No website can stand without a strong backbone. And that backbone is technical SEO. It ensures search engines can crawl, index, and rank your site while delivering a smooth user experience. Without it, even great content may struggle to rank.
This technical SEO audit checklist covers seven key factors that impact performance. From crawlability to structured data, these checks keep your site optimised. Use this checklist to fix technical issues and improve your search visibility.
Follow this checklist to ensure your site is technically optimised for search engines and users. Here are the seven key factors you need to check:
Each of these factors plays a critical role in your site’s technical health. Even one overlooked issue can impact rankings, site speed, or user experience. Let’s break down each item and see how to check and fix them.
If you wish to run a broader SEO audit beyond just technical aspects, then check out our detailed guide on performing an SEO audit. Meanwhile, if you’re short on time and need quick wins, our 30-minute SEO audit guide has you covered.
Would you use a website that isn’t secure? Probably not – and neither would most people. Google feels the same way, which is why HTTPS is a ranking signal, and sites without it get buried deep in search results, making them harder to find.
To stay competitive and gain people’s trust, you need to make sure your site is fully secured with HTTPS. Is your website secure?
How to check:
If your site isn’t fully secure, don’t worry – fixing it is straightforward.
How to fix:
A slow website frustrates users and makes them leave before engaging with your content. Google considers page experience a ranking signal, meaning poor speed and performance can push your site lower in search results.
A well-optimised site keeps visitors happy and improves search visibility. Is your site fast, stable, and responsive?
How to check:
If your scores aren’t where they should be, don’t worry – there are ways to fix them.
How to fix:
Did you know that over 60% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices? Because of this shift, Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of a website’s content for crawling, indexing, and ranking in search results.
A poorly optimised mobile site can hurt both rankings and user experience. Is your site easy to navigate, fast to load, and fully functional on all devices?
How to check:
If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, don’t worry – there are simple fixes to improve it.
How to fix:
A confusing website structure makes it hard for users to navigate and difficult for search engines to understand your content. Poor internal linking can leave important pages undiscovered, hurting both rankings and user experience.
A well-structured site ensures smooth navigation and better search visibility. Is your content easy to find for both users and search engines?
How to check:
If your site’s structure is messy, don’t worry – fixing it is easier than you think.
How to fix:
If search engines can’t crawl or index your pages, they won’t appear in search results at all. Misconfigured robots.txt files, noindex tags, or crawl inefficiencies can prevent important content from being discovered and ranked.
Ensuring proper indexability helps Google discover and rank your pages effectively. Is your content accessible, or is it stuck hidden from search results?
How to check:
robots.txt file to see if it’s unintentionally blocking content.If key pages aren’t getting indexed, don’t worry – there are ways to fix it.
How to fix:
noindex tags from pages that should appear in search results.robots.txt settings to allow search engines to crawl important pages.Broken links frustrate users and waste crawl budget. Meanwhile, poorly managed redirects can slow down your site and dilute ranking signals. If your links don’t work properly, both visitors and search engines will hit dead ends.
Fixing broken links and redirects keeps your site smooth and SEO-friendly. Are your links guiding users and search engines correctly, or are they leading to dead ends?
How to check:
If your site has broken links or mismanaged redirects, don’t worry – fixing them is simple.
How to fix:
Search engines rely on structured data to better understand your content and enhance search results. Without schema markup, your pages may miss out on rich snippets like star ratings, FAQs, and product details that improve visibility and click-through rates.
Adding structured data helps search engines interpret your content and makes your pages stand out in SERP. Is your content optimised for enhanced search features?
How to check:
If your site isn’t using structured data, don’t worry – implementing it is simple.
How to fix:
A technical SEO audit often requires juggling three to four different tools – one for checking indexability, another for site speed, another for broken links, and so on. This can make the process overwhelming and time-consuming.
Luckily, WebYes automates 4 out of these 7 key technical SEO checks, making your job easier and minimising the number of tools you need to use. Instead of constantly switching between platforms, you can streamline your audit with a single, powerful tool.
So, if you’re looking for the best tool to perform a technical SEO audit, WebYes is the clear choice. See for yourself – run a free SEO audit now with WebYes to uncover hidden issues, boost your site’s visibility, and drive more traffic and conversions.
There you have it – your technical SEO audit checklist to keep your site optimised and search-engine friendly. By regularly checking and fixing these key areas, you can prevent ranking drops, improve site performance, and provide a better user experience.
Pro tip: Set up website monitoring with WebYes and automate your technical SEO checks. It will track issues like indexing errors and speed problems, so you don’t have to. Run periodic audits, let WebYes handle the rest, and focus on growing your site.
Article by
Melwyn holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and has been writing professionally for over 4 years. He has a strong background in SEO and is certified in web accessibility from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). When he's not writing about website optimisation, you can find him enjoying a game of FIFA or exploring the open world of GTA.
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