Your website may look professional and display great images however this doesn’t mean that important pages will be easily found & understood by search engines. Sometimes there are problems causing issues with search performance. Such as broken links, slow page speeds, indexing issues and incorrect redirects.
A technical SEO audit will help you identify any issues on your website that could be causing problems with how search engines crawl, index, perform, security and usability. It helps you understand why there may be issues and know what issues to focus on.
Understanding technical SEO can help you provide a strong foundation for your business website, online store or local service.
What is a Technical SEO Audit?
A technical SEO audit is a process to identify any technical issues which could cause problems with search engines finding, crawling, indexing and displaying your pages.
Whilst content SEO focuses on using the right keywords, providing relevant content and useful information, technical SEO focuses on how well your website is performing. This can include website speed, mobile usability, URL structure, XML sitemaps, redirects and indexing.
A website SEO audit can help you identify if your pages will be found by search engines.
For example; if a clinic has created a page relating to its cardiology services but this page has been accidentally blocked from being indexed, potential patients may not find this page through organic search. Even though it may have useful information, due to technical issues it won’t show up in Google searches.
A correct audit can help you identify these issues.
Why is a Technical SEO Audit Important?
Search engines need to be able to find & process your pages. Any technical issues can cause problems with this. Having a well performing website can help search engines and visitors easily navigate through your content.
By carrying out regular technical SEO audits you can:
- Identify any crawling, indexing and performance issues.
- Improve the overall user experience for desktop and mobile.
Although an audit won’t guarantee you will rank higher, fixing any major technical issues can help your important pages perform better.
Checklist for a Technical SEO Audit
By having a checklist for technical SEO you can easily review your website. Below are tips for beginner, small business owners and marketing teams.
Crawling & Indexing
Crawling refers to search engines finding & accessing your pages. Indexing refers to analysing the information and deciding if they will be included in their index.
Having issues with how well your website can be crawled can cause issues with search engines finding your pages. There are many reasons why your pages might not be indexed. This could be because they have been accidentally blocked using noindex Tags,canonical tags that are incorrect, duplicate URLs or blocked resources.
Start by reviewing your Page Indexing report in Google Search Console. This can help you understand which URLs are being indexed and why others aren’t.
Next use the URL Inspection tool to review important pages. This can help you understand if Google can access your page, if it is being indexed and if the canonical tag is correct.
Not all pages will be blocked from being indexed. Some pages should be kept private, there may be duplicate pages or they have been intentionally blocked.
Website Speed & Core Web Vitals
Having a slow website can cause annoyance for visitors especially if they are using mobile data or an old device. Improving your website performance should be a key part of your technical SEO audit.
Core Web Vitals are measured by Google and include:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – How quickly your page loads. You want a good score of 2.5 seconds or less.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP) – How quickly your page responds to user interaction. You want a good score of 200ms or less.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – How much unexpected movement is on your page. You want a good score of 0.1 or less.
These are measured at 75th percentile of page views and should have enough field data.
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to help improve your performance. Common improvements include optimising large images, reducing unnecessary JavaScript, improving your server response time and allocating space for images or ads.
Don’t focus on getting a perfect score. Focus on improving the experience for your visitors whilst keeping your website functioning as it should.
XML Sitemaps & Robots.txt
XML sitemaps help search engines find important URLs on your website. Robots.txt tells search engines what they can crawl.
As part of your technical SEO audit, ensure your XML sitemap has the correct canonical tags and isn’t including any unwanted pages. Ensure it is accessible and has been submitted in Google Search Console.
Review your robots.txt to ensure important sections of your website are not being accidentally blocked.
Something to note is that just because a page is blocked in robots.txt doesn’t mean it will be removed from Google’s index. If Google finds the URL somewhere else they may still show it. If you want to block a page from being indexed use the correct method such as a noindex tag that Google can see and process.
Broken Links & Redirects
Having broken links can cause annoyance for your visitors as they will be taken to a page that doesn’t exist. This can stop users and search engines from finding useful content.
Review your internal and external links along with any important landing pages. Pay particular attention to pages within your navigation, service pages and blog posts.
Redirects can also be a useful part to review. If a page has moved permanently, you want to have a relevant 301 redirect to help users and search engines find your new page.
Avoid having too many redirects, redirects looping and irrelevant URLs redirecting to your homepage. All redirects should take users to the most relevant page available.
HTTPS, Canonical Tags & Duplicate Content
Having a secure website and ensuring your URLs are consistent is important.
First ensure your website is using HTTPS correctly. This means users won’t get any security warnings. Also ensure you aren’t having any mixed content issues. This means your page is using HTTPS but trying to load resources via HTTP.
Next review your canonical tags. This tells search engines which URL you want to be used for pages that are duplicated or very similar. If your canonical tags aren’t set up correctly search engines may pick a different URL.
Ensure your URLs are consistent. Avoid having too many variations, trailing slashes, tracking parameters and duplicate pages. Your website should have consistent URLs.
Canonical tags are signals and not commands, so Google may pick a different canonical URL if there is other evidence to suggest this is the best option.
Mobile Usability & Website Structure
Many users will visit your business website on their smartphone. If your page isn’t mobile friendly users may have issues navigating through your website.
