If your website has strong content but stalls in organic search, technical issues are often the hidden cause. This guide explains what a technical SEO audit is, how to run one (or evaluate a vendor), and exactly how to fix the common problems that stop search engines and users from getting the most value from your site. It’s written to be practical copy the checklists into tickets, hand code snippets to developers, and prioritize fixes that move the needle.
What is a Technical SEO Audit
A technical SEO audit is a systematic inspection of the parts of your website that affect how search engines crawl, render, and index pages and how users experience them. Unlike content audits (keywords, topics, copy) or link audits (backlinks, outreach), this audit focuses on infrastructure and behavior: server responses, URL rules, performance, mobile rendering, structured data, and the site architecture that ties everything together.
A good audit answers:
- Can search engines reach the pages that matter?
- Can search engines render those pages correctly?
- Are there structural inefficiencies wasting time and crawl budget?
Why technical SEO matters the real impacts
- Indexation and discoverability: Blocked pages or pages returning errors will not appear in search results.
- User experience & conversions: Slow or unstable pages increase bounce rates and harm conversion.
- Crawl budget & priority: On large sites, bots can waste time on low-value URLs; important pages get crawled less frequently.
- Amplified ROI: With technical issues resolved, your content and link-building efforts work more effectively.
The 12 audit areas you must check (and fix)
Below are the core technical areas, why they matter, what to check, and practical fixes.
1) Crawlability & Indexing
Why it matters: If crawlers can’t access pages or you accidentally block them, your content won’t be indexed.
Checks
- robots.txt syntax and disallow rules
- XML sitemap presence & completeness
- Coverage report in Google Search Console (or equivalent)
- rel=canonical usage and noindex tags
Fixes
- Ensure important paths are allowed in robots.txt:
User-agent: *
Disallow:
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml
- Regenerate and submit a canonicalized XML sitemap.
Remove accidental noindex and correct canonical URLs to absolute, preferred versions.
2) Core Web Vitals & Page Speed
Why it matters: Google uses these UX metrics; users abandon slow pages.
Checks
- LCP, INP/FID, CLS via PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse
- TTFB and render-blocking resources via waterfall analysis (GTmetrix)
- Third-party script impact
Fixes
- Compress/resize images and serve WebP/AVIF where practical.
- Defer or async non-critical JavaScript; inline critical CSS.
- Use caching and a CDN; enable server-side compression and HTTP/2 or HTTP/3.
3) Mobile Usability
Why it matters: Mobile-first indexing means mobile rendering is the baseline.
Checks
- Viewport tag presence (width=device-width)
- Touch targets, readable font sizes, layout shifts on mobile
- Rendering of SPA content or lazy-loaded elements
Fixes
- Add <meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″>.
- Reserve space for banners/menus to avoid CLS.
- Test on several devices or use Chrome DevTools device simulator.
4) HTTPS & Security
Why it matters: Browsers and users expect secure sites; mixed content or expired certs create warnings.
Checks
- Valid SSL certificate, no mixed-content warnings
- Proper 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS
Fixes
- Redirect all HTTP to HTTPS at the server level.
- Fix or replace assets loading over http:// (images, scripts).
5) Redirects & Broken Links
Why it matters: Redirect chains waste time and crawl budget; broken links create bad UX.
Checks
- 4xx & 5xx pages, redirect chains, and loops via crawler (Screaming Frog)
- Internal link targets
Fixes
- Collapse redirect chains to direct 301s.
- Replace/redirect broken internal links; use 301 for permanent moves.
6) Site Architecture & Internal Linking
Why it matters: Clear hierarchy helps bots prioritize important pages and helps users navigate.
Checks
- Click-depth of important pages (should aim for <3 clicks from homepage)
- Orphan pages (no internal links) and link equity distribution
Fixes
- Add contextual internal links from high-traffic pages to priority pages.
- Use breadcrumbs and consistent URL hierarchies.
7) Duplicate Content & Canonicalization
Why it matters: Duplicate content dilutes ranking signals and confuses indexing.
Checks
- www vs non-www, trailing slash differences, parameterized URLs
- Paginated and faceted pages creating duplicate content
Fixes
- Canonicalize or 301 redirect duplicate versions to the preferred URL.
- For faceted navigation, use noindex, follow or parameter handling to avoid index bloat.
8) Structured Data (Schema)
Why it matters: Correct schema increases eligibility for rich results and improves understanding.
Checks
- JSON-LD presence and validation (product, article, breadcrumbs, FAQ)
- Rich results report in Search Console
Fixes
- Add or correct JSON-LD snippets; validate with Rich Results Test. Example Product schema:
<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”Product”,”name”:”Example”,”url”:”https://example.com/product”,”image”:”https://example.com/img.jpg”,”offers”:{“@type”:”Offer”,”price”:”29.99″,”priceCurrency”:”USD”,”availability”:”https://schema.org/InStock”}}
</script>
9) Crawl Budget Optimization
Why it matters: Especially for large sites, unnecessary crawlable pages consume bot time.
Checks
- Low-value URLs (filters, calendars, tag pages) appearing in crawl windows
- Bot behavior via server logs
Fixes
- Block or noindex low-value URL patterns; fix internal linking that surfaces them.
- Use parameter settings in Google Search Console for high-volume query params.
10) Log File Analysis
Why it matters: Logs show how search bots actually crawl your site — what they request and how often.
Checks
- Frequency of bot requests, 404s that bots encounter, crawl allocation
Fixes
Identify and surface high-importance pages that bots ignore and improve internal linking or remove crawl traps.
11) Server & Hosting Health
Why it matters: Underpowered hosting creates slow TTFB and intermittent errors.
Checks
- TTFB under load, error spikes during peak traffic, resource limits
Fixes
- Upgrade hosting or use horizontal scaling/CDN; tune database queries and caching.
12) Analytics & Business Prioritization
Why it matters: Work on pages that drive business value first.
Checks
- Identify top landing pages, conversion pages, and revenue-driving paths in Google Analytics.
Fixes
- Prioritize Core Web Vitals and indexation fixes for those pages first.
Tools to use (practical stack)
No single tool finds everything. Use this combination:
- Google Search Console & Google Analytics (real user & indexing data)
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider (deep local crawl)
- SEMrush / Ahrefs (site health overview, backlinks)
- Sitebulb / DeepCrawl (enterprise crawling, visualizations)
- Lighthouse / PageSpeed Insights / GTmetrix (performance & Core Web Vitals)
- Server logs (real bot behavior)
A concise audit workflow (practical timeline)
- Discovery (1–3 days) — Gather access: GSC, Analytics, CMS, logs. Run a quick triage for critical blockers.
- Full crawl & collection (2–5 days) — Multiple tool crawls + performance tests.
- Manual verification (2–4 days) — Validate issues on staging/live. Review logs.
- Report & roadmap (within 7–14 days) — Prioritized issues with remediation steps and code snippets.
- Implementation (optional) — Apply fixes in sprints; measure improvements.
- Deliverables: executive summary, prioritized list (Critical → Low), screenshots, sample code, before/after metrics.
Priority matrix, what to fix first
- Critical: Site-wide index blocking, site down, HTTPS failure, 5xx on key pages.
- High: Large LCP/CLS on conversion pages, indexable duplicate content, redirect loops.
- Medium: Missing schema, meta issues, medium performance gains.
- Low: Minor accessibility items, low-traffic 404s.
- Tackle Critical → High before Medium/Low.
Practical remediation examples
Collapse a redirect chain (server-level Nginx example):
# Instead of A -> B -> C, map A -> C directly
rewrite ^/old-page$ /new-page permanent;
HTTP -> HTTPS 301 (Apache .htaccess):
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]
SAR Pricing
Service | What’s included | Price (USD) |
One-time Technical SEO Audit | Full technical report, prioritized fixes | $50 – $80 |
Technical Audit + Implementation | Audit + implementation of critical/high fixes (small/medium sites) | $70 – $100 |
On-Page SEO + Technical SEO | Technical + on-page recommendations and implementation | $150 – $200 |
Full SEO Services | Ongoing technical + on-page + off-page work | $250 – $500 |
Final cost depends on site size and complexity; large e-commerce or enterprise sites are scoped separately.
Quick checklist to start now
- Is sitemap.xml present and submitted to GSC?
- Does robots.txt accidentally block important folders?
- Do key pages return 200 on Googlebot and users?=
- Is HTTPS implemented site-wide with no mixed content?
- Do Core Web Vitals for top landing pages meet thresholds?
- Any redirect chains or frequent 4xx/5xxs?
- Is structured data valid for product/article pages?
My Suggestions
- Prioritize indexation & security first. If Google can’t see your pages or users get security warnings, nothing else matters.
- Fix performance on business-critical pages before doing site-wide refactors. Small, focused wins give the best ROI.
- Use logs. Server logs reveal what bots actually request don’t skip this if you can access them.
- Automate checks. Schedule monthly crawls and Core Web Vitals monitoring to catch regressions early.
- Make fixes developer-friendly. Include code snippets and repro steps in each issue ticket to speed implementation.
How to use this guide
- Run a fast triage: robots, HTTPS, index status.
- Export top landing pages from Analytics and prioritize them.
- Run Site Crawl + Lighthouse for these priority pages and fix Critical/High items first.
- Iterate: implement, measure, repeat.
