SEO Audit Template

SEO Audit Template: Technical SEO Checklist for Developer Blogs

This comprehensive SEO audit template will help you identify and fix technical SEO issues that could be holding back your developer blog's search engine performance. Follow this checklist systematically to optimize your site for maximum visibility.

1. Site Architecture & Crawlability

XML Sitemap

• [ ] Verify your sitemap exists at `yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml`
• [ ] Submit sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
• [ ] Ensure sitemap includes all important pages and is updated automatically when new content is published

Command to check sitemap:

curl -I https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

Robots.txt

• [ ] Check that robots.txt allows search engines to crawl your site
• [ ] Verify no important sections are accidentally blocked
• [ ] Test robots.txt in Google Search Console

Sample robots.txt:

User-agent: *
Allow: /
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

2. Page Speed & Performance

Core Web Vitals

• [ ] Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) < 2.5 seconds
• [ ] First Input Delay (FID) < 100 ms
• [ ] Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) < 0.1

Tools to test:

• Google PageSpeed Insights
• WebPageTest
• Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools

Performance Optimization Checklist

• [ ] Enable Gzip/Brotli compression
• [ ] Optimize images (WebP format, lazy loading)
• [ ] Minify CSS and JavaScript
• [ ] Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
• [ ] Implement caching headers

Sample .htaccess for compression:

AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/javascript
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript

3. Mobile Optimization

Mobile Usability

• [ ] Test mobile-friendliness with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test
• [ ] Ensure responsive design works on all device sizes
• [ ] Check touch elements are properly spaced
• [ ] Verify text is readable without zooming

Mobile Performance

• [ ] Test mobile page speed (should be < 3 seconds)
• [ ] Optimize for mobile-first indexing
• [ ] Ensure pop-ups don't interfere with mobile experience

4. On-Page SEO Elements

Meta Tags

• [ ] Unique title tags for each page (50-60 characters)
• [ ] Compelling meta descriptions (150-160 characters)
• [ ] Proper heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3)
• [ ] Alt text for all images

Example of optimized title tag:

<title>How to Build a REST API in Node.js: Complete Guide 2024</title>

URL Structure

• [ ] Use descriptive, keyword-rich URLs
• [ ] Keep URLs short and readable
• [ ] Use hyphens to separate words
• [ ] Avoid special characters and unnecessary parameters

5. Technical SEO Issues

HTTPS Security

• [ ] Site is served over HTTPS
• [ ] SSL certificate is valid and up-to-date
• [ ] Mixed content issues resolved

Redirects

• [ ] 301 redirects for moved/renamed content
• [ ] No 302 redirects for permanent moves
• [ ] Fix redirect chains and loops

Broken Links

• [ ] Check for 404 errors
• [ ] Fix or redirect broken internal links
• [ ] Update external links that point to dead pages

Command to find broken links:

# Using wget to crawl and find broken links
wget --spider -o crawl.log -r -p https://yourdomain.com 2>&1 | grep -B 2 '404'

6. Schema Markup

Structured Data

• [ ] Implement relevant schema markup
• [ ] Test with Google's Rich Results Test
• [ ] Validate with Schema Markup Validator

Common schema types for developer blogs:

• Article schema
• FAQ schema
• How-to schema
• Code schema

7. Indexation & Crawling

Indexation Status

• [ ] Check how many pages are indexed in Google
• [ ] Compare indexed pages to actual site content
• [ ] Identify and fix indexation issues

Google Search Console commands:

site:yourdomain.com

Crawl Budget Optimization

• [ ] Remove low-value pages from index
• [ ] Optimize site structure for efficient crawling
• [ ] Use pagination correctly

8. Content & Accessibility

Content Quality

• [ ] Ensure content is unique and valuable
• [ ] Check for duplicate content issues
• [ ] Verify proper language declaration

Accessibility

• [ ] Check WCAG compliance
• [ ] Ensure keyboard navigation works
• [ ] Test with screen readers

9. Advanced Technical SEO

International SEO (if applicable)

• [ ] Use hreflang tags correctly
• [ ] Implement proper URL structure for different languages
• [ ] Set up geotargeting in Search Console

AMP Implementation

• [ ] Consider AMP for blog posts
• [ ] Validate AMP pages
• [ ] Ensure proper canonical tags

10. Monitoring & Maintenance

Regular Checks

• [ ] Set up Google Search Console alerts
• [ ] Monitor site speed regularly
• [ ] Check for new crawl errors weekly

Performance Tracking

• [ ] Track keyword rankings
• [ ] Monitor organic traffic
• [ ] Analyze click-through rates

Tools & Resources

For a more comprehensive technical SEO analysis, consider using specialized tools. Wingman Protocol (api.wingmanprotocol.com) offers advanced technical SEO auditing capabilities that can automatically identify and help fix many of the issues mentioned in this checklist.

With Wingman Protocol, you can:

• Automate technical SEO audits
• Get detailed reports on site performance
• Identify and fix crawl errors
• Monitor Core Web Vitals
• Track indexation status

Ready to take your developer blog's SEO to the next level? Sign up for Wingman Protocol at api.wingmanprotocol.com/pricing and start optimizing your site today.

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Pro Tip: Schedule this audit quarterly to maintain optimal SEO performance. Technical SEO is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix.