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How to Conduct a Technical SEO Audit: The Definitive Guide

A technical SEO audit is one that has to be taken so that your website features in search rankings. One might do a technical SEO audit following some steps to help in the identification and fixing of problems hampering the performance of the site. Herein is a step-by-step guide on how you can conduct a comprehensive technical SEO audit.

1. Crawl Your Website

Why It’s Important

Crawl your website to see what search engines see. This identifies broken links, identification of duplicate content, and other such problems that may be affecting your SEO.

Tools to Use

Screaming Frog

Sitebulb

DeepCrawl

Steps

Run the Crawl: Run one of the tools to crawl your whole website.

Review the Report: Look for errors like 404s, 301 redirects, and any duplicate content.

Fix Issues: Resolve broken links and resolve any duplicate content.

2. Check if Mobile-Friendly

Why It’s Important

Google uses mobile-first indexing, so it would appear that the mobile version of your content is primarily used to index and rank.

Tools to Use

– Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test

– Google Search Console

Steps

Test Your Site: Enter your URL into the Mobile-Friendly Test.

Analyze the Results: Find where your site isn’t mobile-friendly.

Implement Changes: Make sure that it is optimized for mobile users; assure responsiveness and speed.

3. Analyze Page Speed

Why It’s Important

Page Speed is a Must for Ranking: Slow loading pages individually affect User experience and SEO itself.

Tools to Use: 

Google PageSpeed Insights

GTmetrix

Pingdom

Steps

1. Run a Speed Test – Run your page speed using one of the above tools.

2. Review Suggestions – In the tool results, go through the suggested recommendations.

3. Optimize: Apply changes like compressing images, enabling browser caching, and minifying CSS and JavaScript.

4. Check HTTPS Status

Why It’s Important

HTTPS is a ranking signal. Getting your site secure helps to build trust with clients, and search engines too.

Tools to Use

SSL Checker

Why No Padlock

Steps

Check for HTTPS Check that all pages are served over HTTPS.

Fix Mixed Content Issues All resources  should be served over HTTPS, too.

5. Check XML Sitemaps

Why It’s Important

An XML sitemap does help search engines get an overview of your site structure and find all your pages.

Tools to Use

Google Search Console

Yoast SEO for WordPress

Steps

Generate a Sitemap: In case you don’t have one, generate it using such tools as Yoast SEO.

Submit to Search Engines: Log in to Google Search Console and submit your sitemap there.

Check for Errors: Make sure everything is fine with your sitemap.

6. Check for Duplicate Content

Why It’s Important

The search engines can become confused due to duplicate content and result in poor ranking.

Tools to Use

Siteliner

Copyscape

Steps

Run a Duplicate Content Check: Use one of the tools to scan your site.

Identify Issues: Look for pages with identical or very similar content.

Consolidate or Canonicalize: Use 301 redirects or canonical tags to resolve duplicate content issues.

7. Review Robots.txt File

Why It’s Important

The robots.txt file controls how search engines crawl your site. An incorrect configuration can block important pages from being indexed.

Tools to Use

Google Search Console

Robots.txt Tester

Steps

Check Your Robots.txt: Ensure it’s configured correctly.

Test in Search Console: Use the Robots.txt Tester to verify there are no issues.

Update as Needed: Allow or disallow specific pages or sections based on your SEO strategy.

8. Ensure Proper Indexing

Why It’s Important

Proper indexing ensures all your important pages are listed on search engine results.

Tools to Use

Google Search Console

Steps

Check Index Coverage: Use Google Search Console to review indexed pages.

Identify Errors: Look for any pages that are not indexed or have indexing issues.

Fix Problems: Address issues like noindex tags, canonical errors, or server errors.

9. Analyze Internal Linking

Why It’s Important

Internal links help search engines understand the structure of your site and the importance of individual pages.

Tools to Use

Screaming Frog

Steps

Run a Crawl: Use Screaming Frog to analyze your internal linking structure.

Identify Weak Points: Look for pages with few or no internal links.

Optimize Linking: Ensure important pages are well-linked from other relevant pages.

10. Check Structured Data

Why It’s Important

Structured data helps search engines understand the content of your site better and can enhance search results with rich snippets.

Tools to Use

Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool

Steps

Test Your Site: Use the Structured Data Testing Tool to check for schema markup.

Fix Errors: Address any issues found in the structured data.

Implement Missing Markup: Add schema markup to important pages if it’s missing.

By following these steps, you can ensure your website is technically optimized for search engines, improving your chances of higher rankings and better organic traffic.

Brandvertise Team
Brandvertise Team
https://brandvertiseagency.com

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