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Site Audit & Technical SEO

Overview​

Site Audit & Technical SEO involves comprehensive analysis and optimization of a website's technical infrastructure to improve search engine crawling, indexing, and ranking performance.

What is a Technical SEO Site Audit?​

A Technical SEO Site Audit is a systematic examination of a website's technical health, identifying issues that may prevent search engines from properly crawling, indexing, and ranking your content. It covers everything from site architecture to performance metrics.

Why Site Audits Matter​

  • Identify Hidden Issues: Discover problems blocking search visibility
  • Improve Rankings: Technical issues often hold back ranking potential
  • Enhance User Experience: Technical health correlates with UX quality
  • Prevent Penalties: Catch issues before they become serious problems
  • Optimize Crawl Budget: Ensure efficient use of search engine resources
  • Monitor Site Health: Regular audits prevent issues from accumulating
  • Competitive Advantage: Most sites have unresolved technical issues

Core Components of a Technical SEO Audit​

1. Crawlability and Indexability​

What to Check:

  • Robots.txt configuration
  • XML sitemap presence and accuracy
  • Meta robots tags
  • Canonical tags
  • Redirect chains and loops
  • Orphan pages
  • Crawl depth
  • Internal linking structure

Common Issues:

# Robots.txt blocking important resources
User-agent: *
Disallow: /css/  # Bad - blocks styling
Disallow: /js/   # Bad - blocks functionality

How to Check:

  • Google Search Console Coverage Report
  • Screaming Frog SEO Spider
  • DeepCrawl/Lumar
  • Sitebulb

2. Site Architecture​

What to Check:

  • URL structure
  • Hierarchy and categorization
  • Breadcrumb navigation
  • Internal link distribution
  • Site depth (clicks from homepage)
  • Information architecture

Best Practice:

Good Structure:
example.com/
├── category/
│   ├── subcategory/
│   │   └── product
│   └── product
└── blog/
    └── post

Bad Structure:
example.com/p?id=12345&cat=7&filter=price&sort=asc

How to Check:

  • Visual sitemap tools
  • Crawl data analysis
  • Internal link reports

3. Site Speed and Performance​

What to Check:

  • Page load time
  • Time to First Byte (TTFB)
  • Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)
  • Mobile performance
  • Server response time
  • Resource optimization

Target Metrics:

  • LCP: < 2.5 seconds
  • INP: < 200ms
  • CLS: < 0.1
  • TTFB: < 600ms
  • Total page size: < 2MB

How to Check:

  • Google PageSpeed Insights
  • Lighthouse
  • WebPageTest
  • GTmetrix
  • Chrome DevTools

4. Mobile Optimization​

What to Check:

  • Mobile-friendly design
  • Responsive vs. separate mobile URLs
  • Touch element sizing
  • Viewport configuration
  • Mobile usability errors
  • Mobile page speed

How to Check:

  • Google Mobile-Friendly Test
  • Search Console Mobile Usability Report
  • Real device testing
  • Browser DevTools mobile emulation

5. HTTPS and Security​

What to Check:

  • SSL certificate validity
  • Mixed content issues
  • HTTPS implementation
  • Security headers
  • Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
  • HSTS header

Security Headers to Check:

# Essential security headers
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;
add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;

How to Check:

  • SSL Labs Test
  • SecurityHeaders.com
  • Browser console for mixed content
  • Search Console Security Issues report

6. Structured Data​

What to Check:

  • Schema markup implementation
  • Structured data errors
  • Rich result eligibility
  • JSON-LD vs. Microdata
  • Completeness of markup

How to Check:

  • Google Rich Results Test
  • Schema Markup Validator
  • Search Console Enhancements Reports

7. Content Optimization​

What to Check:

  • Duplicate content
  • Thin content pages
  • Meta title and description tags
  • Header tag hierarchy
  • Image alt attributes
  • Content quality signals

How to Check:

  • Screaming Frog
  • Siteliner
  • Copyscape
  • Manual review

8. International SEO​

What to Check (if applicable):

  • Hreflang implementation
  • Language targeting
  • Regional targeting
  • International URL structure
  • Content localization

Hreflang Example:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/en/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="https://example.com/es/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/" />

How to Check:

  • Hreflang testing tools
  • Search Console International Targeting
  • Manual inspection

9. Technical Errors​

Common HTTP Errors to Find:

  • 404 errors (broken links)
  • 500 errors (server problems)
  • 301/302 redirect chains
  • Soft 404s
  • Timeout errors

How to Check:

  • Server logs
  • Crawl tools
  • Search Console Coverage Report
  • Broken link checkers

10. JavaScript and Rendering​

What to Check:

  • Client-side vs. server-side rendering
  • JavaScript SEO best practices
  • Rendering budget
  • Lazy loading implementation
  • Dynamic content indexability

How to Check:

  • Google's Mobile-Friendly Test (renders JavaScript)
  • Fetch as Google
  • View page source vs. rendered HTML
  • JavaScript SEO testing tools

Comprehensive Audit Checklist​

Pre-Audit Setup​

  • Access to Google Search Console
  • Access to Google Analytics
  • Access to server logs
  • Crawl tool ready (Screaming Frog, etc.)
  • Baseline metrics documented

Crawling and Indexing​

  • Check robots.txt file
  • Verify XML sitemap exists and is updated
  • Review meta robots tags
  • Check canonical tags implementation
  • Identify orphan pages
  • Analyze crawl depth
  • Review internal linking structure
  • Check for redirect chains
  • Identify 404 errors
  • Review pagination handling

Site Architecture​

  • Evaluate URL structure
  • Check site hierarchy
  • Review breadcrumb navigation
  • Analyze internal link distribution
  • Assess site depth
  • Review faceted navigation (if applicable)
  • Check parameter handling

Performance​

  • Test page speed (desktop and mobile)
  • Check Core Web Vitals
  • Analyze TTFB
  • Review resource loading
  • Check compression
  • Evaluate caching
  • Test CDN implementation
  • Analyze JavaScript/CSS optimization

Mobile​

  • Run mobile-friendly test
  • Check viewport configuration
  • Review mobile usability
  • Test touch elements
  • Compare mobile vs. desktop content
  • Check mobile page speed

Security​

  • Verify HTTPS implementation
  • Check SSL certificate
  • Scan for mixed content
  • Review security headers
  • Check HTTP to HTTPS redirects

On-Page SEO​

  • Audit meta titles
  • Review meta descriptions
  • Check header tag hierarchy (H1-H6)
  • Verify image alt attributes
  • Review content quality
  • Check for duplicate content
  • Analyze keyword targeting

Structured Data​

  • Check schema markup implementation
  • Test for structured data errors
  • Verify rich result eligibility
  • Review markup completeness

International (if applicable)​

  • Check hreflang implementation
  • Verify language targeting
  • Review regional targeting
  • Check international URL structure

Log File Analysis​

  • Analyze crawl frequency
  • Identify crawled vs. non-crawled pages
  • Check for crawl errors in logs
  • Review status code distribution
  • Identify crawl budget waste

Audit Tools and Software​

Crawling Tools​

Screaming Frog SEO Spider​

  • Type: Desktop crawler
  • Best For: Sites up to 500 URLs (free) or unlimited (paid)
  • Features: Comprehensive technical audit, custom extraction, API integration

Sitebulb​

  • Type: Desktop crawler
  • Best For: Visual reports, accessibility audits
  • Features: Detailed visualizations, prioritized issues, PDF reports

DeepCrawl (Lumar)​

  • Type: Cloud-based crawler
  • Best For: Enterprise sites, scheduled audits
  • Features: Automated monitoring, trend analysis, team collaboration

Google Tools​

Google Search Console​

  • Free: Yes
  • Features: Coverage reports, Core Web Vitals, mobile usability, structured data

PageSpeed Insights​

  • Free: Yes
  • Features: Performance scoring, Core Web Vitals, optimization suggestions

Lighthouse​

  • Free: Yes (built into Chrome)
  • Features: Performance, accessibility, SEO, best practices audits

Additional Tools​

Ahrefs Site Audit​

  • Type: Cloud-based
  • Features: Health score, issue prioritization, progress tracking

Semrush Site Audit​

  • Type: Cloud-based
  • Features: Comprehensive issues list, competitor comparison

OnCrawl​

  • Type: Cloud-based
  • Features: Log file analysis, data studio integration

Conducting an Audit​

Step 1: Initial Crawl​

# Example: Screaming Frog CLI
screaming-frog --crawl https://example.com --output-folder ./audit-results --export-tabs "Internal:All"

What to Configure:

  • Crawl limits (if large site)
  • User agent settings
  • Respect robots.txt
  • Follow redirects
  • Render JavaScript (if needed)

Step 2: Data Collection​

Gather data from multiple sources:

  • Crawl tool data
  • Google Search Console data
  • Analytics data
  • Server logs
  • Third-party tools

Step 3: Issue Identification​

Prioritize by Impact:

Critical Issues (Fix Immediately):

  • Site not accessible
  • Major indexing blocks
  • Security vulnerabilities
  • Significant performance problems
  • Widespread 404 errors

High Priority (Fix Within 1-2 Weeks):

  • Duplicate content issues
  • Missing canonical tags
  • Redirect chains
  • Slow page speed
  • Mobile usability issues

Medium Priority (Fix Within Month):

