Technical SEO Audit Checklist: 30 Checks Step by Step

This is my technical SEO audit checklist. I run it before content or link work, because nothing else helps if Google cannot crawl and index your pages. It is part of my technical SEO service; for a quick automatic check use the free SEO audit.

Tools you need

• Google Search Console (Page indexing, Crawl stats, Core Web Vitals, Enhancements).
• A crawler such as Screaming Frog or Sitebulb.
• PageSpeed Insights.
• My free tools: robots.txt tester, heading checker, sitemap generator.

Step 1: Crawlability (checks 1 to 6)

1. robots.txt does not block important pages, CSS or JS. See blocked by robots.txt.
2. XML sitemap exists, is submitted and lists only 200, indexable, canonical URLs.
3. No important pages return 4xx or 5xx. See server error 5xx and not found (404).
4. Redirects are single hops, 301 for permanent moves.
5. Internal links use normal <a href> tags.
6. No crawl traps: endless parameters or calendars. See crawl budget.

Step 2: Indexing (checks 7 to 12)

7. Review every reason in the Page indexing report. Start with my Search Console errors hub.
8. No accidental noindex on important pages.
9. Canonical tags point to the right URL.
10. One preferred version: https, www or non-www, trailing slash.
11. Thin and duplicate pages merged or noindexed.
12. Important pages are not stuck in “crawled, currently not indexed“.

Step 3: Structure and URLs (checks 13 to 17)

13. Important pages within 3 clicks of the home page.
14. No orphan pages. See internal linking strategy.
15. Short, readable URLs.
16. Breadcrumbs on deeper pages.
17. No keyword cannibalization between key pages. See keyword cannibalization.

Step 4: Speed and Core Web Vitals (checks 18 to 22)

18. Core Web Vitals pass for mobile URL groups. See Core Web Vitals guide.
19. Server response time is low (caching, CDN).
20. Images compressed, modern formats, dimensions set.
21. Unused CSS and JS removed or deferred.
22. Third-party scripts limited.

Step 5: Mobile and rendering (checks 23 to 26)

23. Same content and links on mobile and desktop.
24. Important content visible in the rendered HTML (URL Inspection, View crawled page).
25. Tap targets and fonts readable on small screens.
26. No intrusive interstitials covering content.

Step 6: Structured data and security (checks 27 to 30)

27. Valid schema for key page types. See the schema markup guide.
28. No structured data errors in Search Console Enhancements.
29. HTTPS everywhere, no mixed content.
30. No security issues or manual actions in Search Console.

How to prioritise fixes

Frequently asked questions