Technical SEO Audit Checklist: The Complete Guide for B2B & SaaS

For service businesses and SaaS companies, your website's job is simple: generate qualified leads, demo bookings, and trial sign-ups. But if your technical SEO is weak, your best content and high-intent pages never get the visibility they deserve—no impressions, no clicks, no pipeline.

A structured technical SEO audit checklist helps you:

• Ensure key pages are crawlable and indexable.
• Remove technical roadblocks that hurt rankings and conversions.
• Improve speed and UX so more visitors actually complete forms or start trials.

This article gives you a step-by-step technical SEO audit checklist tailored to lead-generation sites (service, B2B, SaaS), not e-commerce. You can follow it yourself, delegate parts to your team, or use it to brief an agency.

It's part of a broader technical SEO framework for service businesses and SaaS. For the full strategy view, see the pillar article on technical SEO for service businesses (crawlability, site architecture, Core Web Vitals, and more).

How to Use This Technical SEO Audit Checklist

Who This Checklist Is For

This checklist is designed for:

• Marketing managers and heads of growth.
• Founders and in-house generalist marketers.
• SEO managers at agencies or B2B/SaaS companies.

You should already understand SEO basics (titles, content, links), but you don't need to be a developer. Some fixes will require dev help, but you'll know what to ask for and why.

Tools You'll Need

You don't need an expensive tool stack. Minimum recommended:

• Google Search Console (GSC) – for indexation, coverage, and Core Web Vitals.
• A crawler – e.g., Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Semrush Site Audit.
• PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse – for performance and Core Web Vitals.
• Google Analytics (GA4) – to map technical issues to traffic and conversions.
• Optional: Ahrefs / Semrush / Moz – to cross-check organic performance.

Use this checklist as:

• A baseline audit (first time).
• A quarterly health check to catch issues after changes, redesigns, or content pushes.
• A prioritization tool to decide where your dev and SEO resources should go.

Step 1: Crawlability & Indexation Basics

If search engines can't crawl or index your pages, nothing else matters. Start with the basics.

1.1 Check robots.txt

Your robots.txt file tells crawlers what they're allowed to access.

Actions:

• Visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt.
• Confirm it doesn't block your main site sections (e.g., /services/, /pricing/, /blog/).
• Disallowed paths are intentional (e.g., /wp-admin/, /cart/, staging routes).

Watch out for:

• Disallow: / on production sites (sometimes left after staging).
• Overly broad disallows like Disallow: /blog when you meant /blog/tag/.

Use the robots.txt Tester inside Google Search Console to validate and test specific URLs.

1.2 Check XML Sitemaps

Your XML sitemap helps search engines discover important URLs.

Actions:

• Visit /sitemap.xml or check in GSC under Sitemaps.
• Confirm it only includes canonical, indexable URLs (no test, tag, or parameter pages).
• Key pages are present: services, pricing, demo/trial, contact, top resources.
• If you have multiple sitemaps (e.g., /sitemap_pages.xml, /sitemap_posts.xml), verify each.

If you're using WordPress (Yoast, Rank Math, etc.) or a SaaS CMS, make sure the sitemap modules are correctly configured and submitted in GSC.

1.3 Make Sure Important Pages Are Crawlable

Use your crawler (e.g., Screaming Frog):

• Run a full site crawl.
• Filter for: Status code 200 (OK), no noindex meta robots tags, not blocked by robots.txt.
• Confirm that your primary service pages, pricing page, demo/trial signup, and contact/consultation forms are all crawlable and not accidentally excluded.

1.4 Check for Noindex Tags on Key Pages

Sometimes teams add noindex for testing and forget to remove it.

Actions using your crawler:

• Filter pages with a meta robots noindex directive.
• Review: Should any core commercial or top-of-funnel content be indexable?
• Are you mistakenly noindexing entire sections (e.g., /blog/)?

Use GSC "Inspect URL" for spot checks on critical pages to confirm "URL is on Google" and indexable.

1.5 Use GSC "Pages" / "Indexing" Reports

In Google Search Console:

• Go to Indexing → Pages.
• Review indexed pages – Are there any you don't want indexed?
• Review not indexed pages – Look for: Soft 404, Discovered – currently not indexed, Crawled – currently not indexed, Alternate page with proper canonical tag.

Each status can highlight different issues:

• A lot of soft 404s → thin/duplicate content.
• Many "Discovered – currently not indexed" → possible crawl budget or quality issues.

