# Technical SEO checklist, with generative search > Free technical SEO checklist covering crawling, indexing, structured data, and generative search. Items marked not applicable are excluded, not penalized. Canonical: https://crawlwise.site/tools/seo-checklist The technical SEO checklist walks through crawling, indexing, metadata, structured data, and generative search items. Anything you mark not applicable is excluded rather than counted against you. - Free, no sign-up - Saved in this browser - Checklist · 35 free tools Your progress**Loading saved progress…**Reading this browser’s checklist A manual planning checklist, not an automated audit or a ranking score. Not every item applies to every site — mark the ones that do not, and they leave your total instead of counting against you. ## Technical 0 / 8 - **Site is served over HTTPS**Every URL, including www and subdomains, uses HTTPS. - **Pages return the correct HTTP status**200 for live, 301 for permanent moves, 302 for temporary ones, 410 for gone, and 404 only when genuinely missing. - **Duplicate pages point at one preferred URL**What matters is that duplicates and parameterised variants agree on a target. A self-referencing canonical on an already-unique page is optional.*Applies to: Sites with duplicate, paginated, or parameterised URLs.* - **A sitemap exists where it aids discovery**Most useful for large sites, new sites, or pages that are poorly linked internally. A small, well-linked site may not need one. - **robots.txt reflects the crawling you actually want**No robots.txt means everything may be crawled, which is a valid configuration. Add rules only where you need a control. - **Layout works on a narrow viewport**No horizontal scroll, and tap targets stay usable at around 360px. - **Important pages are reachable by internal links**Avoid orphan URLs and use descriptive anchor text. There is no required click depth. - **URLs are readable and stable**Avoid session IDs and unreadable query strings on canonical URLs. Letter case and length are style choices, not ranking factors. ## On-page 0 / 8 - **Unique, descriptive title on every indexable page**State the topic clearly. Google may rewrite the title, and there is no fixed character limit. - **Meta description where you want to shape the snippet**Google often writes its own snippet from the page. A description is useful, not mandatory. - **A clear main heading that matches the page topic**Multiple H1 elements are not a violation. Clarity for the reader is the point. - **Descriptive alt text on content images**Describe informative images. An empty alt attribute is correct for decoration. - **Images are sized and served in a modern format**WebP or AVIF, explicit width/height or aspect-ratio, and lazy-loading below the fold. - **JSON-LD matches what the page visibly shows**Only mark up content a visitor can actually see, using a type a search feature supports.*Applies to: Pages whose content maps to a supported type.* - **Breadcrumbs on pages inside a hierarchy**A visible trail plus BreadcrumbList. Irrelevant on a flat site.*Applies to: Sites with sections or nested categories.* - **Answer the questions your audience actually asks**Google stopped showing FAQ rich results on 7 May 2026. Write visible answers for readers; FAQPage markup earns no Google search feature.*Applies to: Pages readers reach with a specific question.* ## Content 0 / 8 - **Length matches the search intent**Cover the question properly. Do not pad to reach a word count; none is required. - **Original examples, data, or analysis**Something a reader cannot get from the current top results. - **Factual claims link to the sources behind them**Cite what you actually relied on. A count of outbound links is not a quality measure.*Applies to: Pages making factual, statistical, or research claims.* - **Body links to related pages where they help the reader**Relevance decides placement, not a target number of links. - **The primary topic reads naturally**Title, heading, introduction, and ordinary body use. No repetition loops, and no target density. - **Show who wrote it, where that matters**A byline is not required on every page. Where expertise is relevant, make it real and verifiable, and never invent credentials.*Applies to: Editorial, health, finance, legal, or other expertise-led content.* - **Accurate dates on time-sensitive content**Only where the date means something to the reader. A wrong or stale date is worse than none, and schema dates must match the visible ones.*Applies to: News, releases, pricing, and anything that goes out of date.* - **Revisit evergreen pages when the facts change**Trigger a review when the content actually goes stale, not on a fixed calendar. ## Generative search 0 / 6 - **A direct answer near the start of the page**Answer the reader’s question concisely up front. There is no universal citation-winning length. - **Citeable figures carry their source**Numbers an answer can attribute, with the origin stated.*Applies to: Pages that quote data or statistics.* - **Comparison tables