Before you spend a single rand on content or link building, your website needs a solid technical foundation. Without it, Google may struggle to crawl, index, or properly understand your pages — meaning even great content can fail to rank. This checklist covers every technical SEO element South African website owners should review in 2026, in priority order.
Why Technical SEO Comes Before Everything Else
Think of technical SEO as the foundation of a house — no matter how beautifully you decorate the interior (content) or how much you advertise the address (link building), a cracked foundation undermines everything built on top of it. Google’s crawlers need to access, render, and understand your pages correctly before any ranking factor even comes into play.
The Complete Technical SEO Checklist
1. Crawlability & Indexation
- Check robots.txt isn’t accidentally blocking important pages
- Confirm XML sitemap exists, is updated, and submitted to Google Search Console
- Review GSC Coverage report for indexation errors
- Ensure no important pages have accidental “noindex” tags
- Check for orphan pages with no internal links pointing to them
2. Site Speed & Core Web Vitals
- Test Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — should load within 2.5 seconds
- Check Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — visual stability under 0.1
- Test Interaction to Next Paint (INP) — should respond within 200ms
- Compress and properly size all images (WebP format where possible)
- Enable browser caching and minify CSS/JavaScript
3. Mobile Optimisation
- Confirm responsive design across all screen sizes
- Test tap target sizes are large enough for mobile users
- Check text is readable without zooming on mobile
- Verify mobile page speed separately from desktop (Google uses mobile-first indexing)
4. URL Structure & Redirects
- Use clean, descriptive URLs (avoid unnecessary parameters)
- Fix any redirect chains (should be single-hop 301 redirects)
- Identify and fix all broken internal links (404 errors)
- Implement HTTPS sitewide with no mixed content warnings
5. Duplicate Content & Canonicals
- Add self-referencing canonical tags on every page
- Check for duplicate title tags and meta descriptions across pages
- Resolve www vs non-www and trailing slash inconsistencies
- Audit for thin or duplicate content across similar pages
6. Structured Data & Schema
- Implement Organization or LocalBusiness schema on homepage
- Add Service schema on key service pages
- Implement FAQPage schema wherever FAQ content exists
- Add BreadcrumbList schema for improved navigation display in search results
Tools You’ll Need for a Technical SEO Audit
| Tool | Purpose | Cost |
| Google Search Console | Indexation, crawl errors, Core Web Vitals data | Free |
| Google PageSpeed Insights | Core Web Vitals testing per page | Free |
| Screaming Frog | Full website crawl and technical analysis | Free (up to 500 URLs) |
| Ahrefs or SEMrush | Site audit, backlink analysis, keyword tracking | Paid (from ~$99/month) |
| GTmetrix | Detailed page speed waterfall analysis | Free |
Common Technical SEO Mistakes on South African Websites
| Mistake | Why It Happens | Fix |
| Slow hosting servers | Cheap shared hosting with SA-based businesses | Upgrade to quality SA-based hosting or CDN |
| No SSL certificate | Older websites never upgraded to HTTPS | Install SSL — most hosts include this free now |
| Bloated WordPress plugins | Too many plugins installed over time | Audit and remove unnecessary plugins regularly |
| Unoptimised images | Large image files uploaded directly from camera | Compress all images before uploading |
| Missing schema markup | Never implemented during initial build | Add LocalBusiness, Service, FAQ schema |
How Often Should You Run a Technical SEO Audit?
We recommend a full SEO audit at least quarterly, with ongoing monthly monitoring of Google Search Console for new errors. Websites that publish content frequently or undergo regular design changes should monitor more closely, as new technical issues can be introduced with every update.
Final Thoughts
Technical SEO isn’t glamorous, but it’s the non-negotiable foundation every South African website needs before content and link building can deliver their full potential. Work through this checklist systematically, prioritising crawlability and Core Web Vitals first, and you’ll give every other part of your SEO strategy a genuine chance to succeed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my website has technical SEO problems?
The clearest signs are pages not appearing in Google despite having content, errors showing in Google Search Console’s Coverage report, slow loading times (especially on mobile), or a recent website redesign followed by a traffic drop. Running your homepage through Google PageSpeed Insights and checking Search Console weekly are good starting habits for any South African business owner.
Can I fix technical SEO issues myself, or do I need a developer?
Some fixes — like writing a basic robots.txt file or submitting an XML sitemap — can be done without coding knowledge, particularly on WordPress using plugins like Rank Math or Yoast. However, issues like Core Web Vitals optimisation, schema implementation, and redirect chain fixes typically benefit from professional technical SEO expertise to avoid accidentally creating new problems.
What are Core Web Vitals and why do they matter for South African websites?
Core Web Vitals are Google’s official page experience metrics measuring loading speed (LCP), visual stability (CLS), and interactivity (INP). They are confirmed ranking factors, meaning poor Core Web Vitals scores can directly hurt your search rankings — regardless of how good your content is. This is particularly important in South Africa where mobile data costs make page speed even more critical for user experience.
Does technical SEO need to be redone if I change website platforms?
Yes, significantly. Migrating from one platform to another (for example, from Wix to WordPress) requires a complete technical SEO review — proper 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones, resubmission of your XML sitemap, verification of indexation in Search Console, and confirmation that all schema markup transferred correctly. Poor platform migrations are one of the most common causes of sudden traffic loss.
How long does it take to fix technical SEO issues on an existing website?
Simple fixes like meta tags, canonical tags, and basic robots.txt corrections can be implemented within 24-48 hours. More involved issues like Core Web Vitals optimisation, restructuring redirect chains, or implementing comprehensive schema markup typically take 1-2 weeks depending on website size and complexity. Critical indexation-blocking issues should always be prioritised and fixed immediately.
“Want to know exactly which technical issues are holding your website back? Get a free technical SEO audit with a prioritised fix list.”
