Technical SEO Audit Checklist: 40 Checks for Crawling, Pages and Local Search (Free Template)

A technical SEO audit checklist is a list of checks that shows whether Google can crawl, index and show your site. Work through crawling and indexing, speed and mobile, on-page, structured data and local search, using free Google tools. Fix anything that stops pages being indexed first. Polish comes last.

Most owners meet audits as a scanner PDF full of red warnings. Nobody says which ones matter. This checklist gives each of its 40 checks a pass rule, a free tool and a priority, so you know what to fix and what to leave.

What Is a Technical SEO Audit?

A technical SEO audit checks whether search engines can reach, read and store your pages. It looks at the plumbing: how fast your pages load, whether they are secure, and whether they work on a phone. It doesn't judge your writing or your keywords. Those belong to the on-page part of a wider SEO audit.

Google's SEO Starter Guide says SEO is "about helping search engines understand your content." It also helps users find your site. A technical audit covers the first half. Google Search Essentials sets out what Google needs. It covers technical requirements and spam policies. Breaking a spam policy can push a site down or drop it from results.

A full SEO audit checklist mixes three kinds of check. Here is how they differ.

This website audit checklist covers all three, so one pass gives you the whole picture.

What Free SEO Audit Tools Do You Need?

You need a handful of free SEO audit tools: Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, the Rich Results Test, the free version of Screaming Frog SEO Spider and Bing Webmaster Tools. Google makes most of them, and Search Console does the most work. Search Console is a free service from Google that helps you monitor and fix your site's presence in Google Search.

Here is the short list, as of October 2026:

• Google Search Console. The Page indexing report shows the status of every URL Google knows about. The URL Inspection tool tests one page and lets you ask Google to crawl it. The Performance, Core Web Vitals, HTTPS and Sitemaps reports cover the rest.
• PageSpeed Insights. It gives both lab and field data about a page. The field data comes from the Chrome User Experience Report, so it reflects real visits.
• Lighthouse. It is a free, open-source tool. It checks speed, accessibility and SEO, and you can run it in Chrome DevTools.
• Rich Results Test. Google calls it an easy and useful tool for validating your structured data.
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider. The free version crawls up to 500 URLs.

Bing Webmaster Tools is the last one. It is free, and as of October 2026 its Site Scan tool looks for broken links, duplicate tags and missing metadata. It also gives you a second opinion from a second search engine.

For your Google Business Profile, use the profile's own Performance view. For more local tools, see our guide to local SEO tools.

That is enough. If a tool doesn't add a check that this list needs, you can skip it. Too many tools is how audits turn into noise.

How Do You Do a Website Audit Step by Step?

You do a website audit in seven steps: note your baseline, check indexing, crawl, test speed, review pages, check markup and local data, then rank the fixes. Get a few things ready first.

Before you start

• Your site is verified in Google Search Console.
• Your XML sitemap is submitted in the Sitemaps report.
• You have a list of your key page types, such as home, service, location and contact.
• GA4 is installed and recording visits.
• A blank spreadsheet is open for the checklist.

1. Note your baseline. Open the Performance report and write down clicks and impressions. You will need them to tell whether your fixes worked.
2. Check indexing. Open the Page indexing report and run a site: search. Note any key page that isn't indexed, and test it in URL Inspection.
3. Crawl the site. Run Screaming Frog or Bing Site Scan. Export broken links, redirects, missing titles and duplicate tags.
4. Test speed on key templates. Run PageSpeed Insights on one page of each type. Pages built from the same template usually share the same problems.
5. Review on-page basics. Check titles, descriptions, headings, alt text and links on your most important pages.
6. Check structured data and local data. Test your markup in the Rich Results Test. Then check your Google Business Profile against your website.
7. Rank the fixes. Mark each failed check High, Medium or Low. Fix the High ones first, starting with anything that blocks indexing.

The Technical SEO Audit Checklist: 40 Checks

This is the full technical SEO audit checklist, grouped by area. Each check has a pass rule, the free tool that tests it, and a priority. High means it can block indexing or affect many pages. Low means it's polish.

It is also a free SEO audit checklist template. All six tables share the same five columns, so you can paste them one under another into Google Sheets or Excel as one sheet. Add a Pass/Fail column and a date, and you have a record to repeat next time. Nothing to download, no email needed.

Crawling and Indexing (Checks 1 to 12)

Crawling and indexing come first because nothing else matters if Google can't find and store a page. Per Google's technical requirements, a page is eligible to be indexed when it meets three conditions: Googlebot isn't blocked, the page returns an HTTP 200 status code, and it has indexable content.

Robots.txt and noindex do different jobs, and audits mix them up often. Google says robots.txt is not "a mechanism for keeping a web page out of Google." To keep a page out, use noindex. And the page must not be blocked by robots.txt, or Google never sees the noindex rule.

A sitemap file can hold up to 50,000 URLs or 50MB uncompressed, per Google. Submitting one is only a hint, not an order. For duplicates, redirects and rel="canonical" tags are strong signals of which page is the main one. A self-referencing canonical on each page is good practice.

Google lists 301 and 308 as permanent redirects, for moves that won't be undone. It also says to watch out for long redirect chains, which hurt crawling. A soft 404 is a page that says it doesn't exist but still returns a 200 code. Return a 404 code to removed pages instead.

Server errors are blockers too. Google's Crawl Stats report, under Settings, flags server errors (5xx) and says they "should be fixed if possible."

Speed, Mobile and Security (Checks 13 to 18)

Check speed in Search Console's Core Web Vitals report and in PageSpeed Insights. Check mobile by opening each key page on a phone and on a desktop. Google indexes and ranks the mobile version of your pages, per its mobile-first indexing guide. So a mobile page that hides content hides it from Google too.

The three Core Web Vitals are Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Each has a Google target. A page passes when at least 75 percent of visits meet it, per web.dev. INP replaced First Input Delay (FID) in March 2024.

Search Console's Core Web Vitals report uses field data, meaning real visits. PageSpeed Insights shows both field and lab data. Lab data helps you debug. Google also asks if pages are served in a secure fashion, so HTTPS sits in this group.

On-Page (Checks 19 to 28)

These ten checks run page by page. The section below the checklist explains each one and the Google rule behind it.

Structured Data and AI Crawlers (Checks 29 to 32)

Checks 29 to 31 keep your schema markup honest. The schema section further down covers what Google will and won't show.

Check 32 covers what AI systems may do with your content. Set a robots.txt rule for each one by name. Google-Extended isn't a separate crawler. It is a robots.txt token that lets you choose whether content Google crawls can be used to train its Gemini models and to ground their answers. Google says it "does not impact a site's inclusion in Google Search". GPTBot is OpenAI's training crawler, and blocking it means your content should not be used to train OpenAI's models. OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in ChatGPT's search features. Sites that block it won't show in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still appear as navigational links. These rules are as of October 2026, so check the pages before you decide.

Local Search (Checks 33 to 38)

These checks matter for any business that serves customers in a set area. The local section further down explains each rule.

Tracking (Checks 39 and 40)

Tracking doesn't fix anything by itself. It tells you whether your fixes worked. Set up GA4 with our GA4 setup guide if it isn't in place yet.

On-Page SEO Audit Checklist: What to Check on Each Page

An on-page audit checks what each page says and how it links. These are checks 19 to 28. Most come straight from Google's own guides.

Titles. Each page needs its own title. Google asks you to avoid repeated or boilerplate text in titles, and says keyword stuffing in titles can look spammy. Google sets no length limit. It cuts long titles to fit the screen. Around 60 characters often fits, but that is a display guideline, not a rule.

Meta descriptions. The same goes here. Google says the same description on every page doesn't help. There is no limit on length either. Google builds most snippets from the page itself and uses the description when it helps.

Headings. Use headings so people can scan. From Google Search's view, the order of headings doesn't matter, and there's no ideal number of them. Semantic order still helps screen readers, so keep it tidy.

Alt text. Google calls alt text the most important attribute for image metadata. It helps people who can't see the image. Google also uses it to understand what the image shows.

Links. Google can generally crawl a link only if it's an <a> element with an href attribute. Menus built with buttons or scripts may hide pages. Good anchor text is short and describes the page it points to.

Orphan pages. An orphan page has no internal links pointing to it. Compare your crawl with your sitemap to find them. Then link each key page from at least one related page.

Content. Google says its ranking systems favor helpful, reliable, people-first content. Ask whether each key page answers what a customer came to learn. It should match the search intent behind the search.

Keyword stuffing. Google's spam policies name blocks of text that list cities and regions as keyword stuffing. Service-area pages often fall into this. A line of twenty suburb names at the foot of a page is the classic case.

What Should a Local SEO Audit Check?

A local SEO audit checks your Google Business Profile, your address data and how well they match your website. These are checks 33 to 38. They shape whether you show in the map results, often called the local pack.

As of October 2026, Google says local results are "mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity". Google says reviews and links to your business also count. It adds that "businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up."

Start with the name. Google's Business Profile guidelines say, as of October 2026, that your name should reflect your real-world name. Extra words in the name break the rules and can get the profile suspended. Use a precise address or service area, and keep URLs and keywords out of the address lines.

Next, check that the profile is verified. You need to verify your business to edit your info. Performance data is available only for verified profiles. It includes the search terms people used to find you. Those terms are a fast check on whether Google understands what you do.

Last, make sure your name, address and phone match across your website and your listings. That is NAP consistency. For the full profile work, see how to optimize your Google Business Profile. If you are new to the topic, start with what local SEO is and how it works.

Does Schema Markup Still Earn Rich Results?

