Catalog / Technical SEO Cheatsheet
Technical SEO Cheatsheet
A concise guide to technical SEO, covering website crawlability, indexability, site architecture, and performance optimization. This cheat sheet provides actionable steps and best practices to improve your website's technical foundation for better search engine visibility.
Crawlability & Indexability
Robots.txt
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Specifies the web crawler the rule applies to. Use |
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Blocks specific URLs or directories from being crawled. |
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In some cases, re-allows crawling of specific subdirectories within a disallowed directory (not universally supported). |
Example: Block the |
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Example: Allow |
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Specifies the location of the XML sitemap for search engines. |
Meta Robots Tags
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Prevents a page from being indexed. |
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Prevents crawlers from following links on the page. |
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Combines both |
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Explicitly allows indexing and following (default behavior, often not needed). |
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Prevents search engines from saving a cached copy of the page. |
Canonical Tags
Use canonical tags to specify the preferred version of a page when duplicate content exists.
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Canonical tags help consolidate ranking signals and prevent duplicate content issues. |
Site Architecture & Internal Linking
URL Structure
Maintain a clear and logical URL structure. |
Example: |
Internal Linking
Anchor Text |
Use relevant and descriptive anchor text for internal links. |
Contextual Relevance |
Link to related content to improve user experience and crawlability. |
Link Depth |
Ensure important pages are linked from multiple locations to increase their prominence. |
Navigation |
Implement a clear and intuitive navigation structure to guide users and crawlers. |
Sitemap |
Create an XML sitemap and submit it to search engines via Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. |
Site Navigation
Ensure your site navigation is crawlable and indexable. Use HTML links ( |
Avoid using JavaScript or Flash-based navigation, as they can be difficult for search engines to crawl. |
Site Speed & Mobile Optimization
Core Web Vitals
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) |
Measures the time it takes for the largest content element to become visible. Aim for under 2.5 seconds. |
First Input Delay (FID) |
Measures the time it takes for the browser to respond to a user’s first interaction. Aim for under 100 milliseconds. |
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) |
Measures the visual stability of a page. Aim for a score of less than 0.1. |
Tools |
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and WebPageTest to analyze and improve Core Web Vitals. |
Image Optimization
Optimize images by compressing them without sacrificing quality. |
Mobile-Friendly Design
Use a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes. |
Minification
CSS |
Minify CSS files to reduce their size by removing unnecessary characters like spaces and comments. |
JavaScript |
Minify JavaScript files to reduce their size. |
HTML |
Minify HTML files to reduce their size. |
Tools |
Use online tools or build processes for minification. |
Structured Data & Security
Schema Markup
Implement structured data markup using Schema.org vocabulary to help search engines understand the content of your pages. This can lead to rich snippets in search results. |
Use the Google Rich Results Test to validate your schema markup. |
HTTPS
Ensure your website is served over HTTPS to provide a secure connection for users. |
XML Sitemap
Purpose |
List all important URLs on your website. |
Submission |
Submit the sitemap to search engines (Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools). |
Updates |
Keep the sitemap updated with new and removed content. |
Format |
XML format following the sitemap protocol. |