  • Missing meta descriptions
  • Suboptimal URL structure
  • Minor structural issues
  • Image optimization

Low Priority (Ongoing Optimization):

  • Fine-tuning internal linking
  • Content improvements
  • Advanced schema markup
  • Performance micro-optimizations

Step 4: Create Action Plan​

## Action Plan Template

### Critical Issues
1. **Issue**: [Description]
   - **Impact**: [Business/SEO impact]
   - **Solution**: [How to fix]
   - **Owner**: [Responsible person]
   - **Timeline**: [Deadline]
   - **Status**: [Not started/In progress/Complete]

### High Priority Issues
[Same structure...]

### Recommendations
[Additional optimization opportunities]

### Monitoring
[What to track post-implementation]

Step 5: Implementation​

Development Workflow:

  1. Create tickets for each issue
  2. Prioritize in sprint planning
  3. Implement fixes
  4. Test in staging
  5. Deploy to production
  6. Verify fixes live

Step 6: Monitoring and Validation​

// Example: Automated monitoring script
const lighthouse = require('lighthouse');
const chromeLauncher = require('chrome-launcher');

async function runAudit(url) {
  const chrome = await chromeLauncher.launch({chromeFlags: ['--headless']});
  const options = {
    logLevel: 'info',
    output: 'json',
    onlyCategories: ['performance', 'seo'],
    port: chrome.port
  };
  
  const runnerResult = await lighthouse(url, options);
  
  // Check scores
  const scores = {
    performance: runnerResult.lhr.categories.performance.score * 100,
    seo: runnerResult.lhr.categories.seo.score * 100
  };
  
  await chrome.kill();
  
  // Alert if scores drop
  if (scores.performance < 90 || scores.seo < 90) {
    sendAlert(scores);
  }
  
  return scores;
}

Common Technical SEO Issues​

Issue 1: Duplicate Content​

Detection:

  • Same content on multiple URLs
  • WWW vs. non-WWW versions both accessible
  • HTTP and HTTPS both serving content
  • URL parameters creating duplicates

Solution:

<!-- Canonical tag -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/preferred-url" />

<!-- 301 redirect in .htaccess -->
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.example\.com [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://example.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Issue 2: Redirect Chains​

Detection: URL A → URL B → URL C → Final URL

Solution: Direct redirects: URL A → Final URL

# Nginx - redirect directly to final destination
rewrite ^/old-url$ /final-url permanent;

Issue 3: Slow Page Speed​

Common Causes:

  • Unoptimized images
  • Render-blocking resources
  • Too many HTTP requests
  • Slow server response
  • Lack of caching

Solutions:

  • Implement image optimization
  • Use lazy loading
  • Minify CSS/JS
  • Enable compression
  • Use CDN
  • Optimize server configuration

Issue 4: Missing Structured Data​

Detection:

  • Rich Results Test shows no structured data
  • Competitors have rich results, you don't

Solution:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Article Title",
  "author": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Author"},
  "datePublished": "2024-01-15"
}
</script>

Issue 5: Mobile Usability Problems​

Common Issues:

  • Small font sizes
  • Touch elements too close
  • Content wider than screen
  • Horizontal scrolling

Solution:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
/* Responsive design */
body {
  font-size: 16px; /* Readable size */
}

.button {
  min-height: 48px; /* Touch-friendly */
  min-width: 48px;
}

Reporting and Documentation​

Audit Report Structure​

# Technical SEO Audit Report

## Executive Summary
- Overall health score
- Critical issues count
- High-level recommendations
- Estimated impact

## Current State Analysis
- Crawlability status
- Indexability status
- Performance metrics
- Mobile status
- Security status

## Detailed Findings
### Critical Issues
[Detailed analysis]

### High Priority Issues
[Detailed analysis]

### Medium Priority Issues
[Detailed analysis]

## Recommendations
- Prioritized action items
- Implementation roadmap
- Resource requirements
- Expected outcomes

## Monitoring Plan
- KPIs to track
- Reporting frequency
- Tools to use

Metrics to Track​

Before and After Audit:

  • Organic traffic
  • Indexed pages
  • Crawl errors
  • Average position
  • Core Web Vitals scores
  • Page speed metrics
  • Mobile usability errors

Ongoing Maintenance​

Monthly Checks​

  • Review Search Console for new errors
  • Check Core Web Vitals trends
  • Monitor crawl stats
  • Review coverage report
  • Check for manual actions

Quarterly Audits​

  • Full site crawl
  • Performance benchmark
  • Competitor comparison
  • Link audit
  • Content audit

Annual Comprehensive Audit​

  • Full technical audit
  • Architecture review
  • Technology stack evaluation
  • SEO strategy alignment

Further Reading​