Technical SEO checklist 2026: 25 checks for faster rankings.
The technical SEO checks we run on every site — speed, indexing, structure, schema and more.
- If Google cannot crawl and index a page quickly, content quality does not matter.
- Core Web Vitals and mobile performance are table stakes in 2026.
- Schema markup helps both Google rich results and AI answers.
Crawling and indexing
Check robots.txt, XML sitemaps, noindex tags, canonical tags, crawl errors in Search Console and pages excluded from the index.
Speed and Core Web Vitals
Measure LCP, INP and CLS on mobile. Compress images to WebP/AVIF, lazy-load below the fold, reduce JavaScript and use caching and a CDN.
Site structure and internal links
Keep important pages within three clicks of home, use descriptive anchor text, fix orphan pages and broken links, and use breadcrumbs.
Structured data
Add Organization, LocalBusiness, Service, FAQ, Breadcrumb, Product and Article schema where relevant, and validate it.
Security and duplicates
Force HTTPS, use one preferred domain (www or non-www), fix duplicate titles and descriptions, and redirect old URLs with 301s.
Frequently asked questions
01How often should I run a technical SEO audit?
Every six months, and before and after any redesign or migration.
02Does page speed affect rankings?
Yes — and it affects conversions even more.
03Can I do technical SEO on WordPress myself?
Many basics are possible with Rank Math and a caching plugin; deeper fixes usually need a developer.
