The Ultimate Technical SEO Checklist for 2025

Technical SEO forms the foundation of your organic search success. Without solid technical infrastructure, even the best content won't rank. At Bojari Digital, we've audited hundreds of Malaysian and Indonesian websites, and we consistently see the same technical issues holding back performance. This comprehensive checklist will help you identify and fix critical technical SEO problems.

Why Technical SEO Matters

Google's ability to crawl, index, and understand your website directly impacts rankings. Technical issues create barriers that prevent search engines from accessing your content effectively.

Impact of technical SEO:

• 40-60% of SEO success depends on technical factors
• Page speed improvements can increase rankings by 10-30 positions
• Mobile-friendliness is a direct ranking factor
• Structured data increases click-through rates by 20-30%
• Core Web Vitals influence both rankings and user experience

1. Crawlability and Indexability

Check robots.txt

What to verify:

• robots.txt file accessible at yourdomain.com/robots.txt
• No accidental blocking of important pages
• Proper directives for different user agents
• XML sitemap location specified

Common mistakes:

# BAD - Blocks all pages
User-agent: *
Disallow: /

# GOOD - Strategic blocking
User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /cart/
Disallow: /*?*utm_source
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

XML Sitemap Optimization

Checklist:

• XML sitemap exists and is accessible
• Submitted to Google Search Console
• Contains only indexable URLs
• Updated automatically when content changes
• Separate sitemaps for large sites (>50,000 URLs)
• Image sitemap for image-heavy sites
• Video sitemap for video content
• News sitemap for news publishers

Sitemap best practices:

• Include lastmod dates
• Set appropriate priority values
• Compress large sitemaps (.xml.gz)
• Use sitemap index for multiple sitemaps

Meta Robots Tags

Verify proper usage:

• No unintentional noindex tags on important pages
• Strategic use of nofollow for low-value pages
• Canonical tags implemented correctly
• No conflicting directives

Check common problem areas:

<!-- Staging site should be noindexed -->
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">

<!-- Production pages should be indexed -->
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">

<!-- Or use canonical instead -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/page">

URL Structure

Optimization checklist:

• Clean, descriptive URLs
• Consistent URL structure
• Proper use of hyphens (not underscores)
• Lowercase URLs
• No dynamic parameters when possible
• Logical hierarchy reflected in URLs

Examples:

# GOOD URLs
/services/seo-services
/blog/technical-seo-checklist-2025
/products/category/product-name

# BAD URLs
/page.php?id=123&category=456
/SERVICES/SEO_Services
/product/12345

2. Site Architecture and Navigation

Internal Linking

Best practices:

• Every page within 3 clicks from homepage
• Clear hierarchical structure
• Descriptive anchor text
• Link to important pages from multiple locations
• Avoid orphan pages (pages with no internal links)
• Fix broken internal links

Strategic internal linking:

• Link from high-authority pages to important pages
• Create topic clusters with pillar pages
• Use contextual links within content
• Maintain reasonable link density (not too many)

Breadcrumb Navigation

Implementation:

• Breadcrumbs on all pages except homepage
• Structured data markup for breadcrumbs
• Clickable breadcrumb links
• Accurate hierarchy representation

Pagination

For blog posts, products, or search results:

• rel="next" and rel="prev" tags (if using)
• OR implement "View All" page with canonical
• Self-referencing canonical on paginated pages
• Avoid duplicate content issues

3. Page Speed and Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals Metrics

Target scores:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): < 2.5 seconds (Good)
• FID (First Input Delay): < 100 milliseconds (Good)
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): < 0.1 (Good)

Speed Optimization Checklist

Image optimization:

• Compress all images
• Use WebP format with fallbacks
• Implement lazy loading
• Serve responsive images
• Specify image dimensions
• Use CDN for image delivery

Code optimization:

• Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
• Eliminate render-blocking resources
• Defer non-critical JavaScript
• Inline critical CSS
• Remove unused CSS and JavaScript
• Enable compression (Gzip or Brotli)

Caching:

• Browser caching configured
• Server-side caching implemented
• CDN caching for static assets
• Appropriate cache expiration times

Hosting and server:

• Fast, reliable hosting provider
• HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 enabled
• Server response time < 600ms
• Geographic server proximity (for Malaysian/Indonesian audiences)

4. Mobile Optimization

Mobile-Friendliness

Essential checks:

• Responsive design across all devices
• Tap targets at least 48x48 pixels
• Readable text without zooming (16px minimum)
• No horizontal scrolling
• Mobile-friendly navigation
• Fast mobile load times

Mobile Usability

Test with:

• Google Mobile-Friendly Test
• Real device testing (iOS and Android)
• Chrome DevTools device emulation
• PageSpeed Insights mobile score

Common mobile issues:

• Flash usage (not supported)
• Viewport not configured
• Text too small
• Content wider than screen
• Clickable elements too close

5. HTTPS and Security

SSL Certificate

Verification checklist:

• Valid SSL certificate installed
• All pages load over HTTPS
• No mixed content warnings
• HTTP redirects to HTTPS (301 redirects)
• HTTPS specified in canonical tags
• HSTS headers configured

Security Headers

Recommended headers:

Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN
X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block
Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'

6. Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Essential Schema Types

For all sites:

• Organization schema
• WebSite schema with search action
• BreadcrumbList schema

For specific content:

• Article schema (blog posts)
• Product schema (e-commerce)
• LocalBusiness schema (local businesses)
• FAQ schema
• Review/Rating schema
• Event schema
• Job Posting schema

