Technical SEO Audits with AI

The Invisible Problem

In the previous lesson, we explored content optimization that ranks and reads well. Now let’s build on that foundation. A food blog had great content, consistent publishing, and solid keyword research. But traffic was stagnant. The owner spent months creating more content, thinking volume was the issue.

The real problem? Half their pages were returning 404 errors after a site redesign. Google couldn’t even reach the content, let alone rank it. A 30-minute technical audit revealed the issue. A few hours of redirect setup fixed it. Traffic doubled in six weeks.

Technical SEO is the foundation that content sits on. If the foundation has cracks, no amount of great writing will save you.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this lesson, you’ll know how to audit your site for common technical SEO issues, interpret Google Search Console data, fix the problems that most commonly hold sites back, and use AI to guide you through technical fixes even if you’re not a developer.

Technical SEO: What and Why

Technical SEO ensures search engines can find, crawl, understand, and index your content. Think of it as making your house accessible before inviting guests:

• Crawlability: Can Google’s bot reach your pages?
• Indexability: Can Google add your pages to its index?
• Renderability: Can Google understand what’s on your pages?
• Speed: Do your pages load fast enough?
• Mobile-friendliness: Do your pages work on phones?
• Security: Is your site served over HTTPS?
• Structure: Can Google understand how your pages relate to each other?

If any of these fail, your content won’t rank to its potential – regardless of quality.

Your Free Technical SEO Toolkit

You don’t need expensive tools. Start with these free resources:

Google Search Console (essential):

• Shows which pages Google has indexed
• Reports crawl errors and issues
• Tracks Core Web Vitals scores
• Shows which queries bring traffic
• Flags mobile usability problems

Google PageSpeed Insights:

• Analyzes page speed and Core Web Vitals
• Provides specific recommendations
• Tests both mobile and desktop

Google’s Rich Results Test:

• Validates your structured data / schema markup
• Shows what rich features your page is eligible for

Chrome DevTools (built into Chrome):

• Network tab shows loading sequence
• Lighthouse audit gives a comprehensive score
• Console shows JavaScript errors

Quick Check

If you haven’t set up Google Search Console yet, do it now. Go to search.google.com/search-console, add your property, and verify ownership. Everything else in this lesson builds on the data it provides.

Running a Technical Audit with AI

You don’t need to be a developer to audit your site. AI can guide you through the process:

AI: "Help me run a technical SEO audit on my website.
I'll provide information and you'll tell me what to
check and what the findings mean.

My website: [URL]
Built with: [WordPress/Shopify/Wix/Hugo/custom/etc.]
Number of pages: [approximate]
Current issues I've noticed: [any known problems]

Walk me through a systematic audit, one section at a time:
1. Crawlability check
2. Indexation review
3. Page speed analysis
4. Mobile friendliness
5. Security (HTTPS)
6. Site structure
7. Common errors

For each section, tell me:
- What to check
- How to check it (specific steps or tools)
- What 'good' looks like
- Common problems and how to fix them

Start with Section 1: Crawlability."

This conversational approach lets you work through the audit step by step, getting explanations and fixes as you go.

Crawlability Issues and Fixes

Robots.txt problems: Your robots.txt file tells search engines what they can and can’t crawl. A misconfigured robots.txt can block entire sections of your site.

Check: Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt. You should see a simple text file. If it says Disallow: / it’s blocking everything.

AI: "Here's my robots.txt file. Check it for issues:

[Paste your robots.txt content]

Are there any rules that might accidentally block
important pages? Is the sitemap referenced?
What changes would you recommend?"

XML sitemap: Your sitemap tells search engines which pages exist and when they were updated.

Check: Visit yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. You should see an XML file listing your pages.

AI: "I need to check my XML sitemap for issues.

My site has [number] pages.
My sitemap is at: [URL]
My CMS is: [platform]

Help me verify:
1. Does my sitemap include all important pages?
2. Are there pages in the sitemap that shouldn't be there?
3. Is the sitemap submitted to Google Search Console?
4. Is the format correct?

Common issues to check for in [my platform]."

Page Speed Optimization

Page speed is both a ranking factor and a user experience factor. Here’s how to diagnose and fix it:

Step 1: Run PageSpeed Insights on your most important pages

Go to pagespeed.web.dev and test your homepage, top landing pages, and a typical blog post.

Step 2: Interpret the results with AI

AI: "Here are my PageSpeed Insights results:

Performance score: [number]
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): [time]
FID/INP (Interaction to Next Paint): [time]
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): [score]

Specific issues flagged:
[List the opportunities and diagnostics shown]

My website is built on [platform].

Explain each issue in plain language and tell me:
1. How critical is this? (Fix now / Fix soon / Nice to have)
2. What's causing it?
3. How do I fix it on my platform?
4. What impact will the fix have?"

Common speed fixes ranked by impact:

Mobile-First Indexing

Google uses your mobile version as the primary version for indexing. If your mobile experience is poor, your rankings suffer:

AI: "Help me check my website's mobile SEO readiness.

I'll describe what I see on my phone when visiting my site:
[Describe the mobile experience: text size, tap targets,
layout, loading speed, any issues]

My site is built with: [platform]
I use a responsive theme: [yes/no]

Based on this, what are the most likely mobile issues
and how do I fix them? Prioritize by SEO impact."

Mobile essentials:

• Text readable without zooming (16px minimum font)
• Tap targets large enough (48x48 pixels minimum)
• No horizontal scrolling
• Content visible without popups blocking it
• Fast loading on mobile connections

Fixing Broken Links and Redirects

Broken links (404 errors) waste your crawl budget and frustrate users:

AI: "I found these issues in my Google Search Console:

404 errors:
[List the URLs returning 404]

Help me decide for each:
1. Should I redirect this to another page? (If so, which?)
2. Should I recreate the content?
3. Can I safely let it 404? (If it's a page nobody needs)

Also explain:
- How to set up 301 redirects on [my platform]
- The difference between 301 (permanent) and 302 (temporary)
- How many redirects are too many"

Quick Check

Go to Google Search Console, then Coverage (or Pages). How many pages have errors? How many are excluded? If the number of excluded pages is surprisingly high, you may have crawlability or indexation issues worth investigating.

Structured Data and Schema Markup

Structured data helps search engines understand your content and can earn you rich results (stars, FAQ dropdowns, how-to steps) in search:

AI: "Help me add structured data to my [type of page].

My page is about: [describe the content]
My platform: [CMS]

Suggest the appropriate schema type(s) and generate
the JSON-LD code I need to add. Include:
- The most relevant schema type for this content
- All required properties
- Recommended optional properties that would help
- Instructions for where to add this code on [my platform]"

Common schema types worth implementing:

• Article/BlogPosting for blog posts
• Product for product pages
• FAQ for FAQ sections
• HowTo for step-by-step guides
• LocalBusiness for local businesses
• Review for review content

Creating Your Technical SEO Checklist

Build a recurring audit checklist:

AI: "Create a monthly technical SEO audit checklist for a
[size] website on [platform].

Include:
- Quick checks (under 5 minutes each)
- Deeper checks (for quarterly review)
- Tools to use for each check
- What 'passing' looks like for each item
- Priority level (critical/important/nice-to-have)

Organize by category: crawlability, indexation, speed,
mobile, security, and structured data."

Exercise: Your First Technical Audit

Complete this 30-minute audit:

1. Check your robots.txt and sitemap
2. Run PageSpeed Insights on your homepage and one key page
3. Check Google Search Console for crawl errors
4. Test one page’s mobile experience
5. Verify your site uses HTTPS
6. Use AI to interpret your findings and prioritize fixes

Fix one critical issue this week. Schedule the rest for the coming weeks.

Key Takeaways

• Technical SEO is the foundation your content sits on – cracks here limit everything above
• Google Search Console is your most important free tool for technical SEO
• Start with the basics: robots.txt, sitemap, HTTPS, mobile-friendliness, and page speed
• Image optimization is usually the single biggest speed improvement you can make
• Broken links and redirect issues accumulate over time – audit regularly
• Structured data earns rich results and helps search engines understand your content
• You don’t need to be a developer – AI can guide you through most technical fixes

Next lesson: Content strategy and topic clusters – building an architecture that establishes topical authority and compounds traffic.