Technical SEO Audit: What It Is And How To Do One
A technical SEO audit checks the parts of your website that you can’t see but Google can: how fast it loads, whether pages can be found and indexed, and whether anything is quietly holding it back in search. If your content is good but you’re still not getting found, the problem is often technical.
This guide explains what a technical SEO audit is, what it covers, how to do a simple one yourself with free tools and when it makes sense to get professional help.
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What Is A Technical SEO Audit?
A technical SEO audit is a health check of your website’s foundations. It looks at whether search engines can crawl, understand and index your pages, and whether visitors get a fast, secure and smooth experience.
It is different from a content audit, which looks at what your pages say, and from local SEO, which looks at your Google Business Profile and listings. A full SEO audit usually covers all three. For a quick all-round check, start with our free SEO audit checklist.
What A Technical SEO Audit Covers
Crawling And Indexing
- Is your site blocking search engines in robots.txt or with a “noindex” setting?
- Do you have an XML sitemap submitted in Google Search Console?
- Are your important pages indexed, and are unimportant ones (thank you pages, tag pages, test pages) kept out?
Site Structure And Internal Links
- Can every important page be reached in a few clicks from the homepage?
- Are there “orphan” pages with no internal links pointing to them?
- Do your main menu and links use clear, descriptive wording?
Speed And Core Web Vitals
- How quickly does your main content load on a mobile phone?
- Does the page jump around as it loads?
- Do buttons respond quickly when tapped?
Google calls these Core Web Vitals, and you can check them for free in PageSpeed Insights and in Search Console.
Mobile Friendliness
Most visitors to a small business website arrive on a phone. Text should be readable without zooming, buttons should be easy to tap and nothing should spill off the screen.
Security And Site Versions
- Does every page load on https with a padlock?
- Do the www, non-www, http and https versions all redirect to one main address?
Errors, Redirects And Duplicates
- Broken links and “page not found” (404) errors
- Redirect chains, where one redirect leads to another and another
- Duplicate pages competing for the same search, often fixed with a canonical tag or a redirect
Structured Data
Structured data (schema) helps Google understand your business, reviews, FAQs and articles. Most SEO plugins add the basics, but it’s worth checking it is correct and has no errors.
How To Do A Basic Technical SEO Audit Yourself
You can cover the most important checks in an hour with free tools:
- Google Search Console: check the Pages report for indexing problems, the Sitemaps report, and the Core Web Vitals and HTTPS reports.
- PageSpeed Insights: test your homepage and your main service page on mobile. Large images are the most common cause of a slow site.
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: run a free site audit on your own site to find broken links, redirect chains and missing titles.
- Your browser: type the http and www versions of your address to check they redirect to your main one.
- Site search: search site:yourdomain.co.uk on Google to see roughly how many pages are indexed.
For deeper keyword and competitor data, Semrush has a site audit tool and a free trial.
What To Fix First
Not every warning matters. Fix things in this order:
- Anything stopping Google from indexing your important pages
- Security issues and site versions that don’t redirect
- Broken links and errors on your main pages
- Slow mobile speed on your homepage and service pages
- Duplicate pages, structured data and smaller warnings
If your site isn’t appearing at all, read why your website is not showing on Google first.
Technical SEO Audit Tools: Free vs Paid
Free tools such as Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools are enough for most small business websites. Paid tools add bigger crawls, scheduled audits, competitor data and reporting, which help if you have a large site or manage several.
The tool only finds the problems. The value is in knowing which ones matter and how to fix them without breaking anything else.
When To Get A Professional Technical SEO Audit
Consider expert help if:
- your traffic has dropped suddenly and you don’t know why
- you’re moving to a new website or changing your web address
- the audit tools show lots of errors and you’re not sure where to start
- you’ve done the basics and still aren’t ranking for your main services
Our Local SEO Audit and Fix is a fixed-price, one-off service. We check your website and local listings, compare you with competitors and give you a prioritised action plan. Or book a free 20-minute call and we’ll take a look together.
Technical SEO Audit FAQs
What is a technical SEO audit?
It is a check of the technical parts of your website that affect search, such as crawling, indexing, speed, mobile friendliness, security, redirects, broken links and structured data.
How long does a technical SEO audit take?
A basic check of a small website takes about an hour with free tools. A professional audit with a written action plan usually takes a few working days.
How often should I do a technical SEO audit?
Check Search Console monthly and run a fuller audit every 6 to 12 months, and always after a redesign, a platform change or a sudden drop in traffic.
What is the difference between technical SEO and on-page SEO?
Technical SEO is about how your site works for search engines, such as speed, indexing and redirects. On-page SEO is about the content of each page, such as titles, headings and the words you use.
Can I do a technical SEO audit for free?
Yes. Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools cover the main checks for most small business websites at no cost.