Step 2: Fix Indexation Bloat & Thin Content

Too many low-value pages dilute your crawl budget and can drag down overall site quality.

2.1 Identify Low-Value Indexed Pages

Use both GSC and your crawler to identify:

• Blog tag and category archives with little unique content.
• Author archives with no value.
• Search result pages on your own site (/search/?q=).
• URLs with tracking parameters: ?utm_source=, ?ref=, etc.
• Auto-generated thin pages (e.g., "Hello World", test landing pages).

Export indexed URLs from GSC, then cross-match with your crawl data to identify patterns.

2.2 Decide What to Keep, Noindex, or Canonicalize

For each type of URL:

Keep indexed:

• Service and solution pages.
• High-quality blog posts and resources.
• Key lead-gen pages (pricing, demo, contact, case studies).

Noindex (but keep crawlable if needed for UX):

• Tag/author archives that don't add much value.
• Thank-you pages (to avoid polluting data).
• Internal search results.
• Admin or login pages.

Canonicalize:

• Tracking parameter variants (point to the clean URL).
• Printer-friendly versions or slight duplicates.
• HTTP vs HTTPS (to the HTTPS version).

Work with devs or your CMS/SEO plugin to set meta robots, rel="canonical", and URL parameter rules where necessary.

Step 3: Site Architecture & Internal Linking

Your site structure should make it easy for both users and crawlers to find high-intent pages.

3.1 Check Click Depth for Important Pages

Click depth = how many clicks from the homepage.

Using your crawler:

• Look at the Crawl Depth report.
• Confirm: Core pages (services, pricing, demo/trial, contact) are within 1–3 clicks from the homepage.
• Key resources (guides, case studies) are within 3–4 clicks.

If critical pages are buried (5+ clicks away), add navigation links, footer links, or internal links from high-traffic blog posts.

3.2 Ensure Key Lead-Gen Pages Are Easy to Reach

From the main navigation, users should quickly find:

• What you do (Services / Solutions).
• How to buy/engage (Pricing, Book a Demo, Talk to Sales, Contact).
• Why you (Case studies, Testimonials, Resources).

If you rely heavily on paid or direct traffic to these pages, but they're hard to reach from organic entry pages (blog posts, resources), you're losing potential leads.

Add contextual internal links with clear anchor text, e.g.:

• "See all our B2B lead generation services."
• "Ready to see it in action? Book a live demo."

3.3 Create a Clear Hierarchy (Hub-and-Spoke)

For lead-gen sites, a simple, logical structure works best:

• Home
• Services / Solutions → Individual service pages → Industries / Use cases
• Resources → Guides, blog posts, webinars, etc.
• About / Company
• Pricing / Plans
• Contact / Book a demo

Use internal linking to create topic clusters: Each core service page links out to supporting blogs, FAQs, and case studies. Supporting content links back up to the main service hub.

For more depth on architecture, see: technical SEO framework for service businesses and SaaS.

Step 4: URL Structure & Canonicals

Clean, consistent URLs and correct canonical tags prevent duplicate content and confusion.

4.1 Check for Duplicate Site Versions

Make sure your site resolves to one canonical version:

• http://example.com
• https://example.com
• http://www.example.com
• https://www.example.com

Only one should be accessible; the others should 301 redirect to your primary (usually https://www.example.com or https://example.com).

Also check:

• Trailing vs non-trailing slash (choose one consistent convention).
• Lowercase vs mixed-case URLs (prefer lowercase).

4.2 Ensure One Canonical Version per Page

Using your crawler:

• Extract canonical tags.
• Check: Each indexable URL has a self-referencing canonical (points to itself) when it is the main version.
• Parameterized or alternate versions point to the correct canonical.

Common issues on service/SaaS sites:

• Blog tag pages canonicalizing incorrectly to the homepage.
• Staging or test URLs being marked as canonical.
• Language or region variants incorrectly canonicalizing to the wrong version.

For multilingual setups, ensure canonicals stay within the same language, and use hreflang (carefully) only if you understand it—otherwise, get specialist help.

Step 5: Performance & Core Web Vitals

Slow, unstable pages hurt both rankings and conversions. For demo/trial sign-ups and lead forms, speed is non-negotiable.

5.1 Measure Core Web Vitals

Use PageSpeed Insights and GSC's Core Web Vitals report.

