In the ever-evolving digital landscape, search engine optimization (SEO) plays a crucial role in improving a website’s visibility and driving organic traffic.
Among the various aspects of SEO, conducting a technical SEO audit is essential for ensuring that your website is optimized to its fullest potential.
A technical SEO audit involves assessing and optimizing the technical elements of your website that directly impact its search engine performance.
By thoroughly examining factors like crawlability, indexability, site structure, URL optimization, on-page elements, mobile optimization, and more, you can identify and rectify any issues that may hinder your website’s visibility in search engine results.
In this comprehensive guide, we present “The Complete Technical SEO Audit Checklist” to help you navigate the intricacies of technical SEO and maximize your website’s performance.
Whether you are an SEO professional, a website owner, or a digital marketer, this checklist will serve as a valuable resource to ensure that your website adheres to best practices and stays ahead of the competition.
By following this checklist, you will learn how to optimize your website’s structure, content, and technical elements to enhance its crawlability, indexability, and overall search engine performance.
From keyword research and on-page optimization to mobile responsiveness, site speed, user experience, and tracking analytics, we cover all the essential aspects of a thorough technical SEO audit.
Remember, conducting regular technical SEO audits and implementing the recommended optimizations is an ongoing process that helps you maintain a strong online presence, attract more organic traffic, and ultimately achieve your business objectives.
So, let’s dive into “The Complete Technical SEO Audit Checklist” and unlock the potential of your website by ensuring it is primed for search engine success!
SEO Audit Checklist (Not To Miss Any)
- Make Sure Your Content is Visible
- Ensure Your Analytics/Tracking is Set Up
- Check Your Canonicalization
- Accessing Google Search Console
- Check for Manual Actions
- Check Your Mobile Friendliness
- Check for Coverage/Indexing Issues
- Scanning your Site for 404s
- Auditing Your Robots.txt File
- Using the Site Command
- Check that Your Sitemap is Visible
- Secure Protocols & Mixed Content
- Check for Suspicious Backlinks
- Security Issues
- Checking Schema Markup
Let’s rock and roll by discussing everything in detail. And, we are pretty sure, by following this checklist, you’ll end up finding yourself on the first page of Google.
Make Sure Your Content is Visible
Search engines rely on crawling and indexing processes to understand and rank web pages.
If your content is not properly visible or accessible, it may not be indexed or ranked appropriately, leading to reduced visibility in search engine results.
Here are a few key aspects to consider for making your content more visible:
Crawlability
Ensure that search engine bots can effectively crawl your website. Check your website’s robots.txt file to make sure it doesn’t block important pages or content from being indexed.
Indexability
Verify that your website’s pages are being indexed by search engines. Use tools like Google Search Console to identify any indexing issues or errors.
Meta Tags
Optimize your meta tags, specifically the title tag and meta description, with relevant keywords and compelling content. This helps search engines understand the context of your page and display informative snippets in search results.
Header Tag
Use appropriate header tags (H1, H2, etc.) to structure your content and make it more scannable for both search engines and users. Include relevant keywords within these header tags to provide additional context.
Internal Linking
Implement internal linking to connect relevant pages within your website. This helps distribute link equity and ensures that search engines can easily navigate and discover your content.
XML Sitemap
Create and submit an XML sitemap to search engines. This serves as a roadmap of your website, helping search engines find and index your pages more efficiently.
Mobile-Friendly Design
Ensure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly. With the increasing use of mobile devices for web browsing, it is crucial to provide a seamless user experience across different screen sizes.
By focusing on these aspects and following the technical SEO audit checklist, you can improve the visibility of your website’s content, increase its chances of being indexed and ranked prominently in search engine results, and ultimately attract more organic traffic to your website.
Ensure Your Analytics/Tracking is Set Up
It refers to the importance of properly implementing analytics and tracking tools on your website to gather valuable data about user behavior, conversions, and other key metrics.
This step is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of your SEO efforts and making data-driven decisions to optimize your website’s performance.
Here are some key points to consider when setting up analytics and tracking:
Google Analytics
Implement Google Analytics or a similar analytics tool on your website. This allows you to track various metrics, such as the number of visitors, traffic sources, bounce rate, and user engagement. It provides insights into how users interact with your site and helps you measure the success of your SEO strategies.
Conversion Tracking
Set up conversion tracking to monitor specific actions on your website that are valuable to your business, such as form submissions, purchases, or newsletter sign-ups.
