When I first started with technical SEO, I was honestly confused. I knew something was wrong with websites, but I didn’t know where to start, which issues actually mattered, or what to fix first.

One audit would show 100+ issues:

• Broken links
• Missing tags
• Slow pages
• Crawl errors

…and everything looked urgent.

I remember fixing small things like image ALT text first, feeling productive and then realising later that Google couldn’t even crawl half the website properly. That’s when it clicked for me: not all SEO issues carry the same weight.

If you’re new to technical SEO, this checklist will save you time, confusion, and unnecessary effort, the seo checklist I wish I had when I started.

What is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO is the process of improving your website’s technical setup so search engines can easily crawl, index, and rank it. Basically, it means preparing your website so Google doesn’t get confused.

Technical SEO is all about making your website easy for Google to find, understand, load fast, and rank.

And this Technical SEO Checklist helps you stay focused, fix high-impact issues first, and future-proof your website for search and AI-driven results.

Think of Google as a visitor:

• If Google can’t find your website → no ranking
• If Google can’t understand your pages → wrong ranking
• If your site is slow → people leave
• If users leave → Google pushes you down
• So our job is to make the website:
  • Easy to find
  • Easy to read
  • Fast to open

Over the years, after working on multiple audits, fixing real ranking issues, and coordinating with developers, I started seeing clear patterns. Every site, big or small, usually struggles with the same core technical problems:

• Google can’t properly crawl the site
• Important pages aren’t indexed
• The site is slow or unstable
• Poor structure confuses both users and search engines

That experience helped me build my own Technical SEO checklist, focused not on “everything possible” but on what actually moves the needle first.

For example:

• If a page takes 6 seconds to load, rewriting meta titles won’t help much.
• If a page is blocked by robots.txt, content quality doesn’t matter at all.
• If Google indexes 1,000 junk URLs instead of 50 important ones, rankings will always struggle.

This checklist is built from real-world fixes, mistakes I’ve made, lessons I’ve learned, and problems I’ve solved over time. It’s designed to answer one simple question beginners always ask: “What should I check first in technical SEO?”

Instead of feeling lost, this guide helps you:

Understand priority vs noise

Fix issues step by step

Build a strong technical foundation before moving to advanced SEO

Below is a simple, updated, step-by-step checklist, perfect if you’re just starting.

Step 1: Make Sure Google Can Find Your Website

✅ This is the foundation.

• Create an XML Sitemap (shows all important pages)
  
• Submit it in Google Search Console
  
• Check robots.txt (don’t block important pages)

Why it matters:
If Google can’t access your pages, they won’t rank.

Real-world example: 

Think of your website like a new housing society, and Google as a delivery person.

• XML Sitemap: the society map showing all houses
• Google Search Console: giving that map to the delivery office
• Robots.txt: security guard telling which houses are allowed to enter

Same with websites.

If Google cannot access or understand your pages, they won’t appear in search results, even if the content is excellent.

Step 2: Fix Indexing Issues

✅ Ensure the right pages appear on Google.

• Check Indexing → Pages in Search Console
  
• Remove:
  
  • Noindex on important pages
  • Duplicate URLs
  • Broken or redirected pages

Goal: Only useful pages should be indexed.

Real-world example: 

You run an online clothing store.

• Your product page accidentally has noindex → Google ignores it
• The same T-shirt shows with 3 different URLs → Google gets confused
• Old product links are broken or redirected → Google drops them

Only the main, useful product and category pages appear on Google and those are the pages that can actually get traffic and sales.

Step 3: Improve Website Speed (Very Important)

✅ Faster site = better rankings + user experience.

• Compress images
• Use caching
• Remove unused plugins/scripts
• Test with PageSpeed Insights
• deal load time: under 3 seconds

Real-world example

You open a food delivery website.

• Images aren’t compressed → pages load slowly
• Too many unused plugins → site feels heavy
• No caching → every visit reloads everything

😤 Users wait… then leave.

Fast sites keep people happy and Google rewards that.

Step 4: Mobile-Friendly Is Mandatory

✅ Google uses mobile-first indexing.

