Great content will not rank if Google cannot crawl, understand and trust your site. Technical SEO is the foundation everything else sits on. Here is the checklist we work through on every audit.
Crawling and indexing
1. Check your robots.txt and XML sitemap
Make sure you are not accidentally blocking important pages, and that a clean XML sitemap is submitted in Google Search Console.
2. Fix crawl errors and broken links
Broken internal links and 404s waste crawl budget and frustrate users. Audit and fix them regularly.
3. Get indexing under control
Thin, duplicate or low-value pages should be noindexed or consolidated so Google focuses on the pages that matter.
Site speed and Core Web Vitals
4. Improve Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Optimise your largest above-the-fold element — usually a hero image. Compress it, set explicit dimensions and avoid lazy-loading it.
5. Reduce layout shift (CLS)
Always set width and height on images and reserve space for embeds so the page does not jump as it loads.
6. Cut unnecessary JavaScript
Every script has a cost. Remove what you do not need and defer the rest to improve interactivity.
On-page structure
7. Use one clear H1 per page
Your H1 should describe the page in plain language that matches search intent.
8. Write descriptive titles and meta descriptions
These are your advert in the search results. Make them specific and compelling.
9. Add internal links
Link related pages together to spread authority and help users (and Google) discover your content.
Trust and structured data
10. Serve everything over HTTPS
Security is a baseline ranking signal and a trust signal for users.
11. Add structured data
Mark up articles, breadcrumbs, FAQs and your organisation so search engines understand your content.
12. Make it mobile-first
Google indexes the mobile version of your site. It must be fast, readable and easy to tap.
Monitoring: keep the wins
Technical SEO is not a one-off. Search engines change, plugins update, and new content can quietly reintroduce old problems. Put a light monitoring routine in place so small issues never become ranking-killers.
Watch Google Search Console weekly
Check the Pages (indexing) report for new errors, the Core Web Vitals report for regressions, and the Performance report for pages losing clicks. Five minutes a week catches most problems early.
Re-crawl after big changes
Any time you migrate, redesign, or bulk-edit content, run a fresh crawl and compare it to your last clean baseline. Look for new redirects, broken links and accidental noindex tags.
Common technical SEO mistakes to avoid
- Blocking CSS or JavaScript in robots.txt, so Google cannot render the page the way users see it.
- Orphan pages with no internal links pointing to them — they rarely get crawled or ranked.
- Duplicate content from URL parameters, tags, or www/non-www and HTTP/HTTPS versions not being consolidated.
- Slow, unoptimised images — still the single most common cause of poor Core Web Vitals.
- Ignoring mobile — testing only on desktop while Google indexes mobile.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I run a technical SEO audit?
Do a full audit at launch and after any big change, then a light monthly check in Search Console.
Do I need a developer for technical SEO?
Some fixes are content-level and easy; others need a developer. A good audit tells you which is which.
Will technical SEO alone get me to page one?
It removes the barriers, but you also need relevant content and authority. It is the foundation, not the whole house.
Conclusion
Work through this list top to bottom and you will remove the most common barriers to ranking. If you would rather have it done for you, our SEO team can run a full technical audit and fix everything for you.