Technical SEO audit: a complete guide to optimizing your site in 2024

Published by

Charlotte Nowak

Content Manager

Websites that regularly undergo technical SEO audits experience an average increase of 10-20% in organic traffic.

Is your site technically optimized for SEO? Find out how a technical SEO audit can identify and correct the problems holding back your visibility, so you can take your online presence to new heights.

What is a technical SEO audit?

The definition in brief

A technical SEO audit goes further than a traditional SEO audit. It involves an in-depth analysis of the technical aspects of a website that influence its natural referencing. This evaluation helps identify blocking factors and optimization opportunities to improve the site's visibility in search engines like Google.

The importance of a technical SEO audit cannot be underestimated. It serves as the foundation of any effective SEO strategy, ensuring that your site is crawlable, indexable and compliant with the technical best practices recommended by search engines.

Why is a technical SEO audit essential?

A technical SEO audit is crucial for several reasons:

It improves your site's crawlability andindexability, enabling search engines to better understand and rank your content.
It identifies and corrects technical problems that can affect your ranking in search results.
It optimizes loading speed and site performance, enhancing the user experience.
It ensures compliance with the latest search engine requirements, such asmobile optimization and Core Web Vitals.
It gives you a competitive edge by identifying areas where your site is outperforming or lagging behind your competitors.

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Steps to a technical SEO audit

Step 1: Analysis of loading speed

Loading speed is a crucial factor for SEO and user experience. A Google study showed that 53% of mobile visits are abandoned if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load. You can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to evaluate and improve your site's performance. Here are a few tips:

Optimize images by compressing them and using modern formats like WebP.
Minimize and combine CSS and JavaScript files.
Use browser caching to reduce loading times for recurring visitors.
Consider using a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to improve overall loading times.

For a more in-depth analysis, SEOMix's site audit tool can provide you with detailed insights into your site's performance.

Step 2: Check crawlability and indexability

Make sure search engines can efficiently crawl and index your site. Use Google Search Console and tools like Screaming Frog to :

Check your robots.txt file to make sure it's not blocking important pages.
Analyze the XML sitemap and confirm that it includes all relevant pages.
Identify and correct crawl errors, such as 404 pages or incorrect redirects.
Review URL structure to ensure it is SEO-optimized and user-friendly.

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Step 3: Optimize site structure

A clear, logical site structure helps search engines understand the hierarchy of your content. Focus on :

the creation of a clean, descriptive URL architecture;
optimization of navigation and internal meshing for better distribution of "link juice";
the use of breadcrumbs (navigation aids) to improve navigation and SEO;
setting up a silo structure to organize your content thematically.

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Step 4: Audit HTML tags and metadata

HTML tags and metadata play a crucial role in communicating with search engines. Check and optimize :

title and meta description tags for each page, ensuring that they are unique and attractive;
header structure (H1, H2, H3, etc.) for a clear content hierarchy;
image alt tags for accessibility and SEO ;
structured data(schema.org) to enrich your search results and potentially improve your CTR (click-through rate).

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Step 5: Analysis and optimization of Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals (web signals) have become a crucial ranking factor. Focus on improving these three key metrics:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Optimize the loading of main content so that it is displayed in less than 2.5 seconds.
First Input Delay (FID): Make sure your site responds to user interactions in less than 100 milliseconds.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Minimize unexpected layout changes to keep CLS below 0.1.

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Use Google's Core Web Vitals tool to measure and track these metrics over time.

Step 6: Detecting and correcting technical errors

Identify and correct the technical errors that can harm your SEO:

resolve 404 errors and set up appropriate 301 redirects ;
correct duplicate content problems with canonical tags ;
make sure your site uses HTTPS for security and SEO;
optimize server response times to improve overall performance ;
check and correct errors in the Google Search Console.

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Step 7 to go further: competitive analysis in the technical SEO audit

The technical SEO audit also offers the opportunity to evaluate your position in relation to your competitors. Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to :

compare loading speedsand Core Web Vitals scores;
analyze competitors' site structures and internal linking strategies;
Identify keyword opportunities that your competitors are exploiting and that you could target;
examine backlink profiles to discover new link opportunities.

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This analysis will help you identify areas where you can outperform your competitors and prioritize your optimization efforts.

Recommended tools for a technical SEO audit

To carry out a complete SEO technical audit, several tools are essential:

Google Search Console: Monitor your site's indexing and performance in Google search results.
Screaming Frog: A powerful crawler for analyzing your site's structure and content.
SEMrush : A complete suite of SEO tools, including technical auditing and competitive analysis.
GTmetrix For a detailed analysis of your site's loading speed and Core Web Vitals.
Ahrefs : Excellent for backlink analysis and keyword research.

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Best practices and mistakes to avoid during a technical SEO audit

Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your technical SEO audit:

Carry out regular audits, ideally every quarter, to monitor your site's progress and detect new problems early on.
Prioritize fixes according to their potential impact on SEO and user experience.
Don't overlook the importance ofmobile optimization, as Google uses mobile-first indexing.
Keep a close eye on your Core Web Vitals, which have become important ranking factors.
Train your team in the basics of technical SEO to maintain good day-to-day practices.

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Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

Ignore Google Search Console error reports.
Underestimate the impact of loading times on user experience and SEO.
Neglect image optimization, which can greatly affect site performance.
Forget to regularly update your XML sitemap after site modifications.
Neglecting the importance of meta tags and structured data to improve SERP visibility.

A technical SEO audit is much more than a simple audit: it's a crucial investment in the health and performance of your website. An SEO audit not only allows you to identify and correct the technical problems that are holding back your online visibility, but also to gain a significant competitive edge.

Don't forget that technical SEO is an ongoing ongoing process Stay up-to-date with best practices, perform regular audits, and adapt to the constant evolution of search engine algorithms. By making technical SEO an an integral part of your digital strategyyou lay the foundations for sustainable growth of your online presence.

Ready to transform your site's SEO performance? Contact us for a personalized SEO technical audit and find out how Bulldozer Collective's experts can help you achieve your online visibility goals.

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