This enables you to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and optimize them for better results.
Goal Tracking
Define specific goals in your analytics tool, such as reaching a certain number of page views or increasing the average time on site. Tracking these goals helps you gauge the performance of your website and identify areas for improvement.
Event Tracking
Implement event tracking to measure specific interactions on your website, such as clicks on buttons, downloads, or video plays. This provides deeper insights into user behavior and engagement.
Tag Manager
Consider using a tag management system like Google Tag Manager to streamline the implementation and management of various tracking codes and scripts on your website.
It offers a centralized platform to control and deploy tracking tags without modifying the website’s code directly.
E-commerce Tracking
If you run an e-commerce website, set up e-commerce tracking to monitor sales, revenue, and product performance. This data helps you understand the effectiveness of your online store and optimize your marketing strategies accordingly.
By ensuring your analytics and tracking are properly set up, you gain valuable insights into your website’s performance, user behavior, and conversions.
This data allows you to identify strengths and weaknesses, make informed decisions, and continually improve your SEO efforts for optimal results.
Check Your Canonicalization
Canonicalization is the practice of choosing a preferred URL among multiple URLs that lead to the same content on your website. Its purpose is to inform search engines about the primary version of a page that should be indexed and displayed in search results, thereby preventing duplicate content problems.
When multiple URLs with similar content exist, it can dilute your website’s authority and potentially impact your search rankings.
Canonicalization helps consolidate this authority by specifying the preferred URL.
To check your canonicalization, you can use various online tools:
Google Search Console
It provides a range of features, including the ability to check and set canonical URLs. The “Coverage” and “URL Inspection” sections in Search Console can help you identify canonicalization issues.
SEO Crawlers
Tools like Screaming Frog, SEMrush, or Ahrefs can crawl your website and identify any duplicate content or canonicalization issues. These tools often provide specific reports or warnings related to canonical tags.
Online Validators
There are online validators specifically designed to check canonical tags. One such tool is the “Canonical URL Checker” by Varvy, which allows you to enter URLs and verify if the canonical tags are implemented correctly.
When reviewing canonicalization, here are a few points to consider.
Check canonical tags
Verify that the canonical tag is implemented correctly on your pages, pointing to the preferred URL version.
Consistent internal linking
Ensure that internal links within your website point to the preferred canonical URL. This helps reinforce the preferred version and avoids confusion.
External links
Monitor external websites linking to your content and encourage them to use the preferred canonical URL when referencing your pages.
Pro Tip
By regularly checking your canonicalization and ensuring it is implemented correctly, you can consolidate your website’s authority, avoid duplicate content issues, and improve your website’s overall search engine visibility.
Accessing Google Search Console
Accessing Google Search Console is an essential step in tracking and monitoring your website’s performance in search results.
Google Search Console provides valuable insights and data directly from Google, allowing you to optimize your website for better visibility and performance.
- Sign in to your Google account or create one if you don’t have it already.
- Go to the Google Search Console homepage (https://search.google.com/search-console).
- Click on the “Start now” button.
- Add your website property by entering your website’s URL in the provided field and click “Continue.”
- Verify ownership of your website. Google provides several methods for verification, such as adding an HTML file to your website, using a DNS record, or adding a meta tag to your website’s HTML code. Choose the verification method that suits you best and follow the provided instructions.
- Once your website is verified, you will be redirected to the Search Console dashboard, where you can access various reports and tools.
In Google Search Console, you can:
- Monitor how your website appears in search results.
- Check for crawl errors, indexing issues, and security problems.
- Submit sitemaps to help Google discover and crawl your website’s pages.
- Analyze search traffic data, including impressions, clicks, and average position in search results.
- Identify keywords that drive traffic to your website.
- Diagnose and resolve any issues affecting your website’s performance in search results.
- Receive important notifications and messages from Google regarding your website.
Regularly accessing and utilizing Google Search Console helps you understand how Google perceives and interacts with your website, enabling you to make informed decisions and optimize your website for better search engine visibility and performance.
Check for Manual Actions (How to fix them?)
Checking for manual actions in Google Search Console is crucial to identify any penalties or manual interventions imposed on your website by Google’s search quality team.
Manual actions can negatively impact your website’s visibility in search results, so it’s important to promptly address and fix them.
Here’s a guide to checking for manual actions and fixing them:
Access Google Search Console:
Sign in to your Google Search Console account and navigate to the property you want to check for manual actions.
