Technical SEO

It decides access and clarity: can Googlebot fetch the right URLs, render the page, pick a canonical, and add it to the index. It decides how fast the page loads and if it works on mobile.

It does not create demand or prove expertise. If your titles miss intent or the content is thin, no amount of clean redirects will rank it. Fix the machinery so good pages can compete, then improve the pages.

• Covered: robots.txt, XML sitemaps, canonicals, redirects and status codes, indexability, internal links and site structure, Core Web Vitals, mobile, HTTPS, structured data, hreflang, JavaScript rendering.
• Not covered: topics, search intent, headlines, copy, images and video quality, backlinks and mentions.

1. 1

   Run a crawler

   Crawl yourdomain.com and list 200, 301, 302, 404 and 5xx URLs. Flag non-indexable pages, duplicates, missing canonicals, non-200 canonicals, and orphan URLs.

2. 2

   Open Search Console

   Check Indexing reports and the Page experience and Core Web Vitals reports. Use the URL Inspection tool on a sample page like /pricing to confirm crawl, render, canonical and index status.

3. 3

   Test rendering and mobile

   Fetch a JavaScript-heavy page such as /app/features with URL Inspection. Confirm main content renders. Check that viewport and fonts load on mobile.

4. 4

   Verify sitemaps and robots.txt

   In the Sitemaps report, submit your /sitemap.xml and see discovered URLs. In robots.txt, avoid blocking needed paths and confirm it is served over HTTPS.

5. 5

   Measure speed and vitals

   Aim for LCP under 2.5 seconds, CLS under 0.1 and INP under 200 ms. Check field data in Core Web Vitals, not just lab scores.

• Index blockers: remove accidental noindex, unblock robots.txt, fix login walls on public pages.
• Redirects and status codes: redirect old http to https, www to non-www or the reverse, and trim 302s that should be 301s. Fix 404s that have links or traffic.
• Canonical drift and duplicates: add a rel=canonical to each indexable page. Consolidate /pricing and /pricing/ if both exist. Point parameters to a clean canonical.
• Sitemaps and site structure: ship a current XML sitemap with only 200 indexable URLs. Link from / to key sections, keep click depth low for money pages.
• Core Web Vitals: compress hero images, lazy load below-the-fold, inline critical CSS, cut third-party scripts. Aim for the LCP element to be text or an optimised image.
• JavaScript rendering: ensure primary content and links are server-rendered or hydrated early. Avoid client-side only routing that hides URLs from crawlers.
• Structured data and hreflang: add JSON-LD that matches on-page content. For locales, pair hreflang with correct canonicals and language codes.

A fixed page example: /guides/getting-started returns 200 over HTTPS, is linked from the homepage, is in the sitemap, loads its hero in under 2.5 seconds, has a self-referencing canonical, and validates in rich results tests if it carries schema.

• Blocking JS or CSS: Google cannot render the page if core assets are disallowed in robots.txt.
• Non-200 canonicals: a canonical to a 3xx, 404 or noindex breaks consolidation.
• Parameter sprawl: endless /search?q= pages inflate crawl, use canonicals or noindex where needed.
• Relying on lab scores: Lighthouse is a lab. Make decisions on field data from Core Web Vitals.
• Fragile migrations: map every old URL to one new URL. Keep both hosts live until redirects are verified.
• Infinite scroll with no proper links: use real anchor links or pagination so crawlers can reach deeper items.
• Duplicate locales: hreflang pairs must reference each other and point to indexable canonicals.

For a deeper sweep, use the technical SEO checklist and your crawler export to prioritise fixes by impact and effort. Porteur can help you spot the worst blockers quickly.