Technical SEO Audit Framework

Professional methodology for comprehensive technical SEO analysis aligned with 2025 best practices.

When to Use This Skill

• Full technical SEO audits
• Diagnosing crawling/indexation issues
• Core Web Vitals analysis
• Site architecture review
• Schema markup validation
• Mobile-first readiness assessment
• AI crawler configuration audit

Audit Workflow

Execute in priority order—crawlability issues block all downstream optimizations.

Phase 1: Crawlability & Indexation (CRITICAL)

1. robots.txt Analysis
   □ Accessible at /robots.txt
   □ No global Disallow: /
   □ CSS/JS not blocked
   □ Sitemap reference present

2. XML Sitemap Validation
   □ Only canonical, 200-status URLs
   □ No noindex pages included
   □ Submitted to GSC

3. Indexation Status (GSC)
   □ Check indexed vs excluded pages
   □ Identify "Crawled - not indexed"
   □ Find soft 404s
   □ Verify canonical consistency

4. Meta Robots
   □ Key pages: index,follow
   □ No accidental noindex
   □ Canonical self-references

Phase 2: Core Web Vitals (2025 Standards)

Passing Thresholds:

Data Sources (Priority Order):

1. Google Search Console (field data)
2. CrUX Dashboard (field data)
3. PageSpeed Insights (lab + field)

Common Fixes:

• LCP: Optimize images, preload critical resources, reduce server response time
• INP: Break up long tasks, optimize JavaScript, use web workers
• CLS: Set dimensions on images/embeds, avoid inserting content above existing

Phase 3: Site Architecture

Optimal Structure:
□ Max 3 clicks from homepage to any page
□ Flat hierarchy (avoid deep nesting)
□ Logical URL structure: /category/subcategory/page
□ Breadcrumb navigation implemented
□ Internal linking strategy documented

URL Best Practices:
□ Descriptive, keyword-relevant
□ Lowercase, hyphens (not underscores)
□ Under 60 characters
□ No parameters when possible

Phase 4: Mobile-First Readiness

□ Mobile-friendly test passes
□ Responsive design (no horizontal scroll)
□ Touch targets ≥48px
□ Font size ≥16px base
□ No intrusive interstitials
□ Same content on mobile and desktop

Phase 5: Security & HTTPS

□ HTTPS with valid certificate
□ HTTP → HTTPS redirects (301)
□ No mixed content warnings
□ HSTS header implemented
□ Security headers present (CSP, X-Frame-Options)

Phase 6: Structured Data

Priority Schema Types:

1. Organization/LocalBusiness
2. BreadcrumbList
3. Article/BlogPosting (with author)
4. Product (for e-commerce)
5. FAQPage (for AI visibility)
6. HowTo (for tutorials)

Validation:

• Google Rich Results Test
• Schema.org validator
• Check for warnings, not just errors

Phase 7: AI Crawler Configuration

2025 robots.txt for AI Search:

# Allow AI search crawlers
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /

# Optional: Block AI training (not search)
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /

Output Format

Generate reports using this structure:

# Technical SEO Audit Report

**Site:** [URL]
**Date:** [Date]
**Overall Score:** X/100

## Executive Summary
[2-3 sentence overview]

## Scores by Category

| Category | Score | Status |
|----------|-------|--------|
| Crawlability & Indexation | X/20 | [Good/Needs Work/Critical] |
| Core Web Vitals | X/20 | [Good/Needs Work/Critical] |
| Site Architecture | X/15 | [Good/Needs Work/Critical] |
| Mobile Readiness | X/15 | [Good/Needs Work/Critical] |
| Security & HTTPS | X/10 | [Good/Needs Work/Critical] |
| Structured Data | X/10 | [Good/Needs Work/Critical] |
| AI Crawler Readiness | X/10 | [Good/Needs Work/Critical] |

## Priority Issues (Fix First)
1. **[Issue]** - [Impact] - [Fix]
2. **[Issue]** - [Impact] - [Fix]
3. **[Issue]** - [Impact] - [Fix]

## Detailed Findings
[Category-by-category analysis]

## Action Plan

**Immediate (This Week):**
- [ ] Critical fix 1
- [ ] Critical fix 2

**Short-term (This Month):**
- [ ] High priority 1
- [ ] High priority 2

**Ongoing:**
- [ ] Monitoring task 1
- [ ] Regular audit 2

Scoring Guide

• 90-100: Excellent - Minor optimizations only
• 70-89: Good - Some improvements needed
• 50-69: Needs Work - Significant gaps
• Below 50: Critical - Major overhaul required

Quick Audit (5-Point Check)

For rapid assessments:

1. Indexation - Are key pages indexed? (GSC)
2. Speed - Core Web Vitals passing? (LCP <2.5s)
3. Mobile - Mobile-friendly test pass?
4. Security - HTTPS with valid cert?
5. Crawlability - robots.txt not blocking content?

Tools Reference

# Check robots.txt
curl -s https://example.com/robots.txt

# Check response headers
curl -I https://example.com

# Fetch and validate sitemap
curl -s https://example.com/sitemap.xml | head -50

# Check mobile-friendliness (requires API key)
# Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly

Additional Resources

For detailed checklists and schema patterns, ask for:

• "Show me the full crawlability checklist"
• "Give me JSON-LD schema examples"
• "List all Core Web Vitals optimization techniques"