The Complete Technical SEO Audit: Step-by-Step Guide

These are just a few of the many different things you can do to improve your website’s SEO. Hopefully, this article gives you a good overview of how to conduct a technical SEO audit.

The Complete Technical SEO Audit: Step-by-Step Guide
Photo by Merakist / Unsplash

A technical SEO audit is an analysis of your website that looks at its technical aspects and makes recommendations on how to improve them. It can be used to improve your website’s crawlability, indexation, and overall technical SEO health.

As the name suggests, a technical SEO audit is an audit of the technical aspects of a website with the aim of improving its search engine optimization.

The main purpose of a technical SEO audit is to identify and fix any technical issues that may be holding back a website from achieving its full potential in search engine rankings.

A technical SEO audit will typically cover a wide range of areas, including but not limited to:

  • Site structure
  • URL structure
  • Site speed
  • Mobile-friendliness
  • Indexation
  • Crawling
  • Canonicalization
  • Meta tags
  • Content
  • Internal linking
  • External linking
  • Anchor text

Each of these topics will be covered in more detail below.

Site Structure

The structure of a website is extremely important for both users and search engines. A well-structured website is easy to navigate and understand, both for users and for search engine crawlers.

A well-structured website will typically have a clear hierarchy, with the homepage being the most important page, followed by the main category pages, and then the sub-category pages.

The URL structure of a website is also important for both users and search engines. A well-structured URL structure will be easy to understand and use, both for users and for search engine crawlers.

A well-structured URL structure will typically use short, descriptive, and keyword-rich URLs.

Site Speed

The speed of a website is important for both users and search engines. A fast website will provide a better user experience, and will also be favored by search engines.

There are a number of ways to improve the speed of a website, including but not limited to:

  • Optimizing images
  • Minimizing HTTP requests
  • Reducing the size of CSS and JavaScript files
  • Enabling compression
  • Enabling browser caching

Mobile-Friendliness

The mobile-friendliness of a website is important for both users and search engines. A mobile-friendly website will provide a better user experience, and will also be favored by search engines.

There are a number of ways to improve the mobile-friendliness of a website, including but not limited to:

  • Using a responsive design
  • Using a mobile-friendly theme
  • Configuring the viewport
  • Using touch-friendly buttons and links
  • Minimizing the use of Flash

Indexation

The indexation of a website is important for both users and search engines. A website that is properly indexed by search engines will be easier to find by users, and will also be favored by search engines.

There are a number of ways to improve the indexation of a website, including but not limited to:

  • Submitting a sitemap to search engines
  • Adding proper internal linking
  • Ensuring that all pages are accessible to search engine crawlers

Crawling

The crawling of a website is important for both users and search engines. A website that is properly crawled by search engines will be easier to find by users, and will also be favored by search engines.

There are a number of ways to improve the crawling of a website, including but not limited to:

  • Submitting a sitemap to search engines
  • Adding proper internal linking
  • Ensuring that all pages are accessible to search engine crawlers

Canonicalization

The canonicalization of a website is important for both users and search engines. A website that is properly canonicalized will be easier to find by users, and will also be favored by search engines.

There are a number of ways to improve the canonicalization of a website, including but not limited to:

  • Using proper URL structures
  • Using canonical tags
  • Redirecting non-canonical URLs to canonical URLs

Meta Tags

Meta tags are important for both users and search engines. Meta tags provide information about a website, such as its title, description, and keywords.

well-optimized meta tags will be favored by search engines and will also help to improve the click-through rate from search engine results pages.

Content

The content of a website is important for both users and search engines. Content must be well-written, keyword-rich, and informative in order to be favored by search engines and to also provide a good user experience.

Internal Linking

Internal linking is important for both users and search engines. Internal linking helps to improve the navigation of a website, and also helps to improve the indexation of a website.

External Linking

External linking is important for both users and search engines. External linking helps to improve the popularity of a website, and also helps to improve the search engine rankings of a website.

Anchor Text

The anchor text of a website is important for both users and search engines. The anchor text is the text that is used to link to a website, and it should be keyword-rich and descriptive.

When should we complete Technical SEO Audit?

When it comes to technical SEO, there is no one-size-fits-all answer for when you should complete an audit. However, there are a few general guidelines you can follow to ensure your website is as search engine friendly as possible.

First and foremost, you should always be aware of any major changes to the search engine algorithms. If a major update is rolled out, it's a good idea to check your website to see if anything needs to be adjusted.

Secondly, it's a good idea to keep an eye on your website's search engine rankings. If you notice a sudden drop in traffic or rankings, it could be an indication that something is wrong and an audit is needed.

Finally, it's always a good idea to perform a technical SEO audit on a regular basis, even if everything seems to be working well. This way you can catch any potential issues early on and fix them before they become a bigger problem.

So, when should you complete a technical SEO audit? The answer is: it depends. However, following the guidelines above should help you ensure your website is always optimized for the search engines.

The Complete Technical SEO Audit: Step-by-Step Guide

Almost all businesses today have a website, and many rely on that website for sales and leads.

That’s why it’s so important to have a website that is optimized for search engine ranking. If your website isn’t ranking high in the search results, you’re missing out on valuable traffic and potential customers.

A technical SEO audit is a comprehensive analysis of your website’s technical SEO health. It looks at all the factors that can impact your website’s search engine ranking, including site speed, mobile-friendliness, indexation, and more.

A technical SEO audit can be a daunting task, but it’s important to do one regularly to make sure your website is healthy and performing well in the search results.

In this post, we’ll give you a step-by-step guide to conducting a technical SEO audit. We’ll also provide a helpful checklist that you can use to make sure you cover all the bases.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Check Your Website’s Health

The first step in any technical SEO audit is to check the health of your website. This includes making sure your site is up and running, and there are no broken pages or links.

