Great content can't rank if search engines and AI crawlers can't access, render and understand it. This technical SEO checklist covers the 25 checks that matter most in 2026, for Google and for AI search tools that cite websites.
Indexing and crawling
- Public pages are indexable: no stray
noindextags orX-Robots-Tagheaders. - Private pages are not: admin, account and checkout pages carry
noindex. - robots.txt allows important crawlers and blocks only private paths, with a
Sitemap:line. - XML sitemap lists only live, indexable, canonical URLs with accurate
lastmoddates. - Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are set up, with the sitemap submitted.
- No important pages blocked by login walls or broken internal links.
URLs and duplicates
- One canonical per page, absolute and pointing to the production domain.
- HTTPS everywhere, with HTTP and www versions redirecting (301) to one version.
- Clean, descriptive URLs without tracking parameters in internal links.
- Real 404s (or noindexed not-found pages) for missing content, not soft 404s.
Rendering and JavaScript
- Content is in the HTML: single-page apps should prerender or server-render key pages, because many crawlers, including social and AI crawlers, don't run JavaScript.
- Meta tags are server-side: title, description, canonical and Open Graph tags exist in the raw HTML.
- No duplicate meta tags left over from a static shell.
Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is fast: optimise hero images and server response.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is responsive: reduce heavy JavaScript.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is stable: set image dimensions and reserve space.
- Images are optimised: WebP or AVIF, lazy-loaded below the fold, with width and height.
- Caching and CDN are configured, with long caching for static assets.
Structured data and metadata
- Unique titles and meta descriptions on every page, roughly 50–60 and 150–160 characters.
- Organization and WebSite schema on the home page, with logo and
sameAsprofiles. - Article/BlogPosting schema with author (a person), publisher and real dates.
- BreadcrumbList on nested pages, and only schema that matches visible content.
- Open Graph and Twitter tags with a working 1200×630 share image.
AI search readiness
- AI search crawlers allowed (for example OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot), with a deliberate choice about training crawlers.
- An
llms.txtfile summarising key pages with absolute links.
How to run your technical SEO checklist audit
| Task | Tool |
|---|---|
| Indexing and coverage | Google Search Console |
| Speed and Core Web Vitals | PageSpeed Insights, Search Console |
| Structured data | Rich Results Test, Schema.org validator |
| Crawl issues | A site crawler |
| Raw HTML check | View source, or curl |
Frequently asked questions
How often should I run a technical SEO audit?
A full audit every quarter, plus checks after every major site change or redesign.
Do single-page apps hurt SEO?
They can if content only appears after JavaScript runs. Prerendering or server-side rendering solves this.
Is page speed a ranking factor?
Core Web Vitals are part of Google's page experience signals, and speed strongly affects conversions either way.
Conclusion
A solid technical foundation lets your content compete in Google and AI search. Work through this technical SEO checklist, fix the gaps, and recheck regularly. Want experts to do it? Kafsols offers SEO, AEO and GEO services and fast, SEO-ready web development. Next, read SEO in 2026.
