Great content can't rank on a site search engines struggle to crawl. Here's the technical checklist we run on every new client site.
We regularly meet businesses publishing excellent content that simply doesn't rank. The culprit is often technical: pages that can't be crawled, duplicate versions competing with each other, or templates so slow that Google gives up. Before investing more in content, make sure the foundation is solid.
1. Crawlability and indexing
Check Google Search Console's Pages report for URLs that are excluded or not indexed. Review your robots.txt and make sure you're not accidentally blocking important sections. Confirm your XML sitemap only lists live, canonical pages.
2. Duplicate and thin content
Filtered category URLs, tag archives, and http/https or www/non-www variations can create hundreds of near-identical pages. Use canonical tags and redirects to consolidate signals to one preferred version.
3. Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Compress and correctly size images, and serve modern formats like WebP or AVIF.
- Defer non-critical scripts, especially chat widgets and tracking tags.
- Reserve space for images and embeds to prevent layout shift.
4. Site architecture and internal links
Important pages should be reachable within three clicks of the homepage. Link related articles and service pages to each other with descriptive anchor text, and fix orphaned pages that nothing links to.
5. Structured data
Add schema for your organization, services, products, reviews, and FAQs where relevant. It won't rescue a weak page, but it helps search engines and AI tools understand strong ones.
Technical SEO is rarely glamorous, but it's the difference between content that compounds and content that disappears.