Go to the Manual Actions Report:
In the left-hand menu, click on “Security & Manual Actions” and then select “Manual Actions.” This report will display any manual actions that have been applied to your website.
Review Manual Action Details:
The Manual Actions report will provide specific information about the manual action, such as the reason for the action and affected pages or sections of your website. Carefully read the details to understand the nature of the issue.
Take Necessary Corrective Actions:
Depending on the type of manual action, you need to address the underlying issue. Common types of manual actions include spammy content, unnatural links, thin content, and user-generated spam. Here are some general corrective actions for common manual actions:
Spammy Content
Remove or improve low-quality or spammy content from your website.
Unnatural Links
Identify and remove any unnatural or manipulative links pointing to your website. Disavow any problematic links you can’t remove.
Thin Content
Add more valuable and substantial content to pages with thin or shallow content.
User-Generated Spam
Implement stronger moderation and spam prevention measures for user-generated content.
Fix the Issue and Request a Review:
Once you have addressed the issue, fix the underlying problem and make necessary improvements to your website. Afterward, you can request a review in Google Search Console to have the manual action reevaluated. Provide a detailed explanation of the actions you have taken to rectify the issue.
Monitor the Status
After submitting a reconsideration request, monitor the Manual Actions report for updates. Google will review your request and respond with either the removal of the manual action or additional instructions if further action is required.
It’s important to note that preventing manual actions is key. Regularly monitor your website for any suspicious activities, follow webmaster guidelines, and maintain a high-quality website to reduce the risk of manual actions.
By actively checking for manual actions and promptly addressing them, you can ensure that your website complies with Google’s guidelines, maintains a strong presence in search results, and provides a positive user experience.
Check Your Mobile Friendliness
Mobile friendliness is crucial for a positive user experience and improved search engine rankings. To check the mobile friendliness of your website, you can use the following methods:
- Google’s Mobile-Friendly TestUse Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool (https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly) to analyze your website’s mobile compatibility. Enter your website URL, and the tool will evaluate its mobile friendliness and provide suggestions for improvement.
- Responsive Design TestingManually test your website’s responsiveness by resizing your browser window or using the built-in responsive design testing tools in web browsers like Google Chrome. Ensure that your website adjusts and displays correctly across different screen sizes.
- User TestingAsk users to access your website on different mobile devices and provide feedback on its usability. Consider factors such as ease of navigation, readability of text, and overall user experience on mobile devices.
- Page Speed InsightsUse Google’s Page Speed Insights (https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights) to assess your website’s mobile page speed. It provides insights and suggestions to optimize your website for faster loading times on mobile devices.
- Mobile Usability Report (Google Search Console)
Access the Mobile Usability report in Google Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools) to identify any mobile usability issues detected by Google. This report highlights specific issues that may affect your website’s performance on mobile devices.
Here are some popular website builders that are known for creating mobile-friendly websites:
Wix
Wix offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder with a wide range of mobile-responsive templates. It provides intuitive mobile editing options and allows you to preview and customize your website’s mobile version.
Squarespace
Squarespace offers modern and visually appealing templates that are automatically optimized for mobile devices. Its responsive design ensures that your website looks great on any screen size.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com provides a powerful website builder with responsive themes that adapt to different devices. It offers a mobile-friendly editor and allows you to customize your website’s mobile design.
Weebly
Weebly offers an easy-to-use website builder with mobile-responsive themes. Its drag-and-drop interface makes it simple to create and customize a mobile-friendly website.
Shopify
If you’re looking to build an e-commerce website, Shopify is a popular choice. It offers mobile-responsive themes specifically designed for online stores, ensuring a seamless shopping experience on mobile devices.
Check for Coverage/Indexing Issues
When conducting an SEO audit, one crucial aspect of assessing is the coverage and indexing of your website. Ensuring that search engines can effectively crawl and index your web pages is fundamental for achieving optimal visibility and organic traffic. This guide will explore key strategies and techniques to identify and address coverage and indexing issues, helping you enhance your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) performance.
Comprehensive Website Crawling
The first step in evaluating coverage and indexing is to conduct a comprehensive website crawl. By utilizing reliable SEO crawling tools, you can analyze the structure of your website, identify potential crawl errors, and gain insights into the overall indexing status. This process helps you uncover any technical obstacles that may hinder search engine bots from accessing and indexing your content.
