Introduction: Your Website Deserves More Than Guesswork
You’ve heard about technical SEO audits, but maybe they sound a little intimidating. Crawl errors? Indexation? Canonical tags? It might seem like something only developers or full-time SEOs can handle. But here’s the good news: you don’t need to be an expert to run a powerful technical SEO audit.
With the right tools, clear steps, and a little bit of time, you can identify and fix the most common issues that are holding your site back from ranking. This guide will walk you through exactly how to run a technical SEO audit like a pro—even if you’re a beginner.
What Is a Technical SEO Audit?
A technical SEO audit is a full evaluation of your website’s backend and infrastructure. It checks whether your site is:
Crawlable (can search engines access your pages?)
Indexable (can search engines rank your pages?)
Fast (how quickly does your site load?)
Mobile-friendly (does it work well on all devices?)
Error-free (are there broken links, duplicate content, or redirect loops?)
The goal? To fix any issues that could hurt your rankings, reduce your traffic, or frustrate users.
Tools You’ll Need (Free and Paid Options)
You don’t need a $500/month SEO tool to get started. These are enough for a solid audit:
✅ Free Tools:
Google Search Console
Google Analytics
Google PageSpeed Insights
Mobile-Friendly Test
Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free for up to 500 URLs)
✅ Paid (But Powerful):
Ahrefs
SEMrush
Sitebulb
GTmetrix
SurferSEO
Pick one or two and you’re ready to dive in.
???? How to Run a Technical SEO Audit (Step by Step)
Step 1: Crawl Your Website
Start by understanding how Google sees your site.
Use: Screaming Frog or Ahrefs Site Audit
Check for:
Broken links (404 errors)
Redirect chains or loops
Duplicate page titles and meta descriptions
Missing meta tags
Pages with thin or no content
✅ Action: Fix 404s by redirecting or restoring deleted pages. Optimize or consolidate duplicate content.
Step 2: Review Indexing Status
Use: Google Search Console → Coverage Report
Look for:
Crawled – not indexed (Google saw the page but didn’t include it)
Excluded by noindex tag
Pages blocked by robots.txt
✅ Action: Make sure only valuable content is indexed. Use robots.txt and “noindex” wisely.
Step 3: Test Mobile-Friendliness
Over 60% of searches happen on mobile. Google uses mobile-first indexing, so you need to make sure your mobile version works perfectly.
Use: Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
Check for:
Fonts that are too small
Tappable elements too close together
Scrolling or layout issues
✅ Action: Implement responsive design. Make fonts and buttons easy to read and tap.
Step 4: Analyze Page Speed & Core Web Vitals
Site speed directly affects both rankings and user experience.
Use:
Google PageSpeed Insights
GTmetrix
Web.dev
Look for:
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Should be under 2.5s
FID (First Input Delay): Should be under 100ms
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Should be under 0.1
✅ Action: Compress images, enable caching, and clean up unnecessary scripts.
Step 5: Review HTTPS & Security Settings
Search engines prioritize secure websites. If your site still uses HTTP, that’s a red flag.
Check:
Is your entire site served over HTTPS?
Are there any mixed content errors?
Is your SSL certificate valid?
✅ Action: Get an SSL certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.
Step 6: Optimize Your Site Structure
A clean site architecture makes it easier for users—and bots—to navigate your site.
Audit:
Is your site easy to explore in 3 clicks or less?
Are your URLs clean and keyword-friendly?
Is there a logical hierarchy (Home → Categories → Posts)?
✅ Action: Use breadcrumbs, keep your navigation consistent, and avoid deep link nesting.
Step 7: Check Canonical Tags and Duplicate Content
Duplicate content confuses Google and waters down your SEO.
Use: Screaming Frog or Ahrefs
Look for:
Pages with the same or very similar content
Misused canonical tags (pointing to the wrong pages)
✅ Action: Combine similar pages or use proper canonicalization to indicate the master version.
Step 8: Audit Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Schema helps search engines understand your content better—and may boost your visibility in SERPs with rich results.
Use:
Google Rich Results Test
Schema Markup Validator
Look for:
Missing or invalid schema
Pages that could benefit from schema (Products, Reviews, FAQs)
✅ Action: Use plugins or manual markup to add schema to relevant pages.
Step 9: Track Your Fixes and Monitor Progress
SEO is not a one-and-done deal. After your audit:
Document your findings and fixes in a spreadsheet
Re-crawl your site after updates
Monitor Search Console and Analytics for traffic and indexing improvements
✅ Pro Tip: Run a new audit every quarter—or after major site changes.
Conclusion: Audit Like a Pro, Rank Like a Boss
You don’t need to be an SEO guru to run a technical audit. With the right tools, a clear checklist, and a bit of consistency, you can uncover issues that have been quietly sabotaging your rankings.
Fix what’s broken, improve what’s slow, and optimize what’s overlooked—and watch your site climb the SERPs.
Because the secret to higher rankings isn’t always more content or links—it’s a site that’s built to be found.