What Is a Technical SEO Checklist? (And Why Your Site’s Probably Slower Than It Should Be)

Okay. So you’ve written a killer blog post, slapped on some keywords, shared it on socials, and… nothing. Barely a blip on Google.

Sound familiar?

Yeah — welcome to the technical SEO black hole that too many bloggers and site owners fall into. The truth? You could have the most brilliant content on the internet, but if your site’s a mess under the hood, Google ain’t showing it to anyone.

That’s where a technical SEO checklist comes in.

It’s like an oil change for your website. But instead of preventing engine failure, it helps you avoid ranking failure — which honestly feels worse when you’ve worked your butt off.

Let’s break it down, raw and real.

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What Even Is Technical SEO?

Think of SEO in three buckets:

• On-page SEO → keywords, headings, content

• Off-page SEO → backlinks, social signals

• Technical SEO → everything nerdy happening behind the scenes

Technical SEO is all about making your site crawlable, indexable, and fast. It’s not sexy — but it’s essential.

Without it? Your content’s buried deeper than page 9 of Google.

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Your Ultimate Technical SEO Checklist (No BS Version)

Here’s the deal — you don’t need a $99/month tool to audit your site.

You just need this checklist (and some hustle). Let’s go.

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1. Fix Crawl Errors 🚫

If Googlebot can’t crawl your site properly, it’s game over.

Use Google Search Console → Coverage → Look for “Error” or “Excluded” pages.

Common issues:

• 404 pages

• Redirect loops

• Blocked by robots.txt (we’ll get to that next)

Fix it. All of it. Google only crawls a limited number of pages. Don’t waste the crawl budget.

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2. Check Your robots.txt File 🤖

robots.txt tells Google which pages not to crawl.

Sometimes site owners block entire sections accidentally.

Visit: yoursite.com/robots.txt

Make sure it’s not blocking:

• /wp-content/

• /blog/

• Your sitemap

If it is, that’s why your blog posts aren’t showing up. Like… at all.

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3. Submit a Clean Sitemap.xml 📍

You wouldn’t drive without GPS, right?

Google’s the same — it needs a sitemap to understand your site structure.

Use free tools like:

• Yoast SEO (if you’re on WordPress)

• Or just build it manually using XML-sitemaps.com

Submit it in Google Search Console → Sitemaps.

And make sure it doesn’t include:

• Broken URLs

• Redirects

• 404s

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4. Improve Site Speed ⚡ (This One’s Huge)

Google straight-up said: site speed = ranking factor.

Use:

• PageSpeed Insights (free, from Google)

• GTmetrix (for deeper insight)

Look for:

• Time to First Byte (TTFB)

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Fix slow things like:

• Bloated images (use WebP!)

• Unused JavaScript

• Slow hosting (sorry, but yeah — your $1/month plan isn’t cutting it)

Speed sells, both in clicks and in conversions.

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5. Make Sure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly 📱

80%+ of people browse on mobile. If your site doesn’t adapt — bye.

Use:

• Mobile-Friendly Test

Google uses mobile-first indexing, so if the mobile version sucks, your rankings do too.

Pro tips:

• Use responsive design

• Avoid pop-ups that block the main content

• Keep font sizes readable

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6. Secure Your Site (HTTPS is Mandatory) 🔒

If you’re still on HTTP… I don’t even know what to say 😬

Get an SSL certificate. Most web hosts offer it free (Let’s Encrypt).

Google flags HTTP pages as “Not Secure” and ranks them lower.

It’s 2025 — SSL is baseline, not bonus.

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7. Fix Broken Links 🔗

Dead links are SEO poison.

They:

• Frustrate users

• Waste crawl budget

• Signal poor quality

Use free tools like:

• Broken Link Checker Chrome Extension

• Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (limited, but free)

• Or just Ctrl+F your site for “404”

Fix or redirect them.

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8. Use Canonical Tags Properly 🏷️

Duplicate content? Canonical tags tell Google which version to rank.

Especially useful if:

• You have similar category/tag pages

• Your content is syndicated elsewhere

• You’ve got http/https or www/non-www versions

Add:

Done.

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9. Structured Data & Schema Markup ⭐

Want rich results in Google? Add schema markup.

It helps search engines understand your content:

• Articles

• Reviews

• FAQs

• Recipes

• Events

Use:

• Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper

• Schema.org

No need to go overboard. Just start with the basics.

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10. Core Web Vitals = Ranking Gold 🧠

Google loves a good UX.

Check your Core Web Vitals inside Search Console:

• LCP (Load Speed)

• FID (Interactivity)

• CLS (Visual Stability)

If they’re red, you’re in trouble.

Solutions:

• Lazy load images

• Minify CSS/JS

• Reduce third-party scripts

Don’t obsess. Just improve over time.

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11. Eliminate Redirect Chains 🔁

Redirects are fine. Chains? Not so much.

Like this mess:
page-a → page-b → page-c → page-d

Googlebot and users both get tired.

Keep it:

• page-a → page-d

One hop. That’s all.

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12. Enable Compression (GZIP/Brotli) 🗜️

This shrinks your files before sending to the browser.

Ask your hosting support if it’s enabled. Or check via:

• GiftOfSpeed GZIP Test

Smaller files = faster load = better SEO.

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13. Fix Orphan Pages 🧭

If a page isn’t linked anywhere on your site… it’s invisible.

Google can’t crawl it. Users can’t find it. You’re wasting your own content.

Use internal links. Sprinkle them in your blog posts, menus, and footer.

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Bonus: Don’t Forget Manual Checks

Tools are great — but nothing beats a human check.

Ask yourself:

• Is my site easy to navigate?

• Can I find stuff in 2 clicks or less?

• Are the pages actually helpful?

SEO isn’t about gaming the algorithm anymore. It’s about making things work — for users and bots.

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Final Thoughts (and a Wake-Up Call)

Technical SEO isn’t glamorous. No one’s tweeting “omg just fixed my robots.txt 😍.”

But if your traffic is stuck, your rankings flatlined, or your blog is buried on page 7… this is where you start.

You fix the foundation.

So yeah — bookmark this checklist. Start ticking things off. Get under the hood and clean it up.

Because Google doesn’t rank ghosts.