Technical SEO Checklist: 20 Items You Can't Ignore

Technical SEO forms the foundation of your website's search performance. Use this checklist to ensure your site is properly optimised for search engines.

Crawlability & Indexing

• XML Sitemap: Submit an up-to-date sitemap to Google Search Console
• Robots.txt: Ensure important pages aren't accidentally blocked
• Canonical Tags: Use canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues
• Index Status: Check that key pages are indexed in Search Console
• Crawl Errors: Regularly fix 404s and crawl errors

Site Speed & Performance

• Core Web Vitals: Pass LCP, FID, and CLS thresholds
• Image Optimisation: Compress images and use modern formats (WebP)
• Minification: Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
• Caching: Implement browser and server caching
• CDN: Use a content delivery network for faster global loading

Mobile Optimisation

• Responsive Design: Site adapts to all screen sizes
• Mobile Usability: No mobile-specific errors in Search Console
• Tap Targets: Buttons and links are easy to tap
• Font Sizes: Text is readable without zooming

Security & Trust

• HTTPS: Entire site uses SSL/TLS encryption
• Mixed Content: No HTTP resources loading on HTTPS pages
• Security Headers: Implement HSTS and other security headers

Structure & Architecture

• URL Structure: Clean, descriptive URLs with keywords
• Site Architecture: Logical hierarchy with pages within 3 clicks
• Internal Linking: Strategic internal links between related content
• Breadcrumbs: Implement breadcrumb navigation
• Schema Markup: Add structured data for rich results