TECHNICAL SEO CHECKLIST

Here’s the comprehensive checklist we use in our professional technical SEO audits.

It provides a structured, organised approach to ensuring that all important aspects of your website’s technical SEO are thoroughly evaluated.

Audit Readiness Checklists

Website Overview Checklist

Tools & Website Access Checklist

Benchmarking and Baseline Assessment Checklist

Team Alignment and Communication Checklist

Crawlability & Indexability Checklists

HTTP Response Codes Audit Checklist

Robots Directives Audit Checklist

Robots.txt Audit Checklist

URL Structure Audit Checklist

Internal Linking Audit Checklist

External Linking Audit Checklist

Pagination Audit Checklist

Canonicals Audit Checklist

Sitemaps Audit Checklist

JavaScript SEO Audit Checklist

PageSpeed Audit Checklist

Content & Meta Data Audit Checklists

Content Audit Checklist

Page Titles Audit Checklist

Meta Description Audit Checklist

Headings Checklist Audit Checklist

Structured Data Audit Checklist

Images Audit Checklist

User Experience Audit Checklists

International SEO Audit Checklist

Mobile SEO Audit Checklist

Accessibility Audit Checklist

Website Performance Audit Checklists

Website Security Audit Checklist

Website Analytics Audit Checklist

HTML Validation Checklist

Off-Page SEO Audit Checklists

Backlinks Audit Checklist

YouTube SEO Audit Checklist

Wikidata Audit Checklist

Local SEO Audit Checklist

Why You Absolutely Need a Checklist When Conducting Tech SEO Audits

1️⃣ It provides structure and consistency

No more forgetting vital checks in the heat of the moment. This checklist acts as your reliable guide, ensuring every critical technical aspect is examined methodically, time after time.

This consistency is key for identifying trends and tracking improvements over time.

2️⃣ It facilitates collaboration

A good checklist isn’t just a laundry list of every possible technical element. It focuses on the areas that have the biggest impact on crawlability, indexability, and user experience – the foundational pillars of SEO success.

3️⃣ It provides a tangible record

A completed checklist serves as a clear record of your site’s technical health at a specific point in time.

This is invaluable for demonstrating the value of your work, tracking progress, and providing context for future audits.

4️⃣ It educates and upskills

For those newer to technical SEO in your team, a well-structured checklist acts as a learning tool, exposing them to the critical elements they need to understand and master.

How to Use This Checklist Effectively

Understand the "Why" behind each point

Don't just blindly check off items. Understand why each element is important for SEO. For example, when you're checking your robots.txt file, you should understand how it guides (or restricts) search engine crawlers. This deeper understanding will inform your analysis and recommendations.

Be thorough and detail-oriented

Technical SEO is all about the details. Don't just skim through things. Actually inspect the code, analyse the server responses, and test the page speed across different devices. The devil is often in the technical details.

Document your findings

Don't just tick a box and move on. If you find an issue, document it clearly. Note down the specific URL(s) affected (Screaming Frog helps a lot with this), the severity of the problem, and your initial thoughts on potential solutions. This documentation is crucial for the next stage – recommendations and implementation.