SEO Technical Checklist

How I’d prioritise

Start with crawlability and indexation — they're the gatekeepers.
Use Google Search Console's Pages report to find noindex and canonical issues.
Prioritize Core Web Vitals on your highest-traffic templates, not random pages.
Don't skip JavaScript rendering checks if your site uses frameworks like React or Angular.
Fix internal linking before relying on sitemaps for discovery.

Start with the stuff that can completely block search engines, then work down to optimizations.

What I'd do first

Check robots.txt — make sure it's not blocking important pages (e.g., /wp-admin/ is fine, /products/ is not).
Review XML sitemaps — submit to Google Search Console and verify no 404s or excluded URLs.
Scan for accidental noindex — use a crawler or Search Console's Pages report to find pages that should be indexed but aren't.
Fix canonical tags — ensure they point to the correct preferred URL, especially on paginated or parameter-heavy pages.
Test JavaScript rendering — compare raw HTML with rendered output using Google's URL Inspection Tool.

The list

Crawlability: Check robots.txt, sitemaps, and noindex directives.
Indexation: Review canonical tags, redirect chains, and soft 404s.
Performance: Run Core Web Vitals on top 5 templates (LCP, FID, CLS).
Mobile usability: Test with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test.
Internal linking: Ensure important pages aren't orphaned and have click depth ≤ 3.
Structured data: Validate schema markup with Google's Rich Results Test.
International SEO: If multi-language, check hreflang tags and language-specific sitemaps.

How I prioritize

Blocking issues first — robots.txt, noindex, server errors (5xx). These can kill visibility entirely.
Indexation problems — canonical tags, redirect chains, duplicate content. Fix these before worrying about speed.
Performance on high-traffic templates — don't optimize a random blog post; fix the product or category pages that drive revenue.
Structured data and internal linking — these are optimizations, not blockers. Do them after the foundation is solid.

What I got wrong

I once blocked an entire /blog/ directory in robots.txt because I thought it was low-value. Took me weeks to notice traffic drop.
I relied on XML sitemaps to fix poor internal linking. Sitemaps help discovery, but they don't replace a logical site architecture.
I audited only sample URLs instead of template-level patterns. On a large site, that misses systemic issues like a broken pagination template.
I ignored JavaScript rendering differences. Content looked fine in my browser but was invisible to Googlebot.

Next step

SEO AuditRun a full audit after your checklist to uncover deeper issues.

Quick answers

What is a technical SEO checklist?

A technical SEO checklist is a structured list of site-level tasks that ensure search engines can crawl, render, understand, and index your website correctly.

Why is a technical SEO checklist important?

It helps prioritize fixes that improve crawlability, indexation, performance, and site quality signals, preventing technical issues from blocking visibility.

What are the core areas of a technical SEO checklist?

Core areas include crawlability, indexation, Core Web Vitals, mobile usability, site architecture, internal linking, and structured data.

How often should I run a technical SEO checklist?

At least quarterly, or after any major site update like a redesign, CMS migration, or new template launch.

Sources

Primary documentation is linked directly. Anything commercial is marked nofollow.

Google Search Central — Primary source for crawling, indexing, sitemaps, robots.txt, structured data, and technical search guidelines.
Google Search Central — SEO Starter Guide — Best high-level reference for technical and on-page SEO basics.
Google Search Console Help — Official guidance for diagnosing index coverage, sitemaps, Core Web Vitals, and crawl issues.
Google Search Central — Page experience / Core Web Vitals — Authoritative reference for performance metrics that affect technical SEO priorities.

Notes from Callum Bennett.