Technical SEO is the backbone of your website’s visibility. Even the best content won’t rank if search engines can’t crawl, index, or understand your site. Follow this actionable checklist to fix common issues and lay a strong foundation for higher rankings.

1. Audit Site Speed
Slow-loading pages frustrate users and hurt rankings. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to identify bottlenecks. Compress images, enable browser caching, and leverage a CDN. For image optimization, tools like Photozilla (for AI-powered resizing and upscaling), TinyPNG, or ShortPixel reduce file sizes without sacrificing quality.

2. Ensure Mobile-Friendliness
Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing. Test your site with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. Ensure responsive design, avoid intrusive pop-ups, and use legible font sizes.

3. Fix Crawl Errors
Use Google Search Console to find crawl errors like 404 pages or blocked resources. Submit a clean sitemap and fix broken links with redirects (301 for permanent, 302 for temporary).

4. Optimize Robots.txt & Meta Tags
Check that your robots.txt file isn’t blocking critical pages. Use noindex tags for low-value pages (e.g., admin panels) and canonical tags to avoid duplicate content.

5. Secure Your Site with HTTPS
SSL encryption is non-negotiable. Migrate to HTTPS, update internal links, and set up redirects from HTTP. Use tools like SSL Checker to verify proper installation.

6. Improve URL Structure
Keep URLs short, descriptive, and keyword-rich. Avoid dynamic parameters (e.g., “?id=123”) and use hyphens instead of underscores.

7. Implement Structured Data
Schema markup helps search engines understand your content. Add JSON-LD code for articles, products, or FAQs. Validate with Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.

8. Optimize Images & Videos
Compress images (tools like Photozilla, Squoosh, or Imagify work well), add descriptive alt text, and use lazy loading. Host videos on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo to save bandwidth.

9. Monitor Core Web Vitals
Focus on Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Aim for LCP under 2.5 seconds and CLS below 0.1.

10. Check for Indexation Issues
Search “site:yourdomain.com” on Google to see indexed pages. If pages are missing, review noindex tags, robots.txt, or manual penalties.

Final Thoughts
Technical SEO isn’t a one-time task. Schedule quarterly audits to stay ahead of algorithm updates and user expectations. Tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Photozilla (for image optimization) can automate tedious tasks. Pair these fixes with high-quality content, and you’ll build a site that’s both search-engine-friendly and user-centric.