• Use responsive design
• Avoid tiny text and clickable elements too close
• Test in Mobile-Friendly Test tool

If it works well on mobile → it works for SEO.

Real-world example: 

☕ Fancy café (mobile-friendly website):

• Menu is clear and readable on phone
• Buttons are big and easy to tap

Customers enjoy the experience and stay longer. Otherwise, customers get frustrated and leave

✅ SEO lesson:

Google checks your site as a mobile user first.

If your website works smoothly on mobile, Google trusts it, ranks it better, and sends more visitors.

Step 5: Secure Your Website (HTTPS)

✅ Trust & rankings both depend on it.

• Install an SSL certificate
• Make sure site opens only with https://
• Redirect http → https

Real-world example

You visit a jewellery store.

• Without security (HTTP):
  • Customers feel unsafe. Some won’t even enter.
  • With security (HTTPS + SSL):
• Guard at the door, CCTV inside.
  • Customers trust the shop and feel safe making payments.

✅ SEO lesson:

• SSL (HTTPS) tells Google and users your site is secure and trustworthy.
• If your site opens only on https and redirects http → https, Google trusts it more and users stay longer.
  

Step 6: Clean URL Structure

Keep URLs simple and readable. That must be easy to read, and easy to remember.

✅ Good	❌ Bad
/blog/core-technical-seo-guide	/page?id=123&ref=abc

Tips:

• Use lowercase: clean and consistent
• Avoid special characters: no confusion for Google
• Add keywords naturally: Google understands the page topic

Real-world example

Imagine walking into a café and seeing a sign that says “Room 1234” (bad) vs. “Caramel Latte Menu” (good). You instantly know where to go. That’s what a good URL does for visitors and Google.

✅ Result:

Users trust the link, click it confidently, and Google ranks it better.

Simple rule:

If a human can read and understand your URL, Google can too.

Step 7: Fix Broken Links & Errors

✅ Keep your site healthy.

• Fix 404 errors
• Reduce redirect chains
• Use tools like Screaming Frog / GSC

Broken pages = bad experience + lost rankings.

Real-world example

You visit a mall to buy shoes.

• One shop is closed (404 error)
• Another sends you to 3 different floors before opening (redirect chain)
• After a few tries, you give up and leave

😤 Bad experience.

SEO lesson

• Broken pages and long redirects waste users’ time and Google’s crawl budget.
• Fixing 404s and redirect chains keeps your site clean, trusted, and easy to explore.

Step 8: Optimize Internal Linking

✅ Helps Google understand page importance.

• Link related pages together
• Use clear anchor text
• Important pages should get more links

Real-world example

You walk into a large bookstore.

• Important sections like “Best Sellers” and “New Arrivals” have more signboards
• Each sign clearly tells you where it leads
• Related sections are connected: fiction → authors → book details

✅ SEO lesson:

• Internal links tell Google which pages matter most and how pages are related.
• Clear anchor text = clear directions
• More links to important pages = higher priority

Simple rule:

The more helpful paths you create, the easier Google understands your site and ranks it.

Step 9: Use Basic Schema (Optional but Powerful)

✅ Helps Google show rich results. You can add schema using Schema Markup Validator

• Article schema → better content understanding
• FAQ schema → questions shown directly in search
• Product schema → price, rating, stock visibility

Real-world example

You’re choosing a place to eat.

🍽 Without labels (no schema):

Just the restaurant name, you don’t know the price, ratings, or menu.

🍽 With labels (schema added):

⭐ 4.6 rating

💰 Price range

📋 Popular dishes

⏰ Opening hours

✅ SEO lesson:

Schema helps Google understand your content clearly and show rich results like stars, FAQs, prices, and availability.

Simple rule:

Clear labels help Google trust your page and users click it more.

Step 10: Monitor & Maintain

✅ Technical SEO is not one-time.

• Check Search Console weekly
  
• Fix new errors quickly

Track site speed & indexing

👉 If Google can crawl it, index it, load it fast, and understand it, your technical SEO is on track