Step-by-Step Guide to Running a Technical SEO Site Audit
In today’s hyper-competitive digital landscape, ignoring your website’s technical health is like trying to win a race with a flat tire. Search engines don’t just rank based on content—they rank based on performance, crawlability, and structure. So, how do you conduct a technical SEO site audit to ensure your site is firing on all cylinders? The answer isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Most guides skim the surface, focusing on basic stuff like broken links or page speed. But if you’re a business owner serious about scaling online, you need to go deeper.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through an advanced, step-by-step audit tailored for business owners who want results, not fluff. We’ll reveal techniques most websites don’t mention and show you how to use real data to make decisions that matter. And if all this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry—Click Typhoon’s North York SEO services can take it off your plate and get you ranking fast.
Why a Technical SEO Audit Matters
Before diving into the how, let’s look at the why.
According to a 2023 study by Ahrefs, 90.63% of content gets no traffic from Google (Ahrefs). Often, that’s not due to bad content but bad technical SEO. Google can’t rank what it can’t crawl.
Also, site speed affects conversions. A delay of just one second in page load time can reduce conversions by 7%, and 40% of users abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load (Portent, 2022).
Clearly, if you want traffic, leads, and sales, technical SEO isn’t optional.
Step 1: Crawl the Site Like Google
Start with a full website crawl using tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Ahrefs Site Audit.
What to look for:
- 404 Errors (broken pages)
- Redirect chains
- Non-indexable pages
- Duplicate content
- Missing title tags/meta descriptions
Run the crawl through a mobile user-agent. Mobile-first indexing is now the standard, and issues might not appear the same as they do on desktop.
Step 2: Check Core Web Vitals (Real-World Metrics)
Most SEO audits stop at PageSpeed Insights, but you need to use Google Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report, which uses field data—real performance from actual users.
Focus on:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – should be <2.5s
- First Input Delay (FID) – should be <100ms
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – should be <0.1
Lesser-Known Tip: Use the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) to access public real-user data on your site—especially useful if you’re not getting enough traffic to generate your own field data.
Step 3: Ensure Crawlability and Indexability
Being online isn’t enough—Google needs permission to access and index your content.
- Check your robots.txt file. Make sure you’re not blocking important URLs unintentionally.
- Look at the noindex tags. These can sometimes be set automatically by CMS updates.
- Inspect sitemap.xml. Is it up to date? Submitted to Search Console?
Google doesn’t index everything in your sitemap. Use Google Search Console’s Coverage Report to compare submitted vs indexed pages and investigate gaps.
Step 4: Audit Your Site Architecture
Google loves logical, flat, and efficient site structures.
- Keep important pages within 3 clicks of the homepage.
- Use breadcrumb navigation for better internal linking and structured data.
- Analyze internal linking to ensure link equity flows to high-value pages.
Use crawl depth and inlink counts from Screaming Frog to find “orphan” or underlinked pages. These are often high-potential but hidden from Google’s eyes.
Step 5: Secure & Mobile-First
Mobile and HTTPS aren’t optional anymore.
- Mobile-friendliness: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. Also, manually test with real devices.
- HTTPS: All pages should redirect from HTTP to HTTPS.
- Mixed content errors: These occur when secure pages serve non-secure assets like images or scripts. Use the browser console or crawl tools to detect them.
Step 6: Structured Data and Schema Markup
This is one area most audits barely touch, but it can have a major impact on click-through rates.
Use Google’s Rich Results Test or Schema.org validator to see if your site is properly marked up.
Focus on:
- Organization Schema
- Local Business Markup
- Product & Review Markup (if eCommerce)
- FAQ or How-To Schema for rich results
Did You Know? Sites using structured data see an average increase of 30% in CTR (Search Engine Journal, 2022).
Step 7: Log File Analysis
Here’s where most guides stop—and where you can get ahead.
Log files show exactly how search engine bots interact with your site. You can see:
- Which pages are being crawled (and how often)
- Crawl budget wastage on unimportant URLs
- Crawl anomalies (bots getting stuck in loops)
How to do it:
- Download your server logs (or request them from your hosting provider)
- Use tools like Screaming Frog Log File Analyzer or Botify
This data can uncover crawl inefficiencies you’d never catch from a standard audit.
Step 8: Audit Your Canonical Tags and URL Parameters
Canonical misconfigurations can tank your rankings.
- Ensure canonical URLs point to the correct, indexable versions of a page.
- Check for duplicate canonicals or self-referencing canonicals on paginated content.
- Inspect URL parameters that may be generating thin or duplicate pages.
Many CMS platforms auto-generate filtered URLs with query strings. These dilute crawl budget and SEO value if not properly managed in Search Console or via robots.txt.
Step 9: Evaluate Website Security and Accessibility
Security isn’t just a trust signal—it’s an SEO signal.
- Ensure SSL certificates are valid and up to date.
- Use tools like SecurityHeaders.com to check for missing HTTP security headers.
- Make your site accessible (ADA-compliant). Google prefers accessible sites, and it reduces legal risk.
Add aria-labels and alt attributes to all major navigation and images. This helps with both accessibility and image SEO.
Step 10: Track, Benchmark, and Iterate
A technical SEO audit isn’t a one-time project. It’s a process.
- Set benchmarks: Core Web Vitals, crawl depth, indexed pages
- Monitor changes: Use tools like ContentKing or SEMrush Site Audit for real-time alerts
- Create a prioritization list: Fix the most impactful issues first
Too Busy to Audit? Call in the Pros.
Running a business is hard enough without diving into log files and crawl reports. If your site isn’t performing like it should, or you don’t have the bandwidth to deal with technical SEO, Click Typhoon has your back.
Our expert team offers comprehensive SEO services in North York tailored for business owners who want tangible results. From in-depth audits to full SEO implementation, we take the technical burden off your shoulders.
Final Thoughts
A technical SEO site audit isn’t just a checklist—it’s the blueprint to your online success. By looking beyond the basics and digging into crawl data, structured markup, and log files, you set your business up for long-term growth. Don’t let hidden issues quietly sink your rankings. Use this guide to take control—or let experts like Click Typhoon do it for you.
If your website isn’t getting the traffic it deserves, it’s time for a technical SEO overhaul.
Let Click Typhoon help you uncover what’s holding your site back. Our North York SEO specialists work directly with business owners to build custom strategies that drive results.
Stop guessing and start growing—with data-driven decisions that get your site ranked.
Contact us today for a free consultation, and let’s power up your SEO game.
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