XML Sitemap Analysis
XML sitemaps play a crucial role in guiding search engine crawlers to discover and index your web pages effectively. By reviewing your XML sitemap, you can ensure its accuracy, proper formatting, and inclusion of all relevant URLs. Identifying missing or duplicate URLs and pages blocked by robots.txt or meta tags can help you improve indexing efficiency.
Robots.txt Evaluation
The robots.txt file is essential for instructing search engine bots on which pages to crawl and index or exclude from indexing. Examining your robots.txt file enables you to verify if it’s correctly configured and whether any important pages or sections are unintentionally blocked. Understanding and optimizing the directives within this file is crucial to avoid unintentional indexing issues.
Indexing Status Analysis
Assessing the indexing status of your web pages is crucial to identify potential coverage gaps. By leveraging tools such as Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools, you can analyze indexation statistics, identify pages with low indexation rates, and troubleshoot any potential issues. This analysis provides valuable insights into which pages might require optimization to enhance their visibility in search engine results.
URL Canonicalization
Duplicate content can harm your SEO efforts by diluting your website’s authority and confusing search engines. Implementing proper URL canonicalization techniques ensures that search engines understand which version of a page is the preferred one. By examining your website for duplicate content issues and implementing canonical tags correctly, you can consolidate your website’s authority and improve overall coverage.
Mobile-Friendly Evaluation
With the emphasis on mobile-first indexing, it is crucial to evaluate the mobile-friendliness of your website. Conducting a mobile-friendly assessment helps ensure that search engines can effectively crawl and index your mobile pages, improving your website’s overall coverage and visibility in mobile search results.
Monitoring Crawling and Indexing Changes
Regularly monitoring and tracking changes in crawling and indexing patterns is essential to identify any sudden drops in indexation or coverage. By using various SEO monitoring tools and staying updated on search engine algorithm changes, you can quickly respond to any coverage or indexing issues that arise, ensuring your website maintains its visibility in search results.
Scanning your Site for 404s
When performing an SEO audit, it’s crucial to scan your website for 404 errors. These errors occur when a page is not found or has been removed, leading to a negative user experience and potential loss of organic traffic.
By identifying and addressing 404 errors, you can improve your website’s SEO performance and ensure a seamless browsing experience for your visitors. In this guide, we will explore effective methods to scan your site for 404s and take necessary actions to rectify them.
Website Crawler Tools
Utilizing website crawler tools such as Screaming Frog, DeepCrawl, or Sitebulb can help you scan your entire website for 404 errors. These tools simulate search engine crawlers and provide a comprehensive report of broken links and missing pages. By analyzing the crawler results, you can identify URLs that return 404 status codes.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a powerful tool that provides valuable insights into your website’s performance in search results. By accessing the “Coverage” report in Google Search Console, you can identify pages on your site that are not indexed or return 404 errors. This report helps you pinpoint specific URLs that need attention and further investigation.
Broken Link Checkers
Several online tools are available that specifically scan for broken links on your website. These tools crawl through your web pages, identifying any URLs that return 404 errors. By using tools like Broken Link Checker or Dead Link Checker, you can quickly identify broken links and take appropriate measures to fix or redirect them.
Website Analytics
Analyzing your website analytics data can provide insights into user behavior and potential 404 errors. Look for pages with high bounce rates or exit rates, as this may indicate visitors encountering 404 errors and leaving your site. By identifying these problematic pages, you can investigate and resolve any underlying issues causing the errors.
Manual Checking
While automated tools are effective, manually checking your website for 404 errors is also important. Navigate through your website, clicking on internal links and verifying that they lead to the intended pages. Additionally, check external links to ensure they are pointing to valid resources. This manual approach helps identify 404 errors that automated tools might miss.
Implementing Redirects
Once you have identified the pages returning 404 errors, it’s crucial to take appropriate action. If the page has been permanently removed, consider implementing a 301 redirect to a relevant and equivalent page. This redirects users and search engines to the new destination, preserving link authority and maintaining a positive user experience.
Custom 404 Page
Create a custom 404 error page that provides users with helpful information and alternative navigation options. This page can include a search bar, popular or related links, or a contact form to encourage users to explore other parts of your website. A well-designed 404 page can help retain visitors and mitigate the negative impact of encountering a broken link.
Regularly scanning your website for 404 errors is an essential step in maintaining a healthy and user-friendly online presence.
