A technical SEO audit sounds like a job for specialists, but most of the basic checks can be done with a browser, Google Search Console and a bit of patience. The goal is simple: can Google reach your site, can it read your pages, and can it tell which page is the main one? If the answer to any of these three questions is "no," even the best-written content won't show up in search results.
If you follow the steps below in order, you'll know within an afternoon whether your site has a serious technical problem. Write down what you find; you don't have to fix everything on the same day.
First, look through Google's eyes
The first check is the simplest. Type site:yourdomain.com into the Google search box. The number of results isn't exact, but it gives you a rough idea. If you see two results for a twenty-page corporate website, you have an indexing problem; if you see five hundred results for a twenty-page site, tag, filter or search pages have most likely been indexed when they shouldn't have been.
A more reliable picture comes from the Page indexing report in Search Console. The real clues are the reasons listed under "Not indexed": "Crawled — currently not indexed," "Page with redirect," "Excluded by 'noindex' tag" and so on. We explain how to read Search Console reports separately in our Search Console guide.
robots.txt and noindex, the two most expensive lines
Add /robots.txt to the end of your site's address and open it. This file tells search engine bots which sections they should stay out of. The mistake we see most often is a Disallow: / line added during development and forgotten after the site goes live. That single line blocks the entire site from being crawled.
The second expensive mistake is a noindex tag inside the page. Some content management systems have a checkbox like "discourage search engines from indexing this site" that gets ticked during testing and stays that way. Right-click the page in your browser, choose "view page source" and search for the word noindex; that's all it takes.
Whether to allow or block AI bots through robots.txt is a separate decision; we cover it in our post on AI bots and robots.txt.
Sitemap and URL structure
A sitemap (sitemap.xml) is a list of the important pages on your site. It usually lives at /sitemap.xml, and its address is also listed in robots.txt. Check: does the sitemap open, do the URLs in it actually exist, are deleted pages still on the list? Then make sure it has been submitted to Search Console.
There are a few more things to check in your URL structure:
- If the site opens both with and without
www, and over bothhttpandhttps, all of these should permanently (301) redirect to a single address. - If the same content appears at more than one URL, the page should carry a canonical tag pointing to the main address. A canonical is a small marker that says "this is the main address for this content."
- Broken links (404) and redirect chains (A to B, B to C) should be cleaned up.
Speed and mobile view
Google evaluates your site primarily through its mobile version. Open your site on your phone and browse it like a visitor: is the text readable, are the buttons easy to tap with a finger, does the menu open? Then enter your home page and your most important service page into the free PageSpeed Insights tool.
We explain what these measurements mean and Google's thresholds in plain language in our Core Web Vitals guide. During the audit, just note which pages come out as "good" and which as "needs improvement" or "poor."
Page titles and descriptions
The last part of a technical audit is checking each page's identity. Every page should have a unique title and meta description. On many sites every page is titled "Home" or just the company name; in that case Google struggles to understand what each page is about. Having a single main heading (H1) per page and descriptive alt text on images also belong on this list.
Practical checklist
| Check | Where to look | Healthy state |
|---|---|---|
| Indexed pages | Search Console, Page indexing | All important pages are indexed |
| robots.txt | yourdomain.com/robots.txt | No line blocking the whole site |
| noindex | Page source | Only on pages where it's intentional |
| Sitemap | /sitemap.xml and Search Console | Up to date, error-free, submitted |
| Single address | Different spellings in the browser | All 301 to one address |
| Broken links | Search Console, crawling tools | No 404s, or they are redirected |
| Speed | PageSpeed Insights | Important pages in the "good" range |
| Title and description | Page source, search result | Unique on every page |
How we do it at Globya
Your own audit shows you where the problems are; finding out why they happen and how to fix them for good usually means looking at hosting, software and content together. In our SEO and GEO service we handle the technical audit as a single point of contact, from server settings to content structure, and report the findings in order of priority and in plain language. If you like, you can start with a free preliminary analysis.
How often should a technical SEO audit be done?
For a small corporate website, twice a year is enough. After a redesign, a migration or a large content addition, however, you should run a check right away, because most problems show up during these transitions.
Do I need to buy a paid SEO tool?
Not to get started. Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and your browser's page source feature cover most of a basic audit. Paid tools are useful for bulk crawling on large sites.
If the audit found no problems, why am I still not ranking at the top?
Technical health is a prerequisite, not a ranking guarantee. What really determines rankings is how well your content answers the search intent and how trustworthy your site is.
Can I fix the problems I find myself?
You can make most title, description and content fixes from your admin panel. For redirects, robots.txt and server settings, however, we recommend getting support, because a single wrong line can affect the entire site.
The Globya assistant is online 24/7; it answers right away and passes your question to the team if needed.