Technical SEO Audit Checklist for WordPress Websites

On this page

1. 1. Indexing
2. 2. Crawlability
3. 3. One version of the site
4. 4. Redirects and errors
5. 5. Duplicate content
6. 6. Speed and Core Web Vitals
7. 7. Mobile usability
8. 8. Structured data
9. 9. Security
10. 10. Internal links and structure
11. Prioritise the fixes

Great content can't rank if search engines struggle to crawl, index or understand your site. A technical SEO audit finds those hidden problems. Use this checklist once a year, after redesigns or migrations, or whenever traffic drops unexpectedly.

1. Indexing

• Search Console → Pages: how many pages are indexed vs not indexed, and why?
• WordPress Settings → Reading: "Discourage search engines" must be off
• No accidental noindex on important pages
• Thin or low-value pages (tag archives, author archives on single-author sites) intentionally excluded if needed

2. Crawlability

• robots.txt doesn't block important content, CSS or JavaScript
• XML sitemap exists, contains only indexable URLs, and is submitted in Search Console
• Important pages reachable within a few clicks from the homepage
• No important links that only work with JavaScript

Background reading: XML sitemaps and robots.txt explained.

3. One version of the site

• HTTPS everywhere, with a valid certificate
• http → https and www/non-www redirects to one preferred version
• Canonical tags pointing to the correct URLs on every page
• Staging or temporary domains not indexable

4. Redirects and errors

• No broken internal links (404s)
• Old URLs redirected (301) to their new equivalents
• No redirect chains or loops
• A helpful custom 404 page

5. Duplicate content

• Unique title tags and meta descriptions on every page
• No near-duplicate pages targeting the same keyword
• Filter, sort and tracking parameters not creating indexable duplicates

More detail: canonical tags, duplicate content and 301 vs 302 redirects.

6. Speed and Core Web Vitals

• Search Console → Core Web Vitals report
• PageSpeed Insights for key templates: homepage, service page, article, product
• Images optimized, caching on, unnecessary scripts removed

See Core Web Vitals explained.

7. Mobile usability

• No horizontal scrolling or tiny tap targets
• Text readable without zooming
• Pop-ups not blocking content

8. Structured data

• Organization/LocalBusiness, Breadcrumb, Article, Product and FAQ where relevant
• No errors in Search Console enhancement reports

9. Security

• No security issues or manual actions in Search Console
• WordPress, plugins and themes up to date

10. Internal links and structure

• No orphan pages
• Service pages linked from the homepage and relevant articles

See internal linking explained.

Prioritise the fixes

Fix indexing blockers first, then duplicate versions and redirects, then speed and structured data. Need a professional review? See WordPress SEO services.