A technical SEO audit evaluates a website’s foundational technical issues—crawlability, speed, indexing, and schema—that affect search engine visibility. The data indicates that regular audits, ideally weekly or monthly, are crucial, especially when new pages or content are added, to proactively identify and address emerging issues before they negatively impact rankings. The core of a technical audit involves examining security, accessibility, redirects, indexation, sitemaps, page speed, structured data, and links.
What is a Technical SEO Audit?
According to the source materials, a technical SEO audit is a comprehensive review of a website’s health from a search engine perspective. This examination assesses how well a site is structured, how quickly it loads, and how easily it is discoverable by search engines. The ultimate goal is to uncover issues that may be limiting rankings and visibility. Technical SEO, broadly, is about visibility; fewer errors on a site correlate with higher visibility. Usability is also an important component, as a website’s technical soundness dictates whether a user can access the site before navigating it.
Core Areas of Examination
The source materials outline several core areas to cover during a technical SEO audit. These include:
Security & Accessibility
Ensuring a site uses HTTPS and a secure connection is essential. Additionally, confirming there is only one active version of URLs is necessary to avoid duplicate content issues.
Redirects, Indexation & Sitemap
Redirects, specifically 301 or 302 redirects, should be correctly implemented for renamed or missing pages. Proper indexation and a well-structured sitemap are also critical components.
Crawling Your Website
Crawling is the process by which search engines or audit tools discover every page on a site. A proper crawler, by checking the sitemap, navigation structure, and internal links, ensures no pages are overlooked. Tools like ClickRank Site Crawler can map a site’s pages and detect problems such as orphaned pages, broken links, or missing redirects.
Technical SEO Checklist Components
The provided materials detail specific components to examine within a technical SEO audit, categorized by technical settings, meta & structure, page speed, links, structured data, and weekly monitoring.
Technical Settings
This area includes evaluating HTTPS implementation, the robots.txt file, redirects, and indexing status. A “Technical SEO Auditor” is mentioned as a tool for this assessment.
Meta & Structure
Examination of titles, descriptions, and headings falls under this category. An “On-Page Optimizer” is identified as a tool for this purpose.
Page Speed
Page speed is a critical factor, with specific metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) being important. Pagespeed Insights, accessible through ClickRank, is recommended for analysis.
Links
This component involves checking for broken links, redirect chains, and the effectiveness of internal linking. A “Broken Link Checker” is suggested for this task.
Structured Data
Evaluating schema types, identifying errors, and verifying JSON-LD markup are key aspects of structured data assessment. A “Structured Data Helper” is mentioned as a resource.
Weekly Monitoring
Regular monitoring, ideally weekly or monthly, is recommended to track audit recurrence, set up alerts, and prioritize tasks. “Scheduled SEO Audits & Reports” are identified as a feature for this purpose.
Tools for Technical SEO Audits
Several tools are mentioned as being useful for performing technical SEO audits:
- ClickRank Site Crawler: Used for mapping a site’s pages and detecting issues like orphaned pages, broken links, and missing redirects.
- Technical SEO Auditor: Used for evaluating technical settings like HTTPS, robots.txt, redirects, and indexing.
- On-Page Optimizer: Used for examining meta information and site structure, including titles, descriptions, and headings.
- Pagespeed Insights (via ClickRank): Used for analyzing page speed metrics like LCP, FID, and CLS.
- Broken Link Checker: Used for identifying broken links and redirect chains.
- Structured Data Helper: Used for evaluating schema types and identifying errors in structured data markup.
- Scheduled SEO Audits & Reports: Used for automating audit recurrence, setting up alerts, and prioritizing tasks.
The Importance of Regular Audits
The source materials emphasize the importance of running SEO audits frequently—ideally weekly or monthly—particularly when new pages or content are added. This proactive approach allows for the early detection of emerging issues, preventing potential ranking drops.
Conclusion
The data indicates that a technical SEO audit is a comprehensive evaluation of a website’s foundational technical elements impacting search engine visibility. Key areas of focus include security, accessibility, redirects, indexation, page speed, structured data, and links. Regular audits, facilitated by tools like those offered by ClickRank, are crucial for maintaining optimal website performance and preventing ranking declines. Basic knowledge of website development and web hosting is also important for effectively addressing technical SEO issues.
Sources
- legiit.com/course/shen/seo-website-technical-audit-fundamentals
- clickrank.ai/seo-academy/seo-fundamentals/technical-seo-audit/