By identifying and resolving broken links, you enhance user experience, retain organic traffic, and improve your website’s overall SEO performance. Incorporate the strategies mentioned above into your SEO audit to ensure a seamless browsing experience for your visitors and maximize your website’s potential.
Let’s now talk about the most important thing when it comes to SEO Audit, and that is “Auditing Your Robots.txt File.” Yes, without these, you won’t be able to rank well on google.
Auditing Your Robots.txt File
Auditing your robots.txt file is an important part of an SEO audit as it ensures that search engine crawlers can properly access and index your website’s content. The robots.txt file serves as a guide for search engines, informing them which pages to crawl and which ones to exclude. Here are the steps to follow when auditing your robots.txt file:
- Locate the Robots.txt File: The robots.txt file is typically located at the root directory of your website. You can access it by entering your domain name followed by “/robots.txt” (e.g., www.example.com/robots.txt) in a web browser.
- Review the Content: Open the robots.txt file in a text editor or directly in your web browser. Review its content to understand which directories, files, or user-agents are specified. The user-agents section defines which search engine crawlers the directives apply to.
- Understand the Directives: The robots.txt file consists of directives that control search engine crawling behavior. The most common directives are “User-agent” and “Disallow.” The “User-agent” directive specifies the search engine crawler or user-agent to which the following directives apply. The “Disallow” directive indicates which directories or files should not be crawled by the specified user-agent. It’s essential to understand the syntax and rules associated with these directives.
- Check for Errors or Typos: Review the directives for any errors or typos that may cause unintended consequences. A small mistake in the robots.txt file can unintentionally block search engine crawlers from accessing important sections of your website. Make sure that the syntax is correct and that there are no unnecessary spaces or invalid characters.
- Verify Blocked Content: Pay close attention to the “Disallow” directives to ensure that they don’t block important pages, CSS or JavaScript files, images, or other resources that are necessary for search engine indexing. Mistakenly blocking these elements can negatively impact your website’s visibility in search results.
- Test with Robots.txt Testing Tools: To verify the effectiveness of your robots.txt file, you can use online robots.txt testing tools. These tools allow you to simulate search engine crawlers and test how they interpret your directives. They can help you identify any issues or conflicts that need to be addressed.
- Utilize Google Search Console: Google Search Console provides a “Robots.txt Tester” tool that allows you to test and validate your robots.txt file directly within the platform. It provides detailed information on how Googlebot interprets your directives and highlights any potential issues or warnings.
- Monitor Changes: Keep track of any changes made to your robots.txt file and regularly review it as you make updates to your website. Changes in site structure, content, or SEO strategy may require adjustments to the directives in your robots.txt file.
Using the Site Command
When it comes to conducting a comprehensive SEO audit or gaining insights into a website’s indexing status, there’s a handy tool that often goes unnoticed—the “site:” command. This powerful operator, supported by popular search engines like Google, allows you to uncover valuable information about your website’s indexed pages.
Unveiling the Site Command
The “site:” command is a search operator that allows you to limit search results to a specific domain or subdomain. By typing “site:yourwebsite.com” into a search engine’s search bar, you can discover which pages from your website have been indexed by that search engine. It provides you with a glimpse into how search engines perceive and organize your website’s content.
Let us list the benefits of site command to help you understand things better.
Assessing Indexing Status
The primary advantage of using the “site:” command is its ability to reveal which pages from your website are indexed. This information helps you understand the extent to which search engines have crawled and included your content in their search results.
By comparing the number of indexed pages to the total number of pages on your website, you can identify potential indexing issues and take corrective actions.
Identifying Indexed Content
With the “site:” command, you can pinpoint specific URLs that search engines have indexed. This insight allows you to evaluate whether important pages, such as product pages, blog posts, or landing pages, are being appropriately crawled and indexed. Additionally, it helps you confirm that only desired pages are indexed, reducing the risk of duplicate or low-value content appearing in search results.
Monitoring Content Changes
By regularly using the “site:” command, you can track changes in your website’s indexed pages over time. This tool enables you to quickly identify any unexpected drops or increases in indexed pages, helping you investigate potential issues like indexing errors, penalties, or changes in search engine algorithms. Monitoring these fluctuations can provide valuable feedback on the effectiveness of your SEO efforts and inform future optimization strategies.
Analyzing Search Engine Preferences
The “site:” command also gives you insights into how search engines prioritize and display your content. By analyzing the order and placement of your indexed pages in search results, you can gauge the relevance and visibility of your content for specific search queries. This knowledge can guide your optimization efforts, ensuring that your most important pages receive the visibility they deserve.