Focus on:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) – how long it takes the main content to load.
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) – how much things move around while loading.
• FID/INP (First Input Delay / Interaction to Next Paint) – how quickly the page responds to interactions.

Check:

• Core templates: homepage, main service pages, pricing, demo/contact forms.
• High-traffic pages from GA4.

Aim for Good status on as many key URLs as possible.

5.2 Fix Common Performance Issues (WordPress & SaaS Sites)

Typical problems and fixes:

Large images:

• Compress and resize.
• Use modern formats (WebP/AVIF) where possible.
• Implement lazy loading for below-the-fold images.

Render-blocking CSS & JS:

• Minify and combine where reasonable.
• Defer non-critical JS.
• Inline critical CSS.

Third-party scripts (chat widgets, analytics, marketing tools):

• Remove unused tools.
• Load non-essential scripts after main content.
• Use tag managers (GTM) carefully.

Unoptimized fonts:

• Use system fonts where possible.
• Limit font weights and families.
• Preload key font files.

Work with dev or your CMS performance plugins (e.g., caching plugins for WordPress) to implement changes, then re-test.

Step 6: Mobile-Friendliness & UX Basics

Most discovery and research, especially for SaaS and B2B, now happens on mobile. Poor mobile UX kills lead generation.

6.1 Check Mobile Rendering

Use:

• Mobile-friendly test (within GSC or standalone tools).
• Your own phone or different devices.

Check:

• Text is readable without zooming.
• Content fits within the screen; no horizontal scrolling.
• Navigation is easy to use on touch devices.
• No critical content hidden or broken on mobile.

6.2 Ensure Primary CTAs Are Visible & Clickable

On mobile, your main CTAs (e.g., Book a demo, Start free trial, Talk to sales, Get a quote) should:

• Appear above the fold or very close.
• Use clear, high-contrast buttons.
• Be big enough to tap easily.

Test the full flow:

• Land on a blog or service page.
• Click through to a demo/lead form.
• Complete the form on a small device.

If it feels frustrating, it's hurting conversions and SEO indirectly (through behavior signals and user satisfaction).

6.3 Avoid Intrusive Interstitials

Pop-ups and banners that cover most of the content, are hard to close on mobile, or appear immediately when landing can hurt both UX and Google's perception of your page experience.

Use:

• Timed or scroll-based triggers.
• Smaller, less intrusive banners.
• Clear, easy-to-tap close buttons.

Step 7: On-Page Technical Elements (Titles, Meta, Headings)

This is where technical SEO meets on-page optimization. It impacts both rankings and click-through rates.

7.1 Audit Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

Using your crawler:

• Export page titles and meta descriptions.
• Identify: Missing titles or descriptions, duplicate titles on different URLs, very long or very short titles.

For key pages (services, pricing, demo/contact, best-performing content):

• Write unique, descriptive titles including primary keywords and value props.
• Use meta descriptions to reinforce the benefit and include a soft CTA, e.g., "Learn how our B2B SaaS helps you automate invoices. Book a 30-minute demo today."

7.2 Check H1/H2 Structure

For main templates:

• Ensure one clear H1 per page (often the main page heading).
• Use H2s to structure sections logically (features, use cases, FAQs, testimonials).

Make sure:

• H1 and title tag are aligned (not necessarily identical, but clearly related).
• You aren't using logos or navigation elements as H1s.
• H2s include relevant secondary keywords where natural.

This helps search engines understand page context and improves readability, especially on content-heavy resources.

Step 8: Structured Data & Schema Markup

Structured data (schema markup) helps search engines better understand your content and can unlock rich results.

8.1 What Structured Data Is (In Plain Terms)

Schema markup is code (usually JSON-LD) that labels your content with meaning:

• "This page is about a Service."
• "This company is an Organization located in X."
• "This content is an Article with FAQs."

It doesn't guarantee rich snippets, but it improves clarity for search engines.

8.2 Recommended Schema Types for Service & SaaS Sites

Prioritize:

• Organization – On the homepage and/or About page. Include name, logo, URL, social profiles.
• LocalBusiness (if you have offices or local targeting) – Address, phone, opening hours.
• Service – On individual service pages; describe what you provide and who it's for.
• FAQPage – On pages with clearly formatted FAQs (especially service pages and key blog posts).
• Article / BlogPosting – For blog posts and in-depth guides.

8.3 Validate Schema with Testing Tools

Use:

• Google Rich Results Test
• Schema Markup Validator

Check:

• No major errors.
• Warnings are understood and acceptable.
• Markup correctly reflects on-page content (don't fake reviews or ratings).

If you're using a CMS plugin for schema (e.g., in WordPress), configure templates for each content type (page, post, service) and then spot-check.

Step 9: Technical Health Checks in Google Search Console

GSC should be your ongoing "health monitor" after the initial audit.

9.1 Core Web Vitals & Page Experience

In GSC:

• Go to Experience → Core Web Vitals.
• Review URLs with poor or needs improvement metrics.
• Prioritize templates that affect revenue: Service pages, pricing, demo forms, high-traffic blogs that drive MQLs.

Use insights from Step 5 to inform dev and design fixes.

9.2 Coverage & Indexing Reports

Under Indexing → Pages:

• Track changes after your clean-up: Fewer soft 404s? Reduced bloat from unwanted indexed URLs?
• Watch for new issues after site changes or migrations.

Look specifically for:

• 5xx server errors – hosting or server configuration issues.
• Not found (404) for URLs that should exist – misconfigured redirects or deleted content.

9.3 Security Issues & Manual Actions

In GSC, check Security & Manual Actions. If anything appears here (hacked content, unnatural links, etc.), prioritize immediately—it can directly impact visibility across your entire site.

If your site has a history of spammy link building or was recently migrated from another domain, keep an eye on this regularly.

Step 10: Prioritizing Issues & Creating an Action Plan

You'll uncover more issues than you can fix at once. Prioritization is where strategy meets execution.

10.1 Prioritize by Impact, Effort, and Dependencies

For each issue, ask:

Impact on leads/traffic:

• Does this affect pages that drive demos, trials, or consultations?
• Could it significantly improve crawlability or rankings?

Difficulty / complexity:

• Is this a content setting, CMS toggle, or hard dev task?

Dependencies:

• Do you need developers, designers, or hosting changes?

10.2 Group into Quick Wins, Medium-Term, and Long-Term

Translate this into a roadmap with owners and timelines. Review progress monthly and re-audit quarterly.

When to Bring in a Technical SEO Consultant

Doing a basic technical SEO audit with this checklist is realistic for many in-house teams. But some situations justify specialist help.

11.1 When DIY Is Enough

You can often handle it internally when:

• The site is relatively small (≤ 500–1,000 URLs).
• You have a clean CMS (e.g., modern WordPress, Webflow, or a SaaS website builder).
• Most issues are configuration-level (titles, meta, simple redirects, basic schema).

Use this checklist as your playbook, and involve devs only for specific tasks.

11.2 When You Should Involve an Expert

Consider hiring a technical SEO consultant when:

You have a complex setup:

• SaaS app + marketing site on different subdomains.
• Multilingual or multi-region sites with hreflang.
• Multiple brands or microsites.

You're planning or just did a migration or redesign:

• Domain change or HTTP → HTTPS.
• Major URL structure changes.
• CMS replatforming.

You have persistent indexation or performance issues:

• Important pages not being indexed, despite optimization.
• Core Web Vitals failing across key templates.
• Complex JS frameworks (SPA, React, Vue) where content rendering is tricky.

A good consultant will:

• Run an in-depth technical SEO audit.
• Prioritize issues based on business impact.
• Create a roadmap and work directly with devs and product/marketing teams.

Conclusion & Next Steps

Technical SEO for service businesses and SaaS isn't about chasing every minor error; it's about building a reliable, scalable foundation for generating leads, demos, and trials.

With this technical SEO audit checklist, you can:

• Ensure crawlability and indexation for your most important pages.
• Clean up indexation bloat and thin content.
• Improve site architecture, internal linking, and performance.
• Implement structured data and monitor ongoing technical health in GSC.

Make this audit a quarterly routine, especially after major site changes or content pushes. Over time, you'll reduce surprises, stabilize rankings, and create a faster, more user-friendly site that converts more of your organic traffic.

To see how this checklist fits into the bigger picture of crawlability, site architecture, Core Web Vitals, and structured data at scale, revisit the pillar article on technical SEO for service businesses and SaaS and its broader technical SEO framework.

If you're unsure where to start or facing complex issues, consider a dedicated technical SEO audit to get a clear, prioritized, and data-backed action plan.