A technical audit is an essential step both when conducting an initial assessment of a website and during the monthly analysis that should be routinely performed as part of SEO efforts. In this article, we’ll guide you through the most common errors that might be present on your site and those that can emerge over time.
If you are conducting a technical site audit, we recommend the following steps:
Find Broken Links
Broken links complicate Google’s crawling process and negatively impact indexing. These links often arise from manual changes on the site (such as changes to the structure), but they can also appear en masse due to technical issues, like a malfunctioning auto-linking module.
Here’s a common scenario that leads to broken links:
You have a link to a “Training” section on your homepage. At some point, you decide to discontinue this section and delete the page, but the link on your homepage remains. Since the target page no longer exists, the link will lead to a 404 error page. This is considered a broken link.
This issue can occur not only with page links but also with image links. Therefore, it’s important to check the entire site, not just individual pages, for outbound broken links. While one or two broken links won’t significantly harm your site, a large number of 404 pages can degrade the user experience and indirectly affect your search rankings.
Find Duplicate Pages
It’s common for certain pages to be accessible via multiple URLs due to errors made during the website’s creation. For example:
homepage.com/
homepage.com/////
homepage.com/1
Ensure that your site doesn’t have such pages. If they do exist, make sure they all redirect to the correct URL using a 301 redirect to preserve link equity. It is also acceptable for duplicate pages to return a 404 error (Page Not Found), indicating that they have been removed and the issue has been resolved.
Check Hosting and Server Issues
Ensure your site is functioning correctly and is free of viruses and vulnerabilities. This information is usually available in your hosting control panel.
Avoid skimping on hosting, as it can negatively impact your site’s security and speed. Remember, a slow or unstable hosting service can also result in lower search rankings.
Analyse Meta Tags
Make sure that meta tags like the Title and Description of each page are correctly formatted. The Title should contain up to 70 characters, and the Description should be between 150 to 159 characters, with a maximum of 18 words. However, keep in mind that the displayed character count may vary depending on the device and other factors.
It’s recommended to use relevant keywords in meta tags, as this can improve your site’s ranking. While meta tags do not directly affect ranking, they are crucial for improving the click-through rate (CTR) of your landing pages. Ensure that meta tags and other site elements are free from grammatical and punctuation errors to avoid confusing Google during crawling and reducing CTR.
Check Page Indexing
Ensure that all of your site’s pages are indexed by Google. The best way to check this is through Google Search Console (GSC) or by performing a “site
.com” search directly in Google.
By analysing indexing through GSC, you can assess the overall situation and identify specific issues that hinder the proper indexing of certain pages. Once you’ve fixed the problem indicated by Google Search Console, request a re-indexing of the affected URL.
If you are auditing a new site, make sure it is accessible for indexing: there should be no No-Index tags on the pages, and the Robots.txt file should not block any unnecessary pages from indexing.
Check for Search Engine Penalties
It’s crucial to determine whether the site under audit is subject to any Google penalties (filters). Checking this is simple: in Google Search Console, go to the “Security and Manual Actions” section, then to “Manual Actions.” If everything is in order, you’ll see a message saying “No issues detected.”
Keep in mind that penalties can be both manual and algorithmic, arising from Google algorithm updates (e.g., Penguin or Panda). Algorithmic penalties do not appear in the “Manual Actions” section, and detecting them requires analysing changes in traffic and rankings.
Ordering a Technical Site Audit from Top Results Agency – The Right Choice
If you’re struggling with conducting a technical site audit, want a second opinion, or simply wish to perform a routine check, contacting Top Results Agency is the right decision!
Our specialists use only the most accurate and up-to-date tools during the audit process. We will identify all errors, including those not immediately visible, and provide clear recommendations for their resolution.
To receive a free consultation or order a site analysis online, simply call us at 03330065307 or fill out the callback form. We will get in touch with you as soon as possible, gladly answer all your questions, and help you create a plan for moving forward.
