Can Google actually find your pages?
Before anything else, connect your site to Google Search Console (it’s free) and submit your XML sitemap. Then open the Pages report. It tells you which URLs are indexed, which aren’t, and the reason — “Crawled, currently not indexed”, “Excluded by noindex tag”, “Not found (404)” and so on.
A quick sense check: search Google for site:yourdomain.com. It’s not an exact count, but if your main service pages are missing, something is wrong.
What should a technical SEO checklist include?
| Check | What good looks like | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| HTTPS | Every page loads securely; http:// redirects to https:// | Your browser, Search Console |
| One version of the site | www and non-www, trailing slash or not — one wins, the rest redirect | Type each variant in the address bar |
| robots.txt | Does not block pages, CSS or scripts you need | yourdomain.com/robots.txt |
| XML sitemap | Lists only live, indexable pages you want found | Search Console → Sitemaps |
| noindex tags | Only on pages you deliberately want hidden (thank-you pages, logins) | Search Console → Pages |
| Redirects | Old URLs go straight to the right new page with a 301 | A crawler or redirect checker |
| Broken links | No internal links pointing at 404 pages | A site crawler |
| Mobile | Readable and usable on a phone without zooming | Your own phone |
| Speed | Core Web Vitals in the “good” range on mobile | PageSpeed Insights |
| Structured data | Valid business, product or article markup | Google’s Rich Results Test |
Most small sites only need a handful of fixes from this list — but the ones they need tend to matter a lot.
What usually goes wrong on small business sites?
The same few problems come up again and again:
- The “discourage search engines” box left ticked after a WordPress site goes live, which adds a noindex instruction to every page.
- A redesign with no redirect map, so every old URL that had links or rankings now returns a 404.
- Staging or test copies of the site left open and indexed, competing with the real one.
- Thin duplicate pages — tag archives, near-identical location pages, empty category pages — diluting the pages that matter.
- Huge images and too many plugins slowing every page on mobile.
Why does the mobile version matter most?
Google uses mobile-first indexing: it primarily looks at the mobile version of your pages when deciding what to index and how to rank it. If content, links or structured data exist on desktop but are hidden or missing on mobile, Google may not count them. Check your key pages on a real phone — menus, forms, phone numbers and buttons should all work with a thumb.
What is structured data and do you need it?
Structured data (schema markup) is a small block of code that tells search engines, in a standard format, what a page is about: your business name, address, opening hours, services, products, prices, reviews or articles. It can make your pages eligible for richer search results, and it helps search engines and AI assistants understand your business clearly.
For most small businesses the essentials are LocalBusiness (or a more specific type) on the homepage or contact page, Product on store product pages and Article on blog posts. Only mark up what is actually visible on the page.
What order should you fix things in?
- Indexing — Remove accidental noindex and robots.txt blocks.
- Errors — Fix 404s and redirect chains on important URLs.
- Duplicates — One version of every page, with canonical tags.
- Speed — Hosting, caching and images.
- Markup — Add and validate structured data.
Questions we get asked
Is technical SEO a one-time job?
The setup is mostly one-time, but things drift: plugins update, pages get added, redesigns happen. A quick monthly look at Search Console catches most new problems early.
Do I need a developer for technical SEO?
Many checks need no code at all. Fixing redirects, server speed or structured data on a custom site is where a developer or your host usually comes in.
What is the difference between technical SEO and on-page SEO?
Technical SEO makes sure pages can be crawled, indexed and loaded quickly. On-page SEO is about what each page says — titles, headings, content and internal links.
Will fixing technical SEO get me to the top of Google?
Not by itself. It removes obstacles so your content and reputation can do their job. Nobody can honestly promise a ranking position.
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly →
