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When was the last time that you looked at the technical performance of your website? To that end, when was the last time you visited your website and took yourself for a tour, considering it from a user’s perspective? If you did, what did you experience? Did the site load quickly? Was the site easy to navigate? Was it easy to find the answers to your questions? Did you try reviewing the website from your mobile device, and if so, how did it look?
The thing is that your website is not designed to be something you set and forget. Sure, you might be adding new content periodically—brownie points to you if you are doing that already—but you need to be checking in on how everything is running on the back end, too. When you don’t, you could be oblivious to the poor experience that your users are having.
In this article, we’ll explain what a technical SEO audit is and how to conduct one.
What is a Technical SEO Audit?
Let’s start with some of the basics—what is a technical SEO audit? How often should you conduct one? A technical SEO audit is a detailed examination of the foundational elements of your website that influence how search engines crawl, index, and rank your pages.
Unlike content or off-page SEO, which focus on building quality content and acquiring backlinks, technical SEO prioritizes your site's structural and technical framework. Think of it as the behind-the-scenes work that allows everything else to function properly.
Key components of technical SEO include:
- Website speed and performance
- Mobile responsiveness
- Indexing and crawlability
- Structured data implementation
- Security protocols like HTTPS
- Fixing broken links and identifying redirect issues
While content and off-page SEO help connect with your audience and build authority, technical SEO creates the environment where these efforts can thrive. Even the best content can struggle to gain traction in search results without a solid technical foundation.
Why Regular Technical SEO Audits Matter
Conducting regular technical SEO audits is the best way to spot and address issues that could negatively impact your site’s performance in search rankings. Over time, things like outdated code, broken links, and slow-loading pages can creep in, creating barriers for both users and search engines.
Performing audits at least once a year is a good starting point. However, if your website experiences frequent updates, serves a highly competitive industry, or undergoes rapid growth, it’s worth checking more often—perhaps quarterly or even monthly. Regular reviews allow you to stay ahead of problems and maintain a strong foundation for your SEO efforts.
A technical audit isn't just about fixing problems; it’s about creating a framework that allows your content and user engagement strategies to succeed. With that in mind, let’s look at the steps to conduct an audit effectively.
Preparing for a Technical SEO Audit
Many companies have their full-service marketing agencies manage their technical SEO audits on their behalf. It’s a common offering and a great way to offload the technical side of SEO. However, if you’re managing your marketing efforts in-house, you can still tackle an audit yourself.
Here’s how to prepare:
Gather the Right Tools
Assemble the tools you’ll need for a thorough review. Start with platforms like Google Search Console for indexing and performance insights, Screaming Frog for crawling and identifying issues, and options like SEMrush or Ahrefs for in-depth SEO analysis.
Set Clear Goals and Priorities
Outline what you want to accomplish with your audit. Are you focusing on fixing crawl errors, improving page speed, or identifying outdated pages? Having a clear direction helps keep the process focused and manageable.
Back-Up Your Website
Before making any changes, create a full backup of your website. This precaution protects your data and ensures that you can restore your site if something unexpected happens during updates.
The Technical SEO Site Audit Process
With the above steps checked off the list, it’s time to get started. Here’s the step-by-step process.
Step 1: Check Crawlability and Indexability
Search engines need to access and index your site to rank it. Use tools like Google Search Console or Screaming Frog to spot crawl errors, broken links, or blocked pages. Review your robots.txt file and XML sitemap to confirm they’re functioning correctly and not unintentionally restricting access.
Step 2: Analyze Site Speed and Performance
A fast-loading website creates a better experience for users and supports SEO. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to measure performance. To improve loading times, compress large images and files, implement a Content Delivery Network (CDN), and minimize HTTP requests by reducing the number of scripts and stylesheets on your site.
Step 3: Check Mobile-Friendliness
With mobile-first indexing, your site’s mobile usability plays a big role in SEO. Test its performance using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. Address common problems such as unresponsive designs, small font sizes, and buttons that are hard to tap. A mobile-friendly design ensures users can interact easily across all devices.
Step 4: Verify HTTPS and Site Security
A secure website builds trust with visitors and search engines. Confirm your site uses an active SSL certificate and that all pages redirect properly to HTTPS. Security features like HTTPS protect sensitive user information and prevent potential penalties from search engines.
Step 5: Resolve Duplicate Content Issues
Duplicate content confuses search engines and can harm your rankings. Use tools like Siteliner or Copyscape to identify duplicates. Address these issues by using canonical tags to guide search engines and merging similar pages to provide a unified resource for visitors.
Step 6: Optimize URL Structure
SEO-friendly URLs are short, descriptive, and include relevant keywords. Review your site’s URLs to remove special characters, unnecessary parameters, and overly complex structures. A clean URL layout improves usability and helps search engines better understand your content.
Step 7: Review Metadata and On-Page SEO
Metadata like title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags play a big role in search visibility. Ensure each page has unique metadata that reflects its content. Avoid stuffing keywords; instead, focus on maintaining relevancy and clarity for both users and search engines.
Step 8: Conduct a Backlink Audit
Backlinks are an important ranking factor, but low-quality or spammy links can hurt your performance. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to assess the quality of your backlinks. Identify and disavow any links from suspicious or irrelevant sites that could negatively affect your site’s reputation.
Post-Audit Action
Once your audit is done, what do you do now? Simply wait until next year and do it again? The answer is a big whopping no. While you now know what is working well and what isn’t, don’t just take that knowledge and sit on it. Now is the time to take action to create a better experience for your users.
Start by prioritizing fixes based on their impact and how much effort is needed to resolve them. High-impact, low-effort changes should take precedence, such as addressing broken links or updating outdated metadata. Develop a clear action plan to tackle each issue systematically, assigning tasks and setting realistic deadlines.
Don’t stop there—regularly monitor your site to track improvements and schedule periodic re-audits to catch new issues early. A proactive approach keeps your website running at its best for both users and search engines.
Let LAMA Marketing Manage Your Technical SEO
At LAMA Marketing, we will run your technical SEO audit for you and help manage your technical SEO all year long. We pay attention to technical SEO trends, keeping up to date on the latest and greatest so that our clients’ websites are always operating at the top of their game. And, we have access to all the tools needed for a successful audit and to keep your site in the best possible shape.
We know how important the user experience is for your visitors. Let us show you what we can do. Contact us today to get started.