Competitor Analysis
In addition to assessing your own website, the “site:” command can be used to gain competitive intelligence. By entering “site:competitorwebsite.com” into a search engine, you can discover which pages of your competitors’ websites are indexed. This information provides valuable insights into their content strategy, enabling you to identify potential content gaps or opportunities to differentiate yourself.
Check that Your Sitemap is Visible
Ensuring that your sitemap is visible to search engines is crucial for effective search engine optimization (SEO). A sitemap serves as a roadmap for search engine crawlers, guiding them to discover and index your website’s pages. In this section, we will explore how to check the visibility of your sitemap and introduce some useful tools that can assist you in the process.
Manual Check
To manually check the visibility of your sitemap, you can follow these steps:
- Open your web browser and navigate to your website’s domain (e.g., www.example.com).
- Append “/sitemap.xml” to your domain (e.g., www.example.com/sitemap.xml) to access the sitemap file.
- If your sitemap is visible, it should load in the browser, displaying a list of URLs that are included in the sitemap.
Note: Some websites may use a different naming convention for their sitemap file, such as sitemap_index.xml or sitemap_index.gz. In such cases, adjust the filename accordingly.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a valuable tool for webmasters and SEO professionals. It provides insights into how Google crawls and indexes your website. To check the visibility of your sitemap using Google Search Console.
- Log in to your Google Search Console account.
- Select your website property from the dashboard.
- Navigate to “Sitemaps” under the “Index” section in the left-hand menu.
- If your sitemap is visible to Google, it will be listed here, along with the date it was last processed and the number of submitted URLs.
Note: Ensure that you have added and verified your website property in Google Search Console before accessing this feature.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing Webmaster Tools is another platform that offers insights into how Bing crawls and indexes your website. To check the visibility of your sitemap using Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Log in to your Bing Webmaster Tools account.
- Select your website from the dashboard.
- In the left-hand menu, click on “Sitemaps.”
- If your sitemap is visible to Bing, it will be displayed here, along with the date it was last crawled and the number of submitted URLs.
Note: Similar to Google Search Console, make sure you have added and verified your website property in Bing Webmaster Tools before accessing this feature.
Online Sitemap Testing Tools
Several online tools can help you check the visibility and validity of your sitemap.
These tools crawl your sitemap, ensuring it can be accessed and providing feedback on any errors or issues. Some popular options include:
- XML-Sitemaps.com
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Ryte (formerly OnPage.org)
- Sitebulb
These tools can give you a detailed analysis of your sitemap, highlighting any missing or incorrectly formatted URLs, broken links, or other potential problems.
Secure Protocols & Mixed Content
Maintaining secure protocols and eliminating mixed content on your website is essential for both user experience and search engine optimization. In this section, we will provide some tips and tricks to help you ensure that your website is secure and free from mixed content issues.
Implement HTTPS
Transitioning your website from HTTP to HTTPS is the first step towards establishing a secure protocol. Here are some tips for a smooth HTTPS implementation:
Obtain an SSL/TLS certificate
Acquire a valid SSL/TLS certificate from a trusted certificate authority (CA) to enable secure connections.
Update internal links
Change all internal links on your website from HTTP to HTTPS to ensure a seamless transition.
Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
Use server-side redirects (301 redirects) to automatically redirect HTTP requests to the corresponding HTTPS version of your pages.
Update canonical tags
Update the canonical tags on your pages to point to the HTTPS version of each URL.
Update external links
Whenever possible, update external links to HTTPS versions to avoid mixed content issues.
Scan for Mixed Content
Mixed content occurs when a secure HTTPS webpage contains both secure (HTTPS) and non-secure (HTTP) elements.
This can lead to security warnings and affect the overall user experience. Use the following tips to identify and resolve mixed content issues.
Browser Developer Tools
Inspect your website using the browser’s developer tools (e.g., Chrome DevTools) and check the console for any mixed content warnings.
Online Tools
Utilize online tools like Why No Padlock?, SSL Check, or Mixed Content Checker to scan your website for mixed content issues.
Content Management Systems (CMS)
If you are using a CMS like WordPress, plugins (e.g., Really Simple SSL, SSL Insecure Content Fixer) can automatically handle mixed content issues.