You can use a tool like Pingdom or GTmetrix to check your website’s uptime and page speed. Both tools will also give you recommendations on how to improve your site’s performance.

Step 2: Analyze Your Website’s Structure

The next step is to analyze your website’s structure. This includes your website’s hierarchy, URL structure, and navigation.

Your goal is to make sure your website is easy to navigate and crawl. A good website structure will help search engines index your website more effectively and help users find the information they’re looking for.

Here are a few things to look for:

Are your URLs short and descriptive?
Do your URLs use hyphens to separate words?
Is your navigation easy to understand and use?
Do you have a sitemap?
Is your website well-organized?

Step 3: Review Your Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Your title tags and meta descriptions are important on-page SEO elements. They help tell search engines what your website is about and give users a preview of your content.

Make sure your title tags and meta descriptions are accurate, relevant, and unique. They should also include your target keyword.

You can use a tool like Screaming Frog to crawl your website and check your title tags and meta descriptions.

Step 4: Check for Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is a common issue on websites. It can happen if you have multiple pages with the same or similar content.

Duplicate content can hurt your website’s search engine ranking and make it harder for users to find the information they’re looking for.

To check for duplicate content, you can use a tool like Copyscape or Siteliner.

Step 5: Analyze Your Website’s Content

Your website’s content is another important factor in your technical SEO audit. Make sure your content is well-written, relevant, and informative.

You should also check to see if your content is keyword-optimized. You can use a tool like Google Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords to target.

If you have a lot of content on your website, you can use a tool like Screaming Frog to crawl your site and check for any issues.

Links are an important ranking factor in SEO. Google uses links to help determine the relevancy and authority of your website.

To check your website’s links, you can use a tool like Moz’s Open Site Explorer or Majestic.

Both tools will give you information on your website’s backlinks, including the anchor text and PageRank.

Step 7: Analyze Your Website’s Images

Images are a common issue on websites. They can be slow to load, and they often don’t have proper alt text.

To check your website’s images, you can use a tool like GTmetrix. GTmetrix will give you a list of all the images on your website, along with their size, alt text, and load time.

Step 8: Check Your Website’s Mobile-Friendliness

Mobile-friendliness is a must in today’s world. Google has even said that mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor.

To check your website’s mobile-friendliness, you can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.

Just enter your website’s URL, and Google will give you a report on your website’s mobile-friendliness.

Step 9: Check Your Website’s Schema Markup

Schema markup is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content.

Schema markup can help your website’s search engine ranking and click-through rate.

To check your website’s schema markup, you can use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.

Just enter your website’s URL, and Google will give you a report on your website’s schema markup.

Step 10: Check Your Website’s Security

Website security is important for two reasons. First, it helps protect your website from hackers. Second, it helps build trust with your users.

Google has said that website security is a ranking factor.

To check your website’s security, you can use a tool like SSL Labs. Just enter your website’s URL, and SSL Labs will give you a report on your website’s security.

Bonus Step: Check Your Competitors

Once you’ve completed your technical SEO audit, it’s a good idea to check your competitors.

See what they’re doing well and where they’re falling short. This will give you ideas on how you can improve your own website.

You can use a tool like Moz’s Competitive Analysis Tool to compare your website to your competitors.

Just enter your website’s URL and your competitor’s URL, and Moz will give you a report on your website’s SEO.

Technical SEO Audit Checklist

Here’s a quick checklist of everything you should do in your technical SEO audit:

Check your website’s health
Analyze your website’s structure
Review your title tags and meta descriptions
Check for duplicate content
Analyze your website’s content
Check your website’s links
Analyze your website’s images
Check your website’s mobile-friendliness
Check your website’s schema markup
Check your website’s security
Check your competitors

By following this guide, you’ll be able to conduct a comprehensive technical SEO audit of your website. Just remember to use the checklist to make sure you cover all the bases.

If you need help with your technical SEO audit, contact an SEO expert.

Some Notes:

  1. Check your website’s health

The first step in any technical SEO audit is to check your website’s health. This means making sure that your website is accessible to both search engines and users, and that there are no major technical issues that could be holding it back.

There are a few different ways to do this:

  • Use a website health checker tool like Sitebulb or Screaming Frog.
  • Check your Google Search Console account for any crawl errors.
  • Use a tool like GTmetrix or Pingdom to check your website’s speed and performance.

2. Audit your website’s structure

Once you’ve checked your website’s health, it’s time to start auditing its structure. This means taking a look at things like your website’s hierarchy, URL structure, and navigation.

Here are a few things to look for:

  • Make sure your website has a clear hierarchy, with your most important pages at the top level.
  • Check that your URLs are clean and descriptive, and that they use appropriate keywords.
  • Ensure that your website’s navigation is easy to use and understand.

3. Audit your website’s content

The next step in your technical SEO audit is to audit your website’s content. This means taking a close look at things like your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags.

Here are a few things to look for:

  • Make sure your title tags are descriptive and include relevant keywords.
  • Check that your meta descriptions are well written and include relevant keywords.
  • Ensure that your header tags are used correctly and include relevant keywords.

4. Audit your website’s backlinks

The final step in your technical SEO audit is to audit your website’s backlinks. This means taking a close look at the links that are pointing to your website, and making sure that they are high quality and relevant.

There are a few different ways to do this:

  • Use a backlink analysis tool like Moz’s Open Site Explorer or Majestic’s Site Explorer.
  • Check your Google Search Console account for any unnatural link warnings.
  • Use a tool like BuzzSumo to find the most popular content on your website.

Hopefully, this article has given you a good overview of how to conduct a technical SEO audit. Remember, these are just a few of the many different things you can do to improve your website’s SEO. If you want to learn more, we recommend checking out complete guides to SEO.

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