Detailed verification steps, PASS/FAIL/WARN criteria, and fix guidance for all 10 technical SEO checks. For each check: what to look for, how to verify, what st
Audit Checklist Technical provides a detailed framework for evaluating the core technical SEO health of a website. It breaks down each of the 10 essential technical SEO checks with clear PASS/FAIL/WARN criteria, verification methods, and targeted fix recommendations. From validating XML sitemaps and canonical tags to ensuring HTTPS integrity and eliminating redirect chains, this skill guides marketers through practical, measurable audit steps that directly impact crawlability, indexability, and user experience.
Each check specifies what to look for and how to confirm it using tools like Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, or SSL Labs. The skill focuses on actionable diagnostics, highlighting common pitfalls such as malformed sitemaps, missing canonical tags, or mixed content issues, and links these to pragmatic fixes like updating CMS configurations or server redirects.
This skill is designed for SEO specialists managing medium to large websites who need to enforce technical SEO best practices systematically. Agency strategists conducting comprehensive audits for clients will find this checklist invaluable for standardizing deliverables and ensuring no critical issues are overlooked. Growth leads responsible for site health and organic visibility can use it to prioritize technical fixes that directly affect search performance and user engagement.
It is particularly suited for marketers who routinely coordinate with developers or CMS administrators and require precise, verifiable criteria and remediation steps to delegate technical SEO tasks effectively.
A typical workflow begins with fetching and validating the XML sitemap to ensure it includes all relevant URLs without errors and is submitted to major search engines. Next, the auditor verifies canonical tags across the site, checking for self-referencing canonicals and proper handling of paginated or parameterized URLs to avoid duplicate content issues.
The process continues with analyzing redirect chains, confirming that all redirects are single-hop 301s and internal links point directly to final destinations. Another essential stage involves assessing HTTPS implementation, including SSL certificate validity, mixed content absence, and HTTP to HTTPS redirection. Practitioners then run mobile-friendly tests and evaluate other technical criteria, documenting PASS/FAIL/WARN statuses and recommending fixes based on the audit findings.
How do I verify if the sitemap is correctly submitted? Check Google Search Console’s Sitemaps report for submission status and last read dates. What counts as a redirect chain failure? Any URL redirecting through more than one intermediate URL before reaching the final page triggers a FAIL. How can I confirm HTTPS is fully implemented? Use browser developer tools to detect mixed content and SSL Labs for certificate validity and HSTS configuration.
Attach this skill to a Metaflow agent task when performing or reviewing the technical SEO section of an audit. The agent will guide you through each of the 10 technical checks with detailed verification steps and status criteria, helping you document results clearly. Expect structured outputs that identify specific issues, their severity, and recommended fixes to streamline collaboration with development teams and clients. This overview integrates smoothly with broader SEO workflows in Metaflow, ensuring consistent audit quality and actionable insights.
For broader context, see our roundup of marketing skills claude, and read Claude skills for SEO for related setup guidance.