Marketing AI Skill

Technical Seo Audit

Conduct comprehensive technical SEO audits including site architecture, crawlability, indexation, page speed, mobile optimization, and structured data validation. Use when performing SEO audits, diagnosing technical SEO issues, optimizing site performance,...

Technical SEO Audit

Systematically identify and fix technical SEO issues that prevent search engines from crawling, indexing, and ranking your website properly.

Workflow

  1. Configure crawling tools: set up Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Lumar for comprehensive site crawl.
  2. Analyze crawlability: check robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and internal linking structure.
  3. Evaluate indexation: review Google Search Console index coverage and identify indexed vs. non-indexed pages.
  4. Assess page speed: run PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals tests for desktop and mobile.
  5. Validate mobile optimization: test mobile-friendliness, responsive design, and mobile-specific issues.
  6. Check structured data: validate schema markup implementation and rich result eligibility.
  7. Review site architecture: analyze URL structure, navigation, and internal linking patterns.
  8. Prioritize findings: rank issues by severity and estimated traffic impact.

Audit Checklist

TECHNICAL SEO AUDIT CHECKLIST
===============================

CATEGORY 1: CRAWLABILITY (Can search engines access your site?)
  [ ] robots.txt: properly configured, not blocking important pages
  [ ] robots.txt: accessible at domain.com/robots.txt (returns 200 status)
  [ ] sitemap.xml: exists and submitted to Google Search Console
  [ ] sitemap.xml: includes all indexable pages (verified against crawl)
  [ ] sitemap.xml: excludes noindex pages, duplicates, and thin content
  [ ] No crawl blocks: meta robots "noindex" only on intended pages
  [ ] No crawl blocks: X-Robots-Tag headers aligned with meta robots
  [ ] Internal links: all important pages reachable within 3 clicks from homepage
  [ ] Internal links: no orphan pages (pages with no internal links pointing to them)
  [ ] Broken links: < 1% of internal links return 404 errors
  [ ] Redirect chains: no chains longer than 2 redirects
  [ ] 404 errors: custom 404 page implemented with helpful navigation
  [ ] Canonical tags: present on all pages; self-referencing on preferred URL

CATEGORY 2: INDEXATION (Are the right pages indexed?)
  [ ] Index coverage: review Google Search Console > Index > Pages
  [ ] Indexed pages: all important pages are indexed (no "Discovered - currently not indexed")
  [ ] Excluded pages: non-important pages properly excluded (noindex, robots.txt)
  [ ] Duplicate content: canonical tags resolve duplicate page issues
  [ ] Thin content: pages with < 300 words reviewed for value or consolidation
  [ ] Soft 404s: pages returning 200 but with empty/thin content identified
  [ ] JavaScript rendering: verify Google can render JS-heavy content
  [ ] Pagination: properly implemented (rel="next/prev" or infinite scroll with AJAX)

CATEGORY 3: PAGE SPEED (Core Web Vitals)
  [ ] Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): < 2.5 seconds (Good), 2.5-4.0 (Needs Improvement), > 4.0 (Poor)
  [ ] First Input Delay (FID): < 100ms (Good), 100-300ms (Needs Improvement), > 300ms (Poor)
  [ ] Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): < 0.1 (Good), 0.1-0.25 (Needs Improvement), > 0.25 (Poor)
  [ ] Time to First Byte (TTFB): < 600ms (Good), 600ms-1800ms (Needs Improvement), > 1800ms (Poor)
  [ ] Total Blocking Time (TBT): < 200ms (Good), 200-600ms (Needs Improvement), > 600ms (Poor)
  [ ] Page size: < 2 MB total page weight (target)
  [ ] Number of requests: < 50 HTTP requests per page
  [ ] Image optimization: all images compressed (WebP preferred), lazy loading enabled
  [ ] Browser caching: cache-control headers set for static resources (30+ days)
  [ ] CDN: content delivery network configured for global performance
  [ ] Minification: CSS and JavaScript minified
  [ ] Render-blocking resources: minimized or deferred

CATEGORY 4: MOBILE OPTIMIZATION
  [ ] Mobile-friendly: passes Google Mobile-Friendly Test
  [ ] Responsive design: layout adapts properly to all screen sizes
  [ ] Touch elements: buttons and links ≥ 48x48px (adequate tap targets)
  [ ] Font size: minimum 16px body text on mobile
  [ ] No horizontal scrolling on mobile
  [ ] Mobile page speed: meets Core Web Vitals thresholds on mobile
  [ ] Viewport meta tag: properly configured
  [ ] AMP: implemented if applicable (optional, not required)

CATEGORY 5: ON-PAGE SEO
  [ ] Title tags: unique on every page; 50-60 characters; includes target keyword
  [ ] Meta descriptions: unique on every page; 150-160 characters; includes CTA
  [ ] H1 tags: one per page; matches page intent; includes target keyword
  [ ] H2-H6 hierarchy: logical heading structure; no skipped levels
  [ ] URL structure: clean, readable, includes target keyword; < 75 characters
  [ ] Image alt text: descriptive, includes keywords naturally; not empty or "image1"
  [ ] Internal linking: 3-5 internal links per page; descriptive anchor text
  [ ] External links: 2-5 authoritative external links per page
  [ ] Content length: > 1,500 words for pillar content; > 800 words for standard posts
  [ ] Keyword optimization: primary keyword in H1, first paragraph, 2-3 H2s, conclusion

CATEGORY 6: STRUCTURED DATA (Schema Markup)
  [ ] Organization schema: implemented on homepage
  [ ] WebSite schema: with SearchAction (site search)
  [ ] Article/BlogPosting schema: on all blog posts
  [ ] FAQ schema: on pages with FAQ sections
  [ ] HowTo schema: on step-by-step guide pages
  [ ] Product schema: on e-commerce product pages
  [ ] BreadcrumbList schema: on all internal pages
  [ ] LocalBusiness schema: on local business pages (if applicable)
  [ ] Validation: all schema passes Google Rich Results Test
  [ ] No errors: no schema markup errors in Search Console

AUDIT SCORING:
  Total checks: 50+
  Pass rate: ___%
  Critical issues (block crawling/indexing): ___ items
  High-priority issues (impact rankings): ___ items
  Medium issues (affect user experience): ___ items
  Low issues (minor improvements): ___ items

Priority Resolution Framework

ISSUE SEVERITY CLASSIFICATION
===============================

CRITICAL (Fix within 1 week):
  → Issues that block crawling or indexing entirely
  → Examples: robots.txt blocking all pages, sitemap missing, all pages noindex
  → Estimated traffic impact: 50-100% of affected pages
  → Action: immediate fix, resubmit to Google

HIGH (Fix within 2-4 weeks):
  → Issues that significantly impact rankings or user experience
  → Examples: Core Web Vitals failures, duplicate content without canonicals,
     broken internal links, missing title tags
  → Estimated traffic impact: 20-50% of affected pages
  → Action: scheduled fix, monitor in Search Console

MEDIUM (Fix within 1-2 months):
  → Issues that affect SEO performance but don't block indexing
  → Examples: thin content, missing meta descriptions, slow page speed
     (not failing CWV), missing structured data
  → Estimated traffic impact: 5-20% of affected pages
  → Action: prioritize based on page traffic/importance

LOW (Fix when resources allow):
  → Minor optimizations that improve SEO hygiene
  → Examples: URL slug optimization, internal link improvements,
     image alt text refinement, heading structure fixes
  → Estimated traffic impact: < 5%
  → Action: ongoing optimization, include in content updates

ESTIMATED TIMELINE TO RESULTS:
  Critical fixes: 1-2 weeks (after Google recrawl)
  High-priority fixes: 2-6 weeks
  Medium fixes: 1-3 months
  Low fixes: 2-6 months (cumulative improvement)

Edge Cases

Integration Points