Update Embedded Resources
To eliminate mixed content, ensure that all embedded resources (images, scripts, stylesheets, iframes) on your website are served via HTTPS. Here’s how;
Update internal resource links
Make sure all internal resource links use the HTTPS protocol. Update the URLs in your code, database, or content management system.
Update external resource links
For external resources, verify if the source provides HTTPS versions. If available, update the links to use HTTPS.
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
If you utilize a CDN, ensure that it supports HTTPS and configure it accordingly.
Use Relative URLs
To avoid mixed content issues altogether, consider using relative URLs instead of absolute URLs. Relative URLs are protocol-relative and automatically adapt to the current protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) used by the webpage.
Regularly Monitor and Test
Continuously monitor your website to identify any new instances of mixed content or security vulnerabilities. Regularly test your website’s security by scanning for vulnerabilities using tools like OWASP ZAP, Qualys SSL Labs, or Sucuri SiteCheck.
Maintaining secure protocols and eliminating mixed content is crucial for website security, user trust, and search engine optimization.
By following these tips and tricks, you can ensure a smooth transition to HTTPS, scan for mixed content issues, update embedded resources, and monitor your website’s security.
Remember to regularly audit your website and keep up with best practices to provide a secure browsing experience for your visitors and maintain a positive online presence.
Check for Suspicious Backlinks
Backlinks are an important aspect of SEO, but it’s essential to ensure that your website doesn’t have any suspicious or low-quality backlinks that can negatively impact your search engine rankings.
Let’s explore more!
Steps to Check for Suspicious Backlinks
Compile a Backlink List
Start by compiling a comprehensive list of all the backlinks pointing to your website. You can obtain this information from various sources, including:
Google Search Console
Access the “Links” or “External Links” section in Google Search Console to view a list of backlinks that Google has discovered.
Backlink Analysis Tools
Utilize backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush to generate a detailed backlink report for your website.
Manual Research
Conduct manual research to identify any prominent websites or directories that have linked to your site.
Evaluate Link Quality Metrics
Once you have a list of backlinks, evaluate their quality by considering the following metrics:
Domain Authority (DA)
Check the DA of the referring domains. A higher DA indicates a more authoritative and trustworthy source.
Page Authority (PA)
Assess the PA of the specific pages linking to your website. Pages with higher PA are generally more valuable.
Trust Flow and Citation Flow
Use tools like Majestic or Moz to analyze the trustworthiness and influence of the linking domains.
Conduct Manual Assessment
Perform a manual assessment of the websites linking to yours. Visit the linking websites and evaluate their overall quality, relevance, and reputation. Consider factors such as content quality, user experience, and the overall trustworthiness of the site.
Tools for Checking Suspicious Backlinks
Google Search Console
Google Search Console provides valuable information about the backlinks Google has discovered for your website. Use the “Links” or “External Links” section to review the backlinks, identify potential issues, and disavow any suspicious links if necessary.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a popular backlink analysis tool that provides comprehensive insights into your website’s backlink profile. It offers metrics like Domain Rating (DR), URL Rating (UR), and a range of other link-related data that can help you identify suspicious backlinks.
Moz Link Explorer
Moz Link Explorer offers detailed backlink analysis, including metrics such as Domain Authority (DA) and Spam Score. It can help you identify potentially harmful or low-quality backlinks that may be negatively affecting your website’s SEO.
SEMrush Backlink Audit
SEMrush Backlink Audit is a powerful tool that analyzes your backlink profile for any potential issues. It provides a comprehensive report highlighting toxic or suspicious backlinks that should be disavowed to improve your site’s SEO.
Monitor Backlinks
Monitor Backlinks is another useful tool that allows you to track and evaluate your backlink profile. It provides insights into link quality, detects potentially harmful backlinks, and helps you manage your link building efforts effectively.
Checking for suspicious backlinks is an important step in maintaining a healthy and optimized backlink profile. And google loves those whose check their website on a regular basis.
Security Issues
In the digital landscape, website security is of paramount importance. Not only does it protect your valuable data and ensure a safe browsing experience for your users, but it also plays a significant role in your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Search engines prioritize secure websites, and any security issues can negatively impact your rankings and overall online presence.
This section of the blog will talk about the security issues that you might need to tackle when enforcing SEO.
Let’s dive into it.
Implement HTTPS for Secure Connections
One of the first steps towards securing your website is to migrate from HTTP to HTTPS. HTTPS encrypts the data transmitted between the user’s browser and your website, safeguarding it from potential threats.
