If you’re looking to boost your website’s rankings in Google in 2025, then getting your technical SEO on point is absolutely crucial. Think of technical SEO as the backbone of your whole website. While most people focus on content or link building, without a strong technical foundation, your other efforts might be wasted. After all, it’s no good writing killer content if Google can’t find or properly understand your site.
Don’t worry if you’re not a tech wizard. We’ll take it step by step with a friendly checklist. Technical SEO does sound a bit fancy, but at its core it’s all about making sure your website is easy for search engines to crawl, quick to load for visitors, and secure enough in 2025’s high-security web environment.
Let’s crack on and explore the technical SEO essentials you should tick off to get your site ranking higher in 2025.
What is Technical SEO?
Before we jump into the checklist proper, it’s worth taking a moment to get clear on what technical SEO actually involves. Simply put, it means making sure your website’s nuts and bolts are in tip-top shape, so search engines like Google can find, crawl, and properly understand your pages without any hassle. This includes things like how fast your site loads, how well it works on mobile devices, your site’s layout, secure connections, and ensuring that Googlebot doesn’t hit any roadblocks while exploring your content.
- Website speed and performance
- Mobile usability
- Site structure
- Secure connections (HTTPS)
- Handling JavaScript correctly
- Making sure Googlebot doesn’t get stuck or confused
Since Google’s algorithms keep evolving, the bar for technical SEO keeps getting higher. Those who scrimp on the technical side risk being left behind in search engine results pages — or SERPs.
Your Ultimate Technical SEO Checklist for 2025
1. Conduct a Comprehensive Technical SEO Audit
Begin by giving your website a proper once-over before diving into any fixes. Think of it like taking your site to the doctor for a thorough health check, making sure everything’s in good shape before deciding what needs fixing.
- You can use handy tools like Google Search Console to spot crawling hiccups, indexing troubles, and mobile usability issues on your site. This free tool lets you check which pages Google can’t properly crawl or index, shows potential problems affecting how your site appears in search results, and helps you fix anything that might slow down mobile visitors or block Googlebot from doing its job properly.
- Run audits through Screaming Frog SEO Spider to scan your entire website for broken links, duplicate content, and poorly optimised metadata.
- Use PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse to review your site’s core web vitals (more on those soon).
A solid SEO audit tells you exactly what to fix rather than guessing or shooting in the dark. Keep a checklist of issues and prioritise fixes based on impact and difficulty.
If you’re in Melbourne and looking for affordable SEO in Melbourne providers, many offer comprehensive audits that can pinpoint exactly where your website needs technical improvements, all without breaking the bank.
2. Fix Crawling and Indexing Problems
If Google can’t crawl your pages or index them correctly, your content won’t appear in search results at all. This is SEO 101 but often overlooked.
- Head over to your Google Search Console account and check the Coverage report to see pages with crawl errors or that are excluded from indexing.
- Make sure your robots.txt file isn’t blocking Google from important folders or pages. It should be precise. Don’t block valuable sections by mistake.
- Check for noindex tags on pages you want indexed and remove them if necessary.
- Fix broken links and resolve server errors (like 500 or 503 errors) as soon as you spot them.
- Avoid duplicate content issues by using canonical tags to show Google which URL is the original.
The aim is to have all your important pages accessible to Google with clear instructions.
3. Optimise Your Site Architecture and Internal Linking
A friendly and logical site structure helps search engines understand how your pages relate to one another. It also improves user experience because visitors can get where they want faster.
- Create a flat site hierarchy where most pages are reachable within 2-3 clicks from the homepage.
- Use simple permalinks or URLs that describe the page content well. Avoid overly complicated URLs with long strings of random numbers or parameters.
- Link between related pages with descriptive anchor text to help Google understand the topics you’re connecting.
- Regularly audit for orphan pages. Pages with no internal links pointing to them should either be linked to or removed.
- Use breadcrumb navigation on your webpages to help both users and crawlers trace their path easily.
Good internal linking spreads link equity around your site and tells Google which content is most important.
4. Prioritise Core Web Vitals: Speed, Stability and Responsiveness
Google’s Core Web Vitals have become essential ranking factors and with good reason. They measure real user experience indicators. Focus on improving:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) the time it takes the main content of a page to load. Aim for under 2.5 seconds.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP) how fast your site responds when someone clicks or types. Lower times mean a more responsive site.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) how much a page jumps during loading, which can be frustrating to users. Aim for a score under 0.1.
Tips to improve these:
- Optimise images by compressing and using modern formats like WebP.
- Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files.
- Use lazy loading for images and videos so content loads as you scroll.
- Serve resources through a fast Content Delivery Network (CDN).
- Avoid excessive JavaScript that blocks rendering.
Fast, stable, and responsive websites keep users happy and earn favours from Google.
If the technical side seems overwhelming, consider consulting an AI SEO agency. These agencies use artificial intelligence tools to monitor and improve Core Web Vitals efficiently, saving time and boosting your site’s performance in real time.
5. Embrace Mobile-First Optimisation
With mobiles accounting for the majority of searches, Google prioritises the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking.
- Implement a responsive design that adapts content layout across different screen sizes and devices.
- Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to identify usability issues.
- Limit pop-ups and interstitials on mobile as they annoy users and can hurt rankings.
- Optimise for fast mobile load speeds. This often means further image compression and streamlined code.
- Ensure tap targets (buttons and links) are large enough and spaced well for fingertips.
If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’ll lose visitors and drop down the rankings fast.
6. Implement Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Structured data is a way of labelling your content so search engines understand the type of information on each page. This can lead to eye-catching rich snippets in search results.
- Add schema markup for products, articles, events, local business info, FAQs, reviews, recipes, and more, using the JSON-LD format.
- Use Google’s Rich Results Test tool to check your markup’s validity.
- Structured data can help you tap into voice search and AI-powered search assistants by providing clear and concise data.
- Rich snippets often boost your click-through rate, leading to more traffic.
Investing time here can pay dividends by making your listings stand out.
7. Secure Your Website with HTTPS
Security is no longer optional. Having a secure site (https rather than http) is an SEO ranking factor and instils trust with your visitors.
- Make sure your site has a valid SSL certificate. Many hosting providers offer them free via Let’s Encrypt.
- Redirect all http URLs to their https versions using 301 redirects.
- Fix any mixed content issues where insecure elements (like images or scripts) load via http on https pages.
- A secure connection protects your users’ data and helps maintain your search engine rankings.
Google prefers safe sites, so avoid slipping behind competitors on this front.
8. Maintain an Accurate and Updated XML Sitemap
Think of your XML sitemap as a roadmap that helps search engines browse your site efficiently.
- Create a sitemap including all key pages, but leave out unimportant URLs like admin pages, duplicates, or thin-content pages.
- Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to encourage quicker crawling.
- Keep your sitemap updated regularly to reflect any new pages or modifications.
- Check Google Search Console for sitemap errors and fix them promptly to ensure smooth indexing.
A tidy sitemap helps Google crawl your site faster and rank your new content sooner.
9. Handle JavaScript Correctly for SEO
Many modern websites use JavaScript frameworks for smooth user experience, but if not handled well, these can cause SEO headaches.
- Google can now index JavaScript rendered content, but it’s still best practice to ensure critical content is server-side rendered (SSR) or prerendered where possible.
- Avoid loading essential content or links only via JavaScript after page load as this can delay indexing.
- Use tools such as Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test or the URL Inspection Tool within Search Console to verify that your content is properly displayed across devices.
- Keep JavaScript files lightweight and defer non-essential scripts to improve load speed.
Well-managed JavaScript gives you the best of both worlds, user-friendly interfaces and SEO-friendly content.
10. Set Up Proper Redirects and Handle Site Migrations Smoothly
If you’re redesigning your site, changing URLs, or moving to a new domain, getting redirects right is crucial to protect your SEO.
- Use 301 redirects to permanently forward old URLs directly to their new equivalents. This ensures visitors and Google don’t end up on dead pages or confusing redirect loops.
- Avoid chains of redirects, where one URL redirects to another, which then points to a third. These chains slow down your website, waste crawl budget, and dilute your SEO value.
- Update your internal links so they point straight to the new URLs, cutting out any unnecessary redirects and improving site speed and crawl efficiency.
- After a migration or restructure, keep a close eye on Google Search Console for any crawl errors or indexing issues related to redirects. This helps you spot and fix overlooked links or pages early on.
- Submit new sitemaps and fetch new URLs via Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool.
Doing redirect work properly ensures you don’t lose rankings or traffic during changes.
11. Keep Monitoring and Maintaining Your Site
Technical SEO isn’t something you can just set and forget. Regular check-ups and ongoing monitoring are essential to keep your site healthy and competitive in 2025.
- Regularly check Google Search Console and Analytics for crawl errors, indexing status, and traffic dips.
- Set a recurring calendar reminder to run full technical SEO audits quarterly or biannually.
- Keep an eye on new Google algorithm updates and adapt quickly. For example, core updates that impact page experience might require tweaks to speed or mobile usability.
- Always fix broken links or server errors as soon as they arise.
- Stay informed on emerging SEO trends like new structured data types, advances in AI search, and evolving user behaviour.
Proactive ongoing maintenance minimises surprises and helps your rankings steadily improve.
Final Thoughts
Technical SEO might not be the most glamorous part of search engine optimisation, but heading into 2025, it’ll still be the backbone of any strong SEO strategy. For your site to rank well, it needs to load quickly, be mobile-friendly, secure, and easy for search engines to crawl. Without these basics nailed, even the best content struggles to get noticed. With proper site structure, up-to-date sitemaps, smart use of structured data, and vigilant maintenance, you’ll be giving your site every chance to shine in SERPs. Tackling the biggest issues first, like fixing crawl errors and speeding up your site, can give you early wins. Over time, work through the other items methodically.
Remember, Google’s goal is to serve users the best possible results, so if you make your website easier to use and understand, Google rewards you. If you ever hit a roadblock, seeking help from an experienced SEO professional can save you time and frustration. So get into your technical SEO toolbox and start ticking those boxes. Your website’s future rankings depend on it. Ready to give your site a proper tech tune-up? Have a go at the steps above and watch your rankings climb steadily in 2025.