Crawlability (Points 1-5)
1. robots.txt allows access to important pages.
2. XML sitemap submitted to GSC, includes all key URLs.
3. No 'noindex' tags on pages you want ranking.
4. No infinite crawl traps (faceted nav, calendar pages).
5. Internal links don't 4xx/5xx error.
Indexability (Points 6-9)
6. All target pages indexed (check via 'site:yourdomain.com' search).
7. Canonical tags set correctly to avoid duplicate content.
8. No duplicate content issues across www/non-www, http/https.
9. Pagination handled correctly with rel=prev/next or self-canonical.
Site Architecture (Points 10-13)
10. Important pages reachable within 3 clicks from homepage.
11. Internal link structure follows logical topic hierarchy.
12. URL structure clean: /category/subcategory/page (not /?id=12345).
13. Breadcrumbs visible + schema-marked.
Page Speed + Core Web Vitals (Points 14-17)
14. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) < 2.5 seconds.
15. CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) < 0.1.
16. INP (Interaction to Next Paint) < 200ms.
17. No render-blocking JavaScript on critical path.
Mobile-Friendliness (Points 18-19)
18. Passes Google Mobile-Friendly Test.
19. Mobile viewport set correctly. Touch targets ≥48x48px.
Schema + Structured Data (Points 20-23)
20. Organisation schema on homepage.
21. Article schema on blog posts.
22. FAQPage schema on pages with FAQs.
23. BreadcrumbList schema on category/post pages.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I run a technical SEO audit?
Quarterly for established sites. Monthly for new sites or after major changes (site migration, redesign, CMS change). Watch GSC's Page Indexing report weekly to catch issues early.
What's the most common technical SEO issue?
Slow page speed on mobile. Most sites pass desktop Core Web Vitals but fail mobile. Mobile-first indexing means Google judges your site by the mobile version.
Do I need a developer to fix technical SEO?
For most issues — yes. SEOs identify the issues; developers implement fixes. Strong SEOs learn enough HTML, JavaScript, and server response codes to communicate clearly with developers.
Is technical SEO important in 2026?
Yes — increasingly. As Google's AI-driven ranking evolves, sites with clean technical foundations win more easily. Sites with crawl, index, or speed issues lose ground even with great content.