Short answer: a technical SEO checklist makes sure Google can find, read and trust every important page on your website. For Australian business websites, the essentials are clean indexing, fast loading on mobile networks, good Core Web Vitals, correct regional signals, structured data and HTTPS. Work through the list below, starting with indexing.
1. Indexing and crawling
- Verify your site in Google Search Console and submit an XML sitemap.
- Check that
robots.txtdoes not block important pages, CSS or JavaScript. - Use the Pages report to find URLs that are excluded or not indexed, and fix the cause.
- Keep staging, admin and thank-you pages out of the index with
noindex.
2. URLs, redirects and canonicals
- Use short, readable URLs, such as
/services/plumbing. - Redirect old URLs with a single 301, not a chain of several redirects.
- Add a self-referencing canonical tag on every indexable page.
- Pick one version of your domain (with or without www, always HTTPS) and redirect the rest.
3. Speed and Core Web Vitals
- LCP: the main content should load within about 2.5 seconds. Compress and resize images, and use modern formats such as WebP.
- INP: pages should respond quickly to taps and clicks. Remove unused scripts and heavy plugins.
- CLS: set width and height on images so the layout does not jump while loading.
- Serve pages through a CDN if your server is outside Australia.
4. Mobile experience
Most Australian searches happen on phones. Test key pages on a real phone over mobile data: text should be readable without zooming, buttons easy to tap, and phone numbers clickable.
5. Regional signals
- If you serve more than one country, use
hreflangtags such asen-AUand link each regional page to its equivalents. - Set
lang="en-AU"on Australian pages and use Australian spelling. - Show genuine contact details and only list Australian addresses you actually operate from.
6. Structured data
Add schema markup for your organisation, breadcrumbs, services, articles and FAQs where they genuinely appear on the page. Test it with Google's Rich Results Test.
7. Security and health
- Serve every page over HTTPS with a valid certificate.
- Fix broken internal links and 404 errors.
- Keep your CMS, plugins and server software up to date.
Fix indexing problems first. Speed and schema improvements will not help pages that Google cannot index.
Need help working through the list? Our SEO team handles technical fixes in-house, and our hosting and support plans keep sites fast and secure. For a broader view, see our website maintenance checklist.
Frequently asked questions
What is technical SEO?
Technical SEO is the work that helps search engines crawl, understand and index your website: site speed, mobile usability, clean URLs, sitemaps, redirects, structured data and security. It does not replace good content, but content cannot rank well on a site Google struggles to read.
How often should I run a technical SEO audit?
Run a full audit at least once a year and after any redesign, migration or platform change. Check Google Search Console monthly for new indexing or Core Web Vitals issues.
Does website hosting location affect SEO in Australia?
Hosting location is not a direct ranking factor, but speed is. If your server is far from your customers, a content delivery network such as Cloudflare can serve pages quickly to Australian visitors.
Can I do technical SEO myself?
You can handle the basics, such as submitting a sitemap and fixing broken links in Search Console. Speed optimisation, redirects, structured data and migrations usually need a developer.
Want a technical SEO audit of your site?
Talk to our team ↗