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A technical SEO audit helps you find pages Googlebot cannot reach, pages that fail to render or return successfully, and signals that may keep important content from being understood or considered for Search. Start with Google’s stated eligibility baseline: Googlebot can access the page, it returns HTTP 200, and it contains indexable content. Meeting those requirements does not guarantee that Google will index the page.

Work from important URLs and representative templates outward. Use Search Console to investigate Google’s reported crawl and indexing state, and use a site crawler when you need broader discovery or pattern-level diagnostics. Neither view replaces the other.

1. Set the audit scope and prioritize URLs

Do not begin by treating every URL as equally important. First identify which pages matter to visitors and the business, then choose representative examples that let you test shared templates and systems efficiently.

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  • List business-critical URLs, such as key service, product, category, or conversion pages.
  • Group URLs by page type and select representative pages from each group.
  • Include pages affected by a recent template change, redesign, migration, or other significant technical release.
  • Note URL patterns that may create duplicate or low-value variations, so you can inspect how the site handles them.

Record the URL, page type, priority, and any known recent change in an audit sheet. This makes it easier to connect a symptom on one URL to a template-level issue and then decide which related URLs need a wider check.

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2. Check whether Googlebot can access important pages

For each priority URL, check whether Googlebot can request the page and whether the server returns a successful response. Google’s minimum technical requirements for eligibility include access for Googlebot and an HTTP 200 response; they are not a guarantee of indexing.

Inspect individual URLs

Use Search Console’s URL Inspection tool to investigate an individual URL. Check the reported indexing and crawl information, then use its live test when you need to see whether Google can access the page now. A live test is evidence about the current check, not proof that an earlier crawl encountered the same conditions.

Look for site-wide patterns

Use the Page indexing report to review Google’s reported indexing outcomes across URLs, and Crawl Stats for broader crawl context. Compare affected URLs by page type and recent changes rather than assuming that one reported issue explains every URL.

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When a page fails, trace the problem through the response and any required resources. Determine whether the issue affects a single URL, a shared template, or a wider group before deciding the scope of a fix.

3. Keep crawling controls separate from indexing controls

robots.txt controls whether a crawler can request a page or file. It is not the control to use when you want Google to crawl a page and find a directive telling it not to index that page. Google identifies a noindex directive, with crawling allowed, as the way to prevent indexing; requiring login is another option where appropriate.

A URL blocked by robots.txt can still appear in Google results in some circumstances. If a page should be excluded from the index, check that your chosen exclusion method is actually available to Googlebot. Blocking the crawl can prevent Google from seeing a page-level noindex directive.

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  • For pages meant to be available in Search, verify that crawl rules do not block the page or resources needed to render it.
  • For pages meant to stay out of Search, check that the indexing control matches the intended outcome and is not undermined by a crawl block.
  • Review rules after a release or migration, especially when a change could affect an entire path or page type.

4. Review sitemap coverage and canonical signals

A sitemap can help Google discover and prioritize URLs, but it does not restrict Google to crawling only the URLs in that sitemap. Nor does simply listing a URL settle which URL Google treats as canonical or whether it indexes the page.

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Check that your sitemap helps surface important URLs, then investigate duplicate URL patterns and canonical signals separately. Look for variations that may lead to substantially similar pages and verify that the site’s signals are consistent with the URL you intend Google to treat as the preferred version.

  • Compare important URLs in the sitemap with the pages you expect Google to discover.
  • Investigate duplicate URL patterns and review canonicalization for representative examples.
  • When Google’s reported choice differs from your intended URL, inspect the related page and signals rather than assuming sitemap inclusion will resolve the difference.

5. Validate rendering, including on mobile

For pages that depend on JavaScript, inspect how Google sees the rendered page. Use URL Inspection on important examples and compare the rendered result with the content and functionality the page is meant to provide. Viewing source HTML alone may not show the final content Google encounters.

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Google uses a mobile crawler as its default crawler for websites, so mobile delivery and rendering belong in the audit. Check representative pages on mobile for the intended content and essential page elements, and investigate differences between the rendered view and the expected page.

  • Choose representative JavaScript-dependent pages rather than testing only a static page.
  • Use URL Inspection to compare Google’s view with the intended rendered content.
  • Check important page types in their mobile delivery context, especially after template or rendering changes.

6. Check redirects and HTTPS after a site move

For a site move, review whether the required 301 redirects are in place, update sitemap information, and tell Google about the move. Check representative old and new URLs so that the migration is assessed as a set of connected changes, not only as a test of the new homepage.

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Review HTTPS as part of maintaining the site’s technical foundation. If the site recently changed its URL structure or protocol, include those changes in the migration checks and verify the affected URLs in Search Console.

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7. Extend the audit to performance and other technical areas

Once access, indexing controls, discovery, rendering, and migration issues are covered, widen the audit to the technical areas relevant to the site. Google points site owners to the Core Web Vitals report for site-wide performance numbers and PageSpeed Insights for tests of individual pages. Use those tools for their respective scopes; the audit material does not establish a universal performance threshold to apply here.

  • Performance: Review site-wide information in the Core Web Vitals report and investigate individual pages with PageSpeed Insights.
  • Structured data: Check relevant structured data where the site uses it.
  • Security: Include security in the wider technical review.
  • Internationalization: Review the site’s internationalization setup when it serves multiple languages or markets.
  • Architecture: Examine how important pages fit into the site’s structure and how they can be discovered.

These areas broaden the audit; they do not replace checks of Googlebot access, successful responses, indexable content, or rendered pages.

8. Choose tools by the question they can answer

Google’s tools and a third-party site crawler provide different kinds of evidence. Search Console helps you investigate Google’s reported crawl and indexing state. A crawler can help discover URLs and examine patterns across a site. Use them together when the audit requires both perspectives.

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Method Useful for Evidence and limits
Search Console URL Inspection Investigating an individual URL and checking its current live-test behavior Google’s reported information for the URL; a live test does not establish what happened during an earlier crawl
Search Console Page indexing and Crawl Stats reports Reviewing reported indexing outcomes and broader crawl context Google’s reporting, which needs to be interpreted alongside URL-level checks and timing
Third-party site crawler Broader URL discovery and diagnostics across URL sets or page patterns The crawler’s observations; it does not substitute for Google’s own reports about Google’s crawl and indexing state
Core Web Vitals report and PageSpeed Insights Reviewing site-wide performance numbers and testing individual pages, respectively Different scopes; use the report or test suited to the question rather than treating them as interchangeable

9. Verify fixes and monitor for changes

After making a change, recheck affected URLs with URL Inspection and review the relevant Page indexing information. For broader changes, compare the affected URL patterns and page types, not just one test page.

If a live test succeeds but a report still shows a problem, consider timing and the possibility of a transient server error during an earlier crawl. A current successful test does not erase what Google may have encountered previously. Use the reports and URL checks together to determine whether the discrepancy is consistent with timing or points to an ongoing issue.

  1. Identify the affected URL set and the specific change intended to fix it.
  2. Check representative affected URLs with URL Inspection after the change.
  3. Review Page indexing and Crawl Stats for broader crawl or indexing context.
  4. Compare results over time before treating a single test as proof that a site-wide issue is resolved.

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