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Technical SEO checklist infographic styled as a pilot's pre-flight checklist on a clipboard: 14 checks grouped into crawl, render, index, experience and international, with URL Inspection and the Page indexing report as the tools to check them.

Oct 5, 2026

Technical SEO Checklist Infographic: 14 Checks

A technical SEO checklist in five groups: crawl, render, index, experience and international, plus the two Search Console tools to check them.

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<a href="https://searchinsider.io/infographics/technical-seo-checklist"><img src="https://searchinsider.io/research/technical-seo-checklist/technical-seo-checklist-infographic.png" alt="Technical SEO checklist infographic styled as a pilot's pre-flight checklist on a clipboard: 14 checks grouped into crawl, render, index, experience and international, with URL Inspection and the Page indexing report as the tools to check them." style="max-width:680px;width:100%;height:auto;" /></a><p>Source: <a href="https://searchinsider.io/infographics/technical-seo-checklist">Technical SEO checklist infographic</a> by Search Insider.</p>

What's on a technical SEO checklist?

The short answer: Technical SEO makes sure Google can crawl, render and index your pages. Get these basics right first: no content or links can rank a page Google can't reach.

Based on Google Search Central and Search Console Help.

What it shows

  • Crawl: Googlebot isn't blocked; sitemaps submitted (50MB or 50,000 URLs each); every key page linked.
  • Render: content shows after JavaScript; lazy-loaded content loads on screen.
  • Index: HTTP 200; indexable content; noindex only where intended; one canonical; no soft 404s.
  • Experience: HTTPS; mobile version has the same content; Core Web Vitals in the good range.
  • International: hreflang for language and region versions.
  • Tools: URL Inspection and the Page indexing report.

What to do

  • Monthly: Check the Page indexing report for new problems.
  • After launching a page: Run it through URL Inspection.

The walkthrough

What are Google's technical requirements?

Google lists three: Googlebot isn't blocked, the page works, and the page has indexable content [1]. Google only indexes pages served with an HTTP 200 status code [1].

How do sitemaps help technical SEO?

A sitemap helps Google crawl a site more efficiently [2]. Each sitemap is limited to 50MB uncompressed or 50,000 URLs [3]. Every page you care about should also have a link from at least one other page on your site [4].

How does Google handle JavaScript?

Google processes JavaScript web apps in three main phases: crawling, rendering and indexing [5]. Make sure important content appears once the page renders, and that lazy-loaded content loads when it becomes visible [6].

What is a soft 404?

A soft 404 is a URL that shows a page telling the user it doesn't exist while returning a 200 success status code [7]. Pages that are gone should return a real 404 or 410.

Does HTTPS and mobile matter for SEO?

Google's page experience guidance includes serving pages over HTTPS [8]. Google uses the mobile version of a site's content for indexing and ranking, called mobile-first indexing [9].

When do you need hreflang?

If you have multiple versions of a page for different languages or regions, tell Google about them using hreflang in HTML, HTTP headers or sitemaps [10].

How do you check technical SEO in Search Console?

The URL Inspection tool shows Google's indexed version of a specific page and tests whether it can be indexed [11]. The Page indexing report shows which pages Google can find and index across your site, and any problems it found [12].

Sources

  1. Google Search Technical Requirements, Google Search Central
  2. What Is a Sitemap, Google Search Central
  3. Build and Submit a Sitemap, Google Search Central
  4. SEO Link Best Practices for Google, Google Search Central
  5. Understand the JavaScript SEO Basics, Google Search Central
  6. Fix Lazy-Loaded Website Content, Google Search Central
  7. Troubleshoot Google Search Crawling Errors, Google Search Central
  8. Understanding page experience in Google Search results, Google Search Central
  9. Mobile site and mobile-first indexing best practices, Google Search Central
  10. Localized Versions of your Pages, Google Search Central
  11. URL Inspection tool, Search Console Help
  12. Page indexing report, Search Console Help

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