How to perform a technical SEO audit

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A technical SEO audit is a comprehensive review of a website’s technical infrastructure to identify and fix issues that may be hindering its search engine ranking and user experience. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to perform a technical SEO audit and provide you with a checklist of items to review.

Why Perform a Technical SEO Audit?

Performing a technical SEO audit is essential for several reasons:

  1. Improve search engine ranking: A technical SEO audit can help identify and fix issues that may be hindering your website’s search engine ranking.
  2. Enhance user experience: A technical SEO audit can help identify and fix issues that may be affecting your website’s user experience, such as slow loading times or broken links.
  3. Increase conversions: A technical SEO audit can help identify and fix issues that may be affecting your website’s conversion rates, such as poor mobile usability or slow loading times.

Step 1: Crawl and Indexing

The first step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s crawl and indexing. This involves checking to see if your website is being crawled and indexed by search engines.

  1. Check Google Search Console: Check Google Search Console to see if your website is being crawled and indexed by Google.
  2. Check Bing Webmaster Tools: Check Bing Webmaster Tools to see if your website is being crawled and indexed by Bing.
  3. Check crawl errors: Check for crawl errors in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  4. Check indexing issues: Check for indexing issues in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

Step 2: Website Speed and Performance

The second step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s speed and performance. This involves checking to see if your website is loading quickly and efficiently.

  1. Check page speed: Check your website’s page speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix.
  2. Check mobile usability: Check your website’s mobile usability using tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
  3. Check server response time: Check your website’s server response time using tools like Pingdom or GTmetrix.
  4. Check browser caching: Check if your website is using browser caching to improve page speed.

Step 3: Mobile Usability

The third step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s mobile usability. This involves checking to see if your website is optimized for mobile devices.

  1. Check mobile-friendly design: Check if your website has a mobile-friendly design.
  2. Check responsive design: Check if your website has a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes.
  3. Check mobile usability issues: Check for mobile usability issues using tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

Step 4: Technical SEO Issues

The fourth step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s technical SEO issues. This involves checking to see if your website has any technical SEO issues that may be hindering its search engine ranking.

  1. Check for broken links: Check for broken links using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush.
  2. Check for duplicate content: Check for duplicate content using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush.
  3. Check for thin content: Check for thin content using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush.
  4. Check for keyword stuffing: Check for keyword stuffing using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush.

Step 5: Local SEO

The fifth step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s local SEO. This involves checking to see if your website is optimized for local search.

  1. Check Google My Business: Check if your business is listed in Google My Business.
  2. Check local citations: Check if your business is listed in local citations like Yelp or Bing Places.
  3. Check local SEO issues: Check for local SEO issues using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush.

Step 6: Analytics and Tracking

The sixth step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s analytics and tracking. This involves checking to see if your website is tracking its traffic and conversions correctly.

  1. Check Google Analytics: Check if your website is using Google Analytics to track its traffic and conversions.
  2. Check goal tracking: Check if your website is tracking its goals and conversions correctly.
  3. Check event tracking: Check if your website is tracking its events correctly.

Step 7: Security and HTTPS

The seventh step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s security and HTTPS. This involves checking to see if your website is secure and using HTTPS.

  1. Check HTTPS: Check if your website is using HTTPS.
  2. Check SSL certificate: Check if your website has a valid SSL certificate.
  3. Check security issues: Check for security issues using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush.

Step 8: XML Sitemap and Robots.txt

The eighth step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s XML sitemap and robots.txt. This involves checking to see if your website’s XML sitemap and robots.txt are correctly configured.

  1. Check XML sitemap: Check if your website has a correctly configured XML sitemap.
  2. Check robots.txt: Check if your website has a correctly configured robots.txt file.

Step 9: Schema Markup

The ninth step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review your website’s schema markup. This involves checking to see if your website is using schema markup correctly.

  1. Check schema markup: Check if your website is using schema markup correctly.
  2. Check schema markup issues: Check for schema markup issues using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush.

Step 10: Review and Implement

The final step in performing a technical SEO audit is to review and implement the changes. This involves reviewing the issues identified during the audit and implementing the necessary changes to fix them.

  1. Review issues: Review the issues identified during the audit.
  2. Implement changes: Implement the necessary changes to fix the issues.
  3. Monitor progress: Monitor the progress of the changes and adjust as necessary.

Technical SEO Audit Checklist

Here is a checklist of items to review during a technical SEO audit:

  1. Crawl and indexing
  2. Website speed and performance
  3. Mobile usability
  4. Technical SEO issues
  5. Local SEO
  6. Analytics and tracking
  7. Security and HTTPS
  8. XML sitemap and robots.txt
  9. Schema markup

Tools for Technical SEO Audit

Here are some tools that can help with a technical SEO audit:

  1. Ahrefs
  2. SEMrush
  3. Google Search Console
  4. Bing Webmaster Tools
  5. Google PageSpeed Insights
  6. GTmetrix
  7. Pingdom
  8. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test

Conclusion

Performing a technical SEO audit is an essential step in improving your website’s search engine ranking and user experience. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can identify and fix technical SEO issues that may be hindering your website’s performance. Remember to review and implement the changes and monitor the progress of the changes to ensure that your website is optimized for search engines and users.

Categories: Digital Marketing