How to conduct a Technical SEO Audit

A Short Story Before We Begin

Ravi ran a growing online business. His ads were working, his content was decent, and his products were solid. Still, his website traffic was stuck. Every month, the same numbers stared back at him.

He thought the problem was content. Then backlinks. Then social media. After months of effort, nothing changed.

One day, a developer friend asked a simple question: “Have you ever done a technical SEO audit?”

Ravi hadn’t. That audit changed everything.

This blog walks you through the same journey; without jargon, without panic, and without mandates. Just a clear story of how a technical SEO audit uncovers silent issues that slowly push your site down in search results.

What Is a Technical SEO Audit?

A technical SEO audit is the process of checking whether search engines can find, crawl, understand, and rank your website properly.

Think of your website like a house:

• Content is the furniture

• Design is the paint

• Technical SEO is the foundation

If the foundation is weak, nothing above it performs well—no matter how good it looks.

The Real Pain Points Technical SEO Fixes

Before tools and checklists, let’s talk about pain.

Most websites suffer silently from:

• Pages not indexed by Google

• Slow-loading pages that frustrate users

• Confusing site structure that traps content

• Missing or broken XML sitemaps

These issues don’t scream. They quietly block rankings, increase bounce rate, and waste crawl budget.

A technical SEO audit brings these hidden problems into the light.

Step 1: Understanding Your Site Structure

Ravi’s first shock came here.

His website had good content, but it was buried.

Why Site Structure Matters

Site structure helps search engines understand:

• Which pages are important

• How pages connect to each other

• How users move through the site

A poor structure feels like a maze. Both users and search bots get lost.

What to Check

• Are important pages more than 3 clicks deep?

• Are categories clearly defined?

• Is internal linking logical and helpful?

Simple Fix

Flatten your structure.

Home → Category → Sub-category → Page

When pages are easy to reach, rankings often improve without new content.

Step 2: Checking the XML Sitemap

Ravi assumed Google would “figure it out.” It didn’t.

What Is an XML Sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a roadmap for search engines. It tells them:

• Which pages exist

• Which pages matter

• When pages were last updated

Without it, important pages may never be indexed.

Common XML Sitemap Problems

• Sitemap not submitted to Google Search Console

• Broken or outdated URLs included

• No-index pages inside the sitemap

What to Do

• Generate a clean XML sitemap

• Include only indexable pages

• Submit it in Google Search Console

This single step often fixes major indexing issues.

Step 3: Page Speed Optimization (Where Users Give Up)

Ravi lost users before they even saw his homepage.

Why Page Speed Hurts the Most

Slow websites:

• Increase bounce rate

• Reduce conversions

• Lose rankings

Google doesn’t like to send users to slow pages.

What to Check

• Mobile page load time

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

• Unused JavaScript and CSS

Easy Wins

• Compress images

• Enable browser caching

• Remove unused scripts

Page speed optimization is not about perfection. It’s about removing friction.

Step 4: Crawlability and Indexing Issues

This is where Ravi realized Google wasn’t even seeing half his site.

Key Checks

• Robots.txt blocking important pages

• Pages marked as “noindex” by mistake

• Crawl errors in Search Console

If a page isn’t indexed, it cannot rank. No exceptions.

Step 5: Mobile-Friendliness

Most of Ravi’s traffic came from mobile. His site wasn’t ready.

What Goes Wrong

• Text too small

• Buttons too close

• Layout breaks on mobile

Google uses mobile-first indexing. If mobile fails, rankings follow.

Step 6: HTTPS and Security Checks

Trust matters.

Audit Basics

• Is HTTPS enabled?

• Any mixed content warnings?

• Expired SSL certificates?

A secure site protects users—and rankings.

Step 7: Technical SEO Tools That Help

Ravi didn’t fix everything manually.

Helpful tools:

• Google Search Console

• PageSpeed Insights

• Screaming Frog

• Ahrefs or SEMrush (optional)

Tools don’t solve problems. They reveal them.

The Turning Point

After completing his technical SEO audit, Ravi didn’t publish new blogs. He didn’t build backlinks.

He fixed what was broken.

Within weeks:

• Pages started indexing

• Bounce rate dropped

• Rankings slowly improved

Technical SEO didn’t add noise. It removed barriers.

Conclusion

A technical SEO audit is not a one-time task. It’s a habit.

If your site feels invisible despite good content, the issue may not be what you’re saying but whether search engines can hear you at all.

Fix the foundation. The growth follows.

If your website traffic feels stuck, maybe it’s time to stop guessing and start contacting us soon.