What Is a Technical SEO Audit and Why Does Your Website Need One?

Introduction

A “technical SEO audit” is a check-up for the underlying code, such as HTML, behind your website to make sure it can be properly read by search engines. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which helps your website show up in Google and other search engines. This is important for any website because it helps more people find you online. For example:

A potential client may search for your business by performing a Google search.
They may directly search for your company name, like ‘ABC Plumbing,’ or for the service you provide, such as ‘emergency plumbing repairs.’
Ideally your business will appear for both searches, but if your website has technical issues that prevent search engines from properly indexing your site, you may not appear.

What Is a Technical SEO Audit?

A technical SEO audit is a detailed review of your website’s technical health. Think of it like a “health check” for your website to make sure your website is easy for search engines and users to use.

There are different ways to perform a technical seo audit, but typically it includes checking the following:

Website speed and performance on both mobile devices and desktop
Indexing and crawlability - robots.txt - a file that guides search engines on which pages to crawl
sitemap.xml - a list of pages on your site to help search engines find all your content
On-page technical elements:
- Title - Ensure each page has a unique and descriptive title
- Meta-tags - Include meta descriptions that summarize page content for search engines and users
- Structured data - Use structured data to help search engines understand the content better
- Headings - Organize content with proper heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) for readability
- Content and keywords - Make sure content is relevant and keywords are used effectively without overstuffing
- Image optimization - Checks (e.g., proper file size, alt text, format) to ensure images load quickly and are accessible
- Link audit - Review internal and external links to ensure there are no broken links and that they are relevant

Why Does Your Website Need a Technical SEO Audit?

Improved Search Engine Visibility
- Fixing technical issues makes it easier for Google and other search engines to find and rank your website higher in search results.
- This allows customers to find you organically when they search for a solution to their problem.
- It’s also the best type of advertising because it is free! Additionally, organic traffic is beneficial because it is sustainable and helps build long-term credibility with search engines and users.
Better User Experience
- A well-optimized site loads quickly, works smoothly, and keeps visitors happy, which means they are more likely to stay longer and trust your website.
- This also helps with Google’s E-E-A-T Guidelines
Identifying and Fixing Problems Early
- Regular audits help catch issues before they hurt your website’s traffic or rankings, saving you trouble down the road.
- A change you made today may affect your website months in the future, as changes may take several weeks or months to be noticed and accounted for by search engines.

What types of Websites need a Technical Audit

Any website owner who wants to improve their search engine visibility should perform a technical audit, as it is crucial for ensuring their site can be easily found by potential customers.

There are exceptions, however, as you do not want certain pages, such as: checkouts, admin pages, and shopping carts, to be included in search engines due to privacy concerns or because they are not relevant to users searching online. Essentially they will not be helpful or useful to the person searching for them.

Some examples of pages you would want to be found are:

home pages
service pages
pricing pages
about pages

Websites that can Benefit

Ecommerce (e.g., Shopify, Square, etc.) benefit from a technically sound website to ensure products are easily discoverable and transactions run smoothly.
Service-based Businesses (e.g., Dentists, Law Firms, Software Companies, etc.) need strong technical SEO to help potential customers find their services and build trust with a professional-looking, fast website.

Technical SEO Audit Examples

Correct Heading Structure

Imagine you run a dog walking business in New York City and you specialize in walking dogs for tourists. A couple of months ago, you had a technical SEO audit completed by Starter SEO Audit, and they helped update all the headings on your page to use proper tags (H1, H2, H3). They even gave you some great suggestions for updating the heading content too!

By using the correct heading structure, search engines like Google can easily understand the content of your page, prioritize relevant information, and match it to specific user searches.

A tourist arrives with their dog and does a quick Google search for:

“dog walkers in New York City,”

There are hundreds of options so they then refine their search to something more specific:

“dog walkers in New York City for tourists.”

This search closely matches the main heading (H1) on your website, which signals to Google that your page is highly relevant to the user’s search. As a result, your website is shown in the Google search results and the tourist visits your website, likes your service, and books a walk for their dog!

Structured Data for Products Example

Lets say you run an online store selling handmade candles. After conducting a technical SEO audit, it was recommended that you add structured data to your product pages.

Structured data, also known as schema markup, helps search engines understand and display your products in a more detailed way.

Google has a great guide for all the structured data types they support here

For example, structured data was added to include a product name, price, availability, and customer reviews for one of your best selling candle:

{

  "@context": "https://schema.org/",

  "@type": "Product",

  "name": "Lavender Scented Candle",

  "image": "https://example.com/images/lavender-candle.jpg",

  "description": "Handmade lavender-scented candle, perfect for relaxation.",

  "sku": "12345",

  "offers": {

    "@type": "Offer",

    "url": "https://example.com/lavender-candle",

    "priceCurrency": "USD",

    "price": "19.99",

    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock"

  },

  "aggregateRating": {

    "@type": "AggregateRating",

    "ratingValue": "4.8",

    "reviewCount": "35"

  }

}

When someone searches for “lavender scented candle” on Google, your product shows up in the rich results/ rich snippets with an image, price, and customer rating directly in the search results.
This makes your product listing stand out, providing valuable information to potential customers at a glance and leading to more clicks/increased sales.

How to Get Started with a Technical SEO Audit Today

Starter SEO Audit offers several benefits, making it an excellent choice for website owners who want to start optimizing their site without breaking the bank:

Affordable: A cost-effective way to start addressing technical SEO issues on your website to help boost your search rankings.
Quick Results: We get to work right away and in most cases you will have your detailed analysis and action items with 1-3 days.
Foundation for SEO: We help set the foundation for your website’s SEO, providing you with the details necessary to fix technical issues on your own.
Scalable Techniques: The bonus is that you can apply these same techniques easily to other pages, saving you money and helping you understand SEO more clearly.

Our Starter Technical Seo Audit allows you to get started instantly… Click the button below to learn more about our pricing and how to purchase!!