Implementation

Testing:

• Validate with Google Rich Results Test
• Monitor in Google Search Console
• Check mobile and desktop rendering
• Verify all required properties present

Common schema mistakes:

• Incorrect nesting
• Missing required fields
• Wrong data types
• Hidden content marked up

7. International SEO (for Malaysian/Indonesian audiences)

hreflang Implementation

For bilingual sites:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-MY" href="https://example.com/en-my/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ms-MY" href="https://example.com/ms-my/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="id-ID" href="https://example.com/id-id/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/" />

Checklist:

• hreflang tags on all language versions
• Self-referencing hreflang included
• x-default specified for unmatched languages
• Consistent implementation across all pages
• Correct language and region codes

Country Targeting

For multiple countries:

• ccTLDs (.my, .id) OR subdirectories (/my/, /id/)
• Google Search Console country targeting set
• Local server hosting (when possible)
• Local currency and contact information
• Localized content (not just translated)

8. Duplicate Content Prevention

Canonical Tags

Implementation:

• Self-referencing canonical on all pages
• Cross-domain canonicals (if needed)
• Consistent HTTPS/HTTP in canonicals
• No canonical chains
• Canonical matches hreflang URLs

URL Parameters

Google Search Console configuration:

• Identify tracking parameters (utm_source, etc.)
• Set as "No URLs" or "Representative URL"
• Monitor parameter handling in reports

Duplicate Content Issues

Common causes:

• WWW vs non-WWW versions
• HTTP vs HTTPS versions
• Trailing slash variations
• Multiple URLs for same content
• Session IDs in URLs
• Printer-friendly versions

Solutions:

• 301 redirects to preferred version
• Canonical tags
• Parameter handling
• Consistent internal linking

9. JavaScript and Dynamic Content

JavaScript Rendering

For JavaScript-heavy sites:

• Test with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test
• Verify content visible in rendered HTML
• Check Search Console for rendering errors
• Implement dynamic rendering if needed
• Use static rendering or SSR when possible

Single Page Applications (SPAs)

SEO considerations:

• Server-side rendering (SSR) or static generation
• Proper meta tag handling
• History API for URL changes
• Lazy loading with accessibility
• Progressive enhancement approach

10. Log File Analysis

Crawl Budget Optimization

Analyze:

• Pages Google crawls most frequently
• Pages Google doesn't crawl
• Crawl errors and status codes
• Server response times
• Wasted crawl budget on low-value pages

Optimization:

• Block low-value pages in robots.txt
• Fix crawl errors
• Improve site speed
• Update sitemaps regularly
• Reduce redirect chains

11. Error Monitoring

404 Errors

Checklist:

• Custom 404 page with helpful navigation
• Monitor 404s in Google Search Console
• Fix or 301 redirect important dead pages
• Remove links to 404 pages

5XX Server Errors

Critical to fix:

• Identify causes (overload, misconfiguration)
• Implement proper error handling
• Monitor server uptime
• Set up alerts for downtime

Soft 404s

Identify and resolve:

• Pages returning 200 but showing "not found"
• Thin content pages
• Return proper 404 or 410 status codes

12. Monitoring and Reporting

Essential Tools

Free tools:

• Google Search Console
• Google Analytics
• Google PageSpeed Insights
• Google Mobile-Friendly Test
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free for 500 URLs)

Paid tools:

• Ahrefs Site Audit
• SEMrush Site Audit
• Moz Pro
• DeepCrawl

Regular Audits

Monthly:

• Core Web Vitals scores
• Index coverage issues
• Mobile usability errors
• Security issues

Quarterly:

• Full site crawl and audit
• Structured data validation
• Backlink profile review
• Competitor technical analysis

Annually:

• Complete technical SEO overhaul
• Server and hosting review
• Platform/CMS updates
• Strategic technical improvements

Technical SEO Priority Matrix

Immediate (fix within 1 week):

• Security vulnerabilities
• Severe site-wide errors (5XX)
• Complete index blocking (robots.txt error)
• Site down or inaccessible

High Priority (fix within 1 month):

• Core Web Vitals failures
• Mobile usability issues
• HTTPS implementation
• Critical indexation problems
• Major structural issues

Medium Priority (fix within 3 months):

• URL structure optimization
• Internal linking improvements
• Schema markup implementation
• Minor speed improvements
• Breadcrumb optimization

Low Priority (ongoing optimization):

• Advanced schema types
• Marginal speed gains
• Low-traffic page optimization
• Nice-to-have enhancements

Case Study: Indonesian E-Commerce Site

Initial Audit Findings:

• Core Web Vitals: All metrics failing
• 40% of pages blocked by robots.txt error
• No structured data
• Mixed HTTP/HTTPS content
• Poor mobile experience

Technical Fixes Implemented:

• Fixed robots.txt blocking issue
• Implemented CDN and image optimization
• Added Product schema markup
• Migrated fully to HTTPS
• Responsive design overhaul

Results After 3 Months:

• Organic traffic increased 340%
• Mobile traffic up 520%
• Rich snippets appearing in 60% of SERPs
• Page speed improved from 23 to 87 (mobile)
• 15,000 additional indexed pages

Next Steps

Technical SEO requires ongoing attention and expertise. At Bojari Digital, we conduct comprehensive technical SEO audits and implementation for Malaysian and Indonesian businesses. Contact us for a free technical SEO audit and discover how we can improve your website's technical foundation for better rankings and user experience.