Attention all SEO enthusiasts! Get your magnifying glasses and notepads ready, because it's time to put your technical SEO skills to the test. Whether you're auditing your own personal website, a client's site, or your business' online presence, it's time to dive into the nitty-gritty of a technical SEO audit.
Don't worry, you won't need to make any live changes just yet. All you need is access to Google Search Console and the willingness to take notes and see where improvements can be made. And don't stress if certain sections or tasks don't apply to your website, just skip ahead to the next step in the audit process.
So grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and let's get started on this technical SEO adventure!
Crawlability and Indexation
The goal of this exercise is to make sure your website is in tip-top shape for the search engines to crawl and index effectively.
Here's what you need to do:
Log in to Google Search Console and check that all pages are returning a healthy "OK (200)" response code.
Identify any pages that are returning 400-level or 500-level errors. Keep track of what fixes need to be made to resolve these in a spreadsheet or project management software.
Ensure that all pages are included in your XML sitemap and have been submitted to Google Search Console.
Verify that pages that are supposed to be indexed do not have a "no-index" tag.
Take a look at your robots.txt file and make sure it's not blocking pages that should be indexed. Check that it specifies the location of your sitemap and that it's pointing search engine bots away from any private content.
With these six simple steps, you'll have a solid foundation for a successful technical SEO audit. Now, let's get to it!
Duplicate Content
Let's get started with these three simple steps!
Ensure HTTP pages are redirected to HTTPS with 301 redirects: This is a critical step for increasing your website's security and building trust with users. Plus, search engines prefer HTTPS sites!
Make sure www pages are redirected to non-www pages: This helps maintain a consistent URL structure and ensures a seamless experience for both users and search engines.
Check for and confirm canonical tags on duplicate pages: Canonical tags help search engines determine which version of a page should be credited for ranking purposes. Confirming that your canonical tags are set up as self-referential will ensure your entire website is in compliance with best practices.
By taking these simple steps, you'll be on your way to a technically sound website that both search engines and users will love! So go ahead and give your website a technical SEO audit today!
Site Speed
Ready to supercharge your website's speed? Let's dive in with these six simple steps!
Compress large images and media files:
By reducing file size, your website will load faster for users and search engines will have an easier time crawling your site.
Ensure images and media files are uploaded at correct dimensions:
This helps prevent excessive load times and ensures a smooth user experience.
Minify and compress code files like CSS stylesheets:
This can greatly reduce the amount of data your website needs to transfer, leading to faster load times.
Implement browser caching:
Caching helps speed up repeat visits to your site by storing certain elements in the visitor's browser.
Limit HTTP requests:
There are various ways to do this, such as moving render-blocking JavaScript to the footer, bundling files, using image sprites, or reducing redirects.
Consider using a CDN (content delivery network):
By distributing your content across multiple servers, a CDN can help speed up your website for users around the world.
By following these steps, you'll be well on your way to a lightning-fast website that both users and search engines will love! So go ahead and give your website a technical SEO audit today!
Mobile-friendliness
Ready to ensure your website is mobile-friendly? Follow these six simple steps to give your site a mobile optimization check-up:
Responsive design:
Make sure all web pages adjust to different screen sizes for a seamless user experience on any device.
Readable text:
Ensure mobile text isn't too small to read, making it easy for users to engage with your content.
Screen size compatibility:
Check that content doesn't extend beyond the boundaries of the screen, ensuring a clean and organized appearance.
Clickable buttons and navigation:
Confirm that all buttons and navigation menus are easy to tap on mobile devices, making it simple for users to navigate your site.
No intrusive pop-ups:
Pop-ups can be distracting and annoying on mobile devices, so make sure they're not present on your mobile site.
Consistent appearance:
Ensure the desktop and mobile versions of your site have a consistent look and feel, creating a seamless experience for users on any device.
By following these simple steps, you'll be well on your way to a mobile-friendly website that both users and search engines will love! So go ahead and give your website a technical SEO audit today!
Structured Data:
Let's start by checking the structured data on your site.
1- Test your structured data using Google's Rich Results Test. This tool will show you how your structured data is being displayed on the search engine results page (SERP).
2- Find and fix any issues with structured data that might prevent it from displaying correctly in search results. If you notice any issues, don't panic! It's common for structured data to have a few hiccups. The good news is that these can be easily fixed.
You can either fix the issues yourself, or reach out to a developer for help.
By fixing any structured data issues, you'll not only improve the display of your content on the SERP, but you'll also increase your chances of appearing in Google's rich snippets, which can attract more clicks to your website.
JavaScript Rendering
Are you ready to dig into your website's JavaScript rendering as part of your technical SEO audit? Excellent!
Inspect all pages that have content added via JavaScript in the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console and ensure that the content can be rendered properly. This is a crucial step in ensuring that search engines can understand and index your website's content.
If any issues occur with rendering, take note of these. Don't worry, these issues can often be easily fixed with the help of a web developer.
Conclusion:
You just accomplished a technical SEO audit like a pro! Whether you audited your company website, personal website or a client's, you're one step closer to maximizing your search engine visibility.
The audit process is an insightful way to understand what's working and what needs improvement. Don't be afraid to take note of where changes are required. And, if certain sections don't apply to your website, go ahead and focus on what does. It's time to put your newfound knowledge into action and optimize like a champion!