Use different screen sizes to review your important pages. Ensure text is easy to read, buttons are easy to click, navigation is working and everything is fitting onto the page.
Your website should be easy to navigate to important pages. Ensure your website is organised into logical categories, internal links are descriptive and your main pages are structured well with supporting content.
For example, if you are a digital marketing agency your website may be split into service pages, industry specific pages and blog posts. Ensuring relevant articles are linked to their relevant service page can help users find useful information and help search engines understand your site structure.
Use the Right Tools to Find Technical Issues
You don’t have to guess what issues you have on your website. There are many tools available to help you.
Google Search Console can help you understand any issues with indexing, search and certain website issues. Google PageSpeed Insights can help you understand how your page is performing and give you suggestions to improve. Crawling tools such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider can help you find broken links, too many redirects, missing metadata and other issues.
Depending on the size and complexity of your website you may want to use certain tools. Smaller websites may only need a few tools however larger websites may want to use crawling tools to automatically find issues.
Use reports from your tools as a starting point. Don’t worry about every warning being a major issue. Understand what the issue is, how it will affect your website and if it needs fixing.
How Can Local SEO Benefit From a Technical SEO Audit?
Local SEO can help your business become more visible to people searching for products/services in a specific area. For example, if you are a clinic in Chennai you may want to target people searching for relevant healthcare services in the area.
Having a technical SEO audit can help your important pages related to your location and services be found, indexed, mobile friendly and easy to navigate.
Ensure your location pages are technically sound. Ensure the content is relevant to the services you offer. Use clear internal links to link to relevant service pages. Structured data can also help search engines understand more about your local business if set up correctly.
Ensure your business has accurate information in your Google Business Profile. This should include your business name, address, phone number, opening times and services. Ensure this is consistent with your actual business details.
For example, if you are a local dental clinic you should have a useful page explaining your services and location. Alongside having a well maintained Google Business Profile. This will work together however there is no guarantee you will rank well in local searches.
How Often Should I Carry Out a Technical SEO Audit?
Depending on the size of your website, how often it is updated and if you have had any technical issues.
Smaller business websites may want to carry out a full audit every few months. Using Google Search Console and performance tools regularly can help. Larger websites, e-commerce sites or websites that are regularly updated may want to monitor more regularly.
If you have had a website redesign, migration, major URL changes or large updates it is worth carrying out an extra audit. This can help you identify any broken links, incorrect redirects, indexing issues and other issues.
The aim is to keep your website healthy, fix any meaningful issues and ensure any fixes have worked.
Why Choose Reach Skyline For Your Website’s SEO?
Technical SEO should be part of your overall digital strategy. Whilst fixing any issues on your website is important, you also want to ensure you have relevant content, a useful website and have a clear strategy to reach the right audience.
Reach Skyline offers a range of digital marketing services. This includes SEO, PPC, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Analytics, Branding and Web Design & Development. We provide a digital strategy with technology driven solutions for your business.
If you are looking to improve your online presence, having a strategy in place can help ensure your website is performing well with quality content.
We also offer website development services to ensure your website is responsive, fast, secure and SEO friendly.
Look for a clear communicator who can provide practical suggestions, clear reporting and are happy to explain what issues are most important. A quality service will help you understand what is being done.
To find out more about our services visit https://reachskyline.com/. For more digital marketing insights visit https://reachskyline.com/blog/.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a technical SEO audit?
A technical SEO audit is used to identify any issues on your website which are causing issues with crawling, indexing, performance, security, URL structure and usability. This can help you identify any issues stopping your important pages from being found.
How do I carry out a technical SEO audit?
Start by using Google Search Console to review any issues with indexing & crawling. Next review your website speed, core web vitals, XML sitemaps, robots.txt, redirects, broken links, canonical tags, HTTPS & mobile usability. Prioritise any issues and ensure any fixes have been made.
What are the most common technical SEO issues?
Common technical SEO issues include accidentally blocking pages using noindex tags, broken links, incorrect redirects, duplicate URLs, slow page speed, no canonical tags & important pages not being easy to find using internal links.
What are the best tools to use for a technical SEO audit?
Google Search Console, Google PageSpeed Insights & crawling tools such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider can all be useful. Depending on the size, technical requirements & budget of your website.
Can a technical SEO audit help me rank better on Google?
A technical SEO audit can help you identify and fix any issues causing problems with crawling, indexing and user experience. Fixing any major issues can help improve your search performance however your ranking will depend on your content being relevant, competition, authority and many more factors.
What is the difference between crawling and indexing?
Crawling refers to search engines finding & accessing your URL. Indexing refers to analysing & storing information about your page. Just because a page has been crawled doesn’t mean it will be indexed.
Conclusion
A technical SEO audit is an important step in maintaining a healthy, user-friendly and search-engine-friendly website. By regularly checking crawlability, indexing, website speed, mobile usability, broken links, redirects and security, you can identify and fix technical SEO issues before they affect your website’s performance. While an audit cannot guarantee higher Google rankings, resolving important issues can improve the user experience and help search engines understand your website better. Reach Skyline can help your business build a strong technical SEO foundation and improve its online presence with effective SEO and website development strategies. Start reviewing your website today to ensure it is ready for both search engines and your visitors.