Regularly Update and Patch Your CMS
Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal are popular targets for hackers. It’s crucial to keep your CMS and its plugins/themes up to date to address security vulnerabilities.
Use Strong and Unique Passwords
Weak passwords make it easier for attackers to gain unauthorized access to your website. Follow these guidelines to ensure strong and unique passwords:
- Use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
- Avoid using easily guessable information like your name, birthdate, or common words.
- Implement a password manager to securely generate and store unique passwords.
Protect Against Brute-Force Attacks
Brute-force attacks involve hackers attempting to guess your login credentials by systematically trying various combinations. Protect your website from such attacks.
Regularly Backup Your Website
Regularly backing up your website is crucial for both security and disaster recovery. In case of a security breach or website compromise, you can restore a clean version of your website quickly.
Monitor and Address Malware and Security Vulnerabilities
Malware infections and security vulnerabilities can harm your website’s SEO and reputation. Implement these preventive measures:
- Install a reputable security plugin or software to scan and detect malware.
- Keep an eye on security vulnerability news related to your CMS and promptly apply patches and fixes.
- Regularly scan your website using online security tools to identify and resolve any security vulnerabilities.
Securing your website is crucial for both user safety and SEO success.
By implementing HTTPS, keeping your CMS updated, using strong passwords, protecting against brute -force attacks, regularly backing up your website, and monitoring for malware and security vulnerabilities, you can strengthen your website’s security and improve your SEO performance.
Search engines value secure websites, and addressing security issues will help protect your rankings and maintain the trust of your users.
Checking Schema Markup: Steps and Tools
Schema markup is a powerful SEO tool that helps search engines understand the content on your website better. By implementing schema markup, you can enhance the visibility of your web pages in search results and potentially increase organic traffic.
Let’s talk about it!
Steps to Check Schema Markup
Identify Web Pages with Schema Markup
Start by identifying the web pages on your website that are supposed to have schema markup. Typically, schema markup is implemented on pages containing specific types of content, such as products, articles, events, reviews, or local business information.
Review the HTML Source Code
To check if schema markup is present on a web page, follow these steps:
- Visit the web page in question.
- Right-click on the page and select “View Page Source” or “Inspect Element” (depending on your browser).
- In the HTML source code, look for schema markup code, which is usually wrapped in special tags like <script> or <meta>.
Validate the Schema Markup
Once you’ve identified the schema markup on your web page, ensuring that it follows the correct syntax and structure is essential. To validate the schema markup, you can use the following methods:
- Online Schema Markup Validators
Several online tools allow you to validate schema markup by simply entering the webpage URL or copying and pasting the code. Some popular validators include Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool, Schema.org‘s Structured Data Linter, and JSON-LD Playground. - Google Search Console
If you have your website registered with Google Search Console, it provides a rich set of tools and reports that can help you monitor and validate your schema markup. The “Rich Results Test” tool in Google Search Console allows you to test your pages for eligibility in rich results and provides valuable feedback on any issues or errors with the markup.
Resolve Issues and Errors
If the schema markup validation reveals any issues or errors, it’s important to address them promptly. Common issues may include missing required properties, incorrect data types, or improper implementation of the schema markup. Fix the identified issues by updating the schema markup code accordingly.
Tools for Checking Schema Markup
Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool
Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool is a free online tool that allows you to test and validate your schema markup. Simply enter the URL or paste the code, and the tool will analyze the markup, highlight any errors or warnings, and provide suggestions for improvement.
Schema.org‘s Structured Data Linter
The Structured Data Linter, provided by Schema.org, is another valuable tool for validating schema markup. It helps identify errors, missing properties, or other issues in the markup code, ensuring that it adheres to the recommended standards.
JSON-LD Playground
If you’re using JSON-LD for your schema markup, the JSON-LD Playground is an excellent tool for validating and testing the code. It allows you to input your JSON-LD code, validate it, and see the structured data output.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console provides a range of tools and reports to help you monitor and optimize your website’s performance in search results. Utilize the “Rich Results Test” tool to validate your schema markup and receive feedback on any errors or issues.
Checking and validating your schema markup is crucial for ensuring that search engines understand and interpret your website’s content accurately.
By following the steps outlined above and utilizing tools like Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool, Schema.org‘s Structured Data Linter, JSON-LD Playground, and Google Search Console, you can easily verify everything.
So, that’s all from the topic SEO Audit Checklist, and if you have any questions in mind, feel free to comment below.
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