Indexing and accessibility
- The page returns a 200 status and isn't accidentally
noindex. - Canonical points to the correct (canonical) URL.
- The site runs on one version (https + one form of www/non-www), the rest are 301s.
- Robots.txt doesn't block important sections or CSS/JS.
- Sitemap.xml contains only indexable URLs and is referenced in robots.txt.
Content and structure
- A unique, descriptive title (roughly up to 60 characters).
- A meaningful meta description that captures the page's content.
- One H1 covering the main topic, and a logical H2/H3 hierarchy.
- Sufficient, relevant text, no duplicate content across multiple URLs.
- Images have alt text and a reasonable file size.
Links
- No broken links (internal links to 404/500).
- Logical internal linking, no orphan pages.
- Natural anchor text instead of "click here".
Speed and technique
- Core Web Vitals in the green zone (LCP < 2.5 s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200 ms).
- HTTPS with a valid certificate and security headers.
- Valid structured data (JSON-LD) that doesn't contradict the content.
Tip: the "Speed and technique" and "Indexing" items usually have the biggest impact. They're covered in
detail on the page about technical SEO audits.
If you don't want to pay, start with a free SEO audit.