--- name: technical-seo-audit description: 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, fixing crawl errors, or improving site architecture. Triggers on phrases like "technical SEO", "SEO audit", "site audit", "crawl errors", "indexation issues", "page speed audit", "site architecture", "structured data audit". --- # 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 - **JavaScript-heavy sites** (SPAs, React, Vue, Angular): Ensure server-side rendering (SSR) or pre-rendering is configured; test rendering with Google's URL Inspection tool; verify JavaScript doesn't block critical CSS; implement dynamic rendering for crawlers - **E-commerce sites** (10,000+ pages): Focus on category page optimization; implement faceted navigation properly (noindex on filter combinations); manage URL parameters in Search Console; optimize product page templates; handle out-of-stock pages with proper status codes - **Enterprise sites** (multi-domain, multi-language): Implement hreflang tags for international targeting; maintain separate sitemaps per language/region; configure cross-domain canonicals; manage cookie consent impact on crawling - **WordPress sites**: Common issues: duplicate content from tags/categories (noindex tag pages); pagination issues; plugin conflicts affecting speed; recommend specific plugins (Rank Math, Yoast SEO, WP Rocket, Smush) ## Integration Points - **Screaming Frog SEO Spider**: Comprehensive site crawler; identifies technical issues, broken links, redirect chains; free (500 URLs) or $199/year - **Sitebulb**: Site auditing tool; visual reports; on-page optimization recommendations; £99-£299/month - **Google Search Console**: Free index coverage reports; crawl error identification; Core Web Vitals data; rich result monitoring - **Google PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse**: Free page speed analysis; Core Web Vitals testing; optimization recommendations - **Ahrefs Site Audit**: Comprehensive SEO audit; issue prioritization; historical tracking; $99-$999/month - **Schema Markup Validator / Rich Results Test**: Free schema validation tools; ensure rich result eligibility