Schema markup can earn rich results, but Google never promises them. Google says structured data "enables a feature to be present, it does not guarantee that it will be present". So checks 29 to 31 test that markup is valid and honest, not that stars appear.

Test new markup in the Rich Results Test, then watch the rich result status reports after it goes live. Mark up what is really on the page, such as your business details, products or articles.

Two rules catch many sites. First, review stars. When a business controls its own reviews, Google won't show stars for them. In Google's words, those LocalBusiness or Organization pages "are ineligible for star review feature". Marking up your own testimonials won't earn stars.

Second, FAQ and HowTo. As of October 2026, Google shows neither. FAQ rich results were cut back to government and health sites in August 2023, and Google stopped showing them in Search on May 7, 2026. HowTo rich results were dropped in September 2023. FAQ sections on a page are still useful for readers. Just don't expect a rich result from them.

Which Audit Warnings Can You Safely Ignore?

You can safely ignore most warnings about length counts, heading counts and tool scores. They show up in many automated reports, but they rarely change how Google treats a page. Here is what to move to the bottom of the list.

• Title and description character counts. Google has no limit on title length and no limit on meta descriptions. Shorter can display better. A long title isn't an error.
• More than one H1. Google says there's "no magical, ideal amount of headings" on a page. One H1 is a tidy habit, not a ranking rule.
• HTML validator errors. If the page renders and the content is readable, these are low priority. Fix the ones that break the layout.
• Text-to-HTML ratio. This number says little about whether a page helps the reader. Spend the time on the content itself.
• Keyword density. Chasing a density target pushes pages toward keyword stuffing, which Google's spam policies list as spam.
• Sitemap priority and changefreq. Google ignores the <priority> and <changefreq> values, so a warning about them can wait.
• A score out of 100. A score is only as good as the tool that made it. Lab data "may not capture real-world bottlenecks". Field data from real visits counts for more.

The test for any warning is simple. Does it stop a page being indexed, or make it worse for a visitor? If not, it can wait.

Which Fixes Should You Do First?

Fix what blocks indexing first, then what hurts many pages, then single-page polish. A key page that Google can't index earns nothing, however good its title is. That is why checks 1 to 5 and 7 are all High.

1. Blockers. Pages blocked by robots.txt, stray noindex tags, server errors, and pages missing from the index.
2. Template problems. A slow service template, a missing canonical, or a broken menu link repeats on every page that uses it. One fix clears them all.
3. Page-level polish. Titles, descriptions, alt text and anchor text on single pages.

Confirm each fix in Search Console. In the Page indexing report, filter by your submitted sitemap and compare the indexed count with the number of pages you want indexed. A big gap is your first job. Once every page with an issue is fixed, click Validate fix so Google rechecks them.

How Often Should a Small Business Audit Its Website?

Most small businesses need a full audit after any big change, plus a quick look each month. There is no official schedule from Google. The right rhythm depends on how often your site changes.

Run the full checklist after a redesign, a move to a new platform, or any change to your URLs. These are the moments when redirects break and pages fall out of the index. Run it too when search traffic drops and you can't see why.

Between full audits, spend a few minutes each month in Search Console. Look at the Page indexing report for new errors. Then check the Performance report for clicks and impressions. Clicks are the times people clicked through to your site. Impressions are the times your site appeared in results. A sudden change in either is your cue to dig deeper.

What Does an Audit Find in Different Industries?

The same 40 checks apply everywhere, but each industry fails different ones. Here is where to look first.

Property management

Property management sites have lots of listing and unit pages. Units rent, and the pages go stale. Watch for expired listings that show "no longer available" but return a 200 code. Those are soft 404s (check 11). Duplicate unit pages need canonicals (check 8). For the full vertical version, see our SEO audit for property management companies.

Real estate

Listing feeds can put the same property on many URLs and many sites. Check that your canonical tags point to the version you want to rank (check 8). Then check that your own neighborhood and guide pages are indexed (check 1).

Roofing and home services

Service-area pages are the risk. A page per town is fine when each one has real content. A footer of town names is keyword stuffing (check 28). Your Google Business Profile matters as much as your site here, so run checks 33 to 38 closely.

Med spa

Treatment pages are often heavy with images. Before and after photos need alt text that describes them (check 23). Large images also slow the page, so test LCP on treatment templates (check 13).

Dental and law

Dental and law sites lean on service and practice-area pages. Each one should be indexed, have its own title, and link to related pages (checks 1, 20 and 26). Bio pages for dentists and attorneys should be crawlable from the main menu (check 24).

What to Do First

1. Take the quick check above. Your score tells you whether to start with the basics or move on.
2. Run checks 1 to 7. Make sure your key pages are indexed and nothing blocks them.
3. Work down the High items. Then do the Medium ones, and leave Low for last.

For the habits that keep a site in good shape after the audit, see our 12 small business SEO practices.

Frequently Asked Questions