--- name: rampstackco/seo-technical source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/rampstackco-seo-technical@2/SKILL.md source_sha256: 2edec6dd9cf3 --- # Technical SEO Audit and fix the layer beneath the content: how search engines crawl, render, index, and trust a site. Stack-agnostic. --- ## When to use - Site-wide audit before or after a migration - Investigating indexing or ranking drops - Setting up SEO foundations on a new site - Auditing Core Web Vitals or page experience signals - Fixing crawl waste, redirect chains, or canonical issues - Setting up multilingual or multi-regional sites ## When NOT to use - Single-page on-page optimization (use `seo-onpage`) - Keyword strategy or content planning (use `seo-keyword`) - Competitor backlink or SERP analysis (use `seo-competitor`) - Pure performance optimization without SEO context (use `performance-optimization`) --- ## Required inputs - The site URL or staging URL - Access to (at minimum) view the rendered HTML, robots.txt, and sitemap - Ideally: search console access, server logs, and a crawler If the site is large (10K+ URLs), confirm whether the audit is a full crawl or a sample. --- ## The framework: 6 layers Technical SEO has six layers, stacked. A failure in a lower layer breaks everything above it. ### 1. Crawlability Can search engines access the URLs? - robots.txt does not block important paths - No accidental `noindex` on indexable pages - No accidental `disallow` patterns blocking CSS or JS (rendering breaks) - Sitemap is present, returns 200, and lists canonical URLs only - Sitemap is referenced in robots.txt - No infinite spaces (faceted nav generating endless URLs) - Crawl budget is not wasted on low-value URLs ### 2. Indexability Of crawlable URLs, which should be indexed? - One canonical URL per piece of content (no duplicates) - Canonical tags self-reference on canonical pages - `noindex` on staging, search results, filter pages, thank-you pages, internal admin - No mixed signals (canonical pointing one way, sitemap another, internal links a third) - Pagination handled correctly (rel=next/prev is deprecated, but consistent canonicals matter) - Parameter handling deliberate (UTM, session IDs, sort orders) ### 3. Rendering Does the rendered HTML match what crawlers see? - Critical content visible without JavaScript (or properly server-rendered) - For SPAs: confirm Googlebot sees the rendered content (test with the URL Inspection tool) - No cloaking (showing different content to bots vs users) - Lazy-loaded content has proper loading attributes - Hydration errors do not strip content from the rendered DOM ### 4. Site architecture Is the site structured for both users and crawlers? - Clear URL hierarchy that mirrors site structure - Important pages reachable in 3 clicks or fewer from the homepage - Internal linking distributes authority logically - Breadcrumb navigation present and marked up with schema - No orphan pages (pages with no internal links) - No redirect chains (one redirect max) - No 4xx errors on internally-linked URLs ### 5. Structured data and signals Does the site speak crawler language? - Schema.org markup on appropriate page types - JSON-LD format (preferred over microdata) - Validates in the Rich Results Test - Organization or LocalBusiness schema on the homepage or about page - BreadcrumbList schema on nested pages - Author and publisher schema linked correctly on content pages - llms.txt present at the root (for AI crawlers, see `seo-aeo-geo`) ### 6. Page experience and security Does the site meet the page experience baseline? - HTTPS on all pages, no mixed content - HSTS header set - Core Web Vitals pass (LCP, INP, CLS within thresholds) - Mobile-friendly (responsive, no horizontal scroll, tap targets sized correctly) - No intrusive interstitials on mobile - Stable URL structure (no random URL changes between deploys) - 404 pages return 404, not 200 with "page not found" content (soft 404) --- ## Workflow 1. **Define scope.** Whole site, a subfolder, a migration check, or a specific issue. 2. **Confirm access.** What can you actually see (HTML, robots, sitemap, search console, server logs, staging)? 3. **Crawl.** Use a crawler to enumerate URLs and statuses. Sample if the site is huge. 4. **Run the 6-layer framework.** Score each, note specific issues with example URLs. 5. **Cross-reference.** Search console for what's actually indexed. Compare to sitemap and crawl output. 6. **Prioritize.** Critical (blocks indexing or causes traffic loss), Important (suboptimal), Nice-to-have (polish). 7. **Write the report.** Use the template in [`references/audit-template.md`](references/audit-template.md). --- ## Failure patterns - **Optimizing rankings on a page that is `noindex`.** Always check indexability before content work. - **Adding sitemaps without fixing canonical issues.** A sitemap of duplicate URLs is worse than no sitemap. - **Blocking crawlers from CSS or JS.** Breaks Google's rendering. Common in over-aggressive robots.txt files. - **Over-relying on canonical tags.** Canonicals are hints, not directives. Use redirects when content actually moved. - **Migrating without a redirect map.** Single biggest cause of post-migration traffic loss. - **Treating Core Web Vitals as the only ranking signal.** Page experience matters but does not override relevance. --- ## Output format Default output is a markdown audit at `seo-technical-audit.md`. Structure: 1. Scope and methodology 2. Executive summary (3 to 5 critical findings) 3. 6-layer score 4. Critical issues (with example URLs) 5. Important issues 6. Nice-to-have polish 7. Implementation roadmap (sequenced) For migrations, include a redirect map as a CSV alongside the report. --- ## If required data is unavailable This skill's output depends on data, measurements, or tool results it cannot generate on its own. When a required input, tool, or data source is unavailable or unverifiable, the sanctioned output is the deliverable with the gap stated: what was needed, what was actually obtained or verified, and which parts of the output are affected. Fabricating, estimating, or interpolating a required number to complete the deliverable is never sanctioned. A stated gap is a complete answer. --- ## Reference files - [`references/audit-template.md`](references/audit-template.md) - Fillable technical SEO audit template. - [`references/migration-checklist.md`](references/migration-checklist.md) - Pre and post-migration checklist (covers the highest-risk scenario).