an SEO beginner, a business owner, or a digital marketer, this guide will walk you through how to perform a technical SEO audit step by step—so your site can climb higher, load faster, and perform better.
What Is a Technical SEO Audit?
A technical SEO audit is a comprehensive review of your website’s technical infrastructure. The goal is to identify issues that might prevent search engines from crawling, indexing, or ranking your site properly.
Think of it like a health check-up—but for your website.
It covers:
Site speed
Mobile responsiveness
Crawlability and indexability
HTTPS and security
Structured data
Technical errors (like broken links or duplicate content)
Tools You’ll Need
Before starting, gather your toolkit. These tools will help you perform a thorough audit:
Google Search Console
Google Analytics
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Ahrefs or SEMrush
PageSpeed Insights
GTmetrix
Yoast SEO (for WordPress sites)
Sitebulb or DeepCrawl (for enterprise-level audits)
???? Step-by-Step Technical SEO Audit Guide
Step 1: Check Crawlability with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb
If search engines can’t crawl your site, they can’t rank it.
What to check:
Robots.txt file (is it blocking anything?)
Sitemap.xml availability and submission
Broken internal links
Redirect loops or errors (301, 302, 404s)
Tip: Use Screaming Frog to run a crawl and identify any URLs that are blocked, missing, or redirecting incorrectly.
Step 2: Analyze Indexability in Google Search Console
Being crawlable doesn’t always mean you’re indexed.
Check in GSC:
Coverage reports: Are pages marked as "Excluded" or "Crawled – not indexed"?
Submitted sitemaps
Canonical tags (ensure they’re not pointing to the wrong URLs)
URL inspection tool (spot-check important pages)
Goal: Make sure the right pages are being indexed and low-value or duplicate content is excluded.
Step 3: Assess Site Speed and Performance
Page speed is a ranking factor. Slow sites lose rankings—and users.
Use:
Google PageSpeed Insights
GTmetrix
Web.dev
Evaluate:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
First Input Delay (FID)
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Fixes might include:
Compressing images
Minifying CSS/JS files
Enabling browser caching
Implementing lazy loading
Step 4: Ensure Mobile-Friendliness
Over 60% of searches happen on mobile devices. Google uses mobile-first indexing, so your mobile site is what gets ranked.
Check:
Mobile Usability in Google Search Console
Responsive design across devices
Readable fonts and tappable elements
No horizontal scrolling or broken layouts
Step 5: Review HTTPS & Site Security
Security isn't just for eCommerce—Google prioritizes HTTPS websites in search results.
What to do:
Ensure your site uses HTTPS across all pages
Check for mixed content errors (e.g., HTTP images on HTTPS pages)
Confirm your SSL certificate is valid
Step 6: Fix Duplicate Content and Canonicalization Issues
Duplicate content confuses Google and splits ranking signals.
Audit:
Duplicate meta titles/descriptions
URL parameters (e.g., ?ref=123)
WWW vs non-WWW, HTTP vs HTTPS versions
Canonical tags (use them correctly!)
Tools: Use Screaming Frog and SEMrush’s Site Audit to catch these.
Step 7: Optimize Site Architecture and Internal Linking
Your website’s structure helps search engines understand which pages matter most.
Key actions:
Use a flat site structure (3 clicks max from homepage)
Ensure internal links point to key content
Fix broken internal links
Add breadcrumbs for better navigation
Step 8: Check Structured Data and Schema Markup
Structured data helps Google understand your content and improves visibility via rich results.
Use:
Google's Rich Results Test
Schema.org validator
Plugins like Schema Pro or Rank Math
Add structured data to:
Products
Articles
Reviews
FAQs
Events
Step 9: Analyze Core Web Vitals
These are Google's UX-focused performance metrics:
LCP: Measures loading performance
FID: Measures interactivity
CLS: Measures visual stability
You can find these in:
Google Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report
PageSpeed Insights
Aim to stay within green (Good) thresholds.
Step 10: Audit Your URL Structure and Hierarchies
Clean, logical URLs help with indexing and user experience.
Best practices:
Use hyphens (-), not underscores (_)
Keep them short and descriptive
Avoid unnecessary parameters or session IDs
Use consistent naming conventions
Step 11: Review 404 Errors, Redirects, and Server Issues
404 errors are inevitable—but too many damage trust and SEO.
Fix by:
Redirecting dead URLs to the most relevant active page
Creating custom 404 pages
Regularly monitoring broken links
Also check:
Server response codes (use Screaming Frog)
Any 5xx errors or DNS failures
Step 12: Benchmark and Prioritize Fixes
A technical SEO audit is useless without action.
Create a prioritized list:
Critical fixes (broken links, indexing issues, security problems)
Performance improvements (speed, mobile UX)
Enhancements (structured data, canonical fixes)
Document everything in a spreadsheet with severity levels, action steps, and deadlines.
Conclusion: Don’t Just Audit—Act
A technical SEO audit is more than a checklist—it’s a blueprint for long-term success. When your site is clean, fast, and fully optimized, search engines trust you more—and so do users.
Perform audits regularly (at least quarterly), stay up to date with Google’s algorithm changes, and fix issues before they affect your rankings.
Because in the world of SEO, technical health equals visibility.