The Best Technical SEO Audit:10 Checks to Fix Before You Publish
Taking care of your website isn’t just about great copy or fresh images. The “parts under the hood” determine whether search engines can discover, render, and trust your content. In this article, we’ve gathered The Best SEO Technical Audit checks you should complete before you hit publish.
10 Essential Technical SEO Checks You Must Complete
- Indexability (Status, Noindex, Robots)
Your page should return HTTP 200, be free of accidental noindex tags, and not be blocked by robots meta or X-Robots-Tag. Verify with the URL Inspection tool in Search Console. If Google can’t crawl or index, nothing else matters.
- XML Sitemap Hygiene
List only canonical, indexable URLs no 404s, 301s, or parameter variants. Reference your sitemap in robots.txt and update it automatically on publish. A clean sitemap accelerates discovery and reduces crawl waste.
- Canonicalization & Duplicate Control
Use self-referencing canonicals on unique pages and point near-duplicates (UTM parameters, print views, filtered lists) to the preferred URL. Normalize trailing slashes and uppercase/lowercase. Proper canonicals prevent index bloat and consolidate signals.
- Redirect Integrity
Replace temporary 302s with 301s for permanent moves. Remove chains/loops and ensure a single, consistent canonical destination. Consolidate http→https and non-www↔www so equity isn’t split.
- Internal Links & Broken Links
Add contextual links from relevant, authoritative pages to avoid orphans and improve crawl paths. Fix internal 4xx/5xx and update old links that redirect. A tidy link graph boosts discoverability and distributes PageRank efficiently.
- HTTPS & Mixed Content
Enforce TLS sitewide (HSTS if possible). Eliminate mixed content by serving all assets over https. Security isn’t a “nice to have” it’s a trust and eligibility requirement for many modern features.
- Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)
Target fast Largest Contentful Paint, responsive Interaction to Next Paint, and stable Cumulative Layout Shift. Optimize hero images, preconnect key domains, defer non-critical JavaScript, and reserve space for ads and embeds. CWV improvements often lift rankings and CTR.
- Mobile-First Parity
Ensure mobile and desktop have the same primary content, links, and structured data. Check viewport settings, font sizes, and tap targets for usability. Since Google indexes mobile first, parity is non-negotiable.
- JavaScript Rendering & Crawlability
Critical text and links should render without user interaction. If you rely on heavy frameworks, consider server-side rendering, pre-rendering, or hydration strategies. Avoid blocking essential JS/CSS; permit rendering so Googlebot can see what users see.
- Structured Data & Rich Results Eligibility
Add relevant schema (Article, FAQPage, Product, LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList) aligned with visible content. Validate with the Rich Results Test and monitor Enhancements in Search Console. Accurate structured data unlocks richer SERP features and higher CTR.
How to Use This Pre-Publish SEO Checklist
Triage by impact: fix indexability and redirects first, then duplicates and broken links, then CWV and rendering. After publishing, request indexing, monitor Search Console, and iterate on internal links and snippets to capture more long-tail demand (e.g., “fix crawl errors,” “Core Web Vitals optimization,” “JavaScript SEO issues”).
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Conclusion
Every check above protects performance, crawl budget, and user experience. By following this technical SEO audit checklist before publication and revisiting it for major updates you reduce risk, ship faster, and give your content the best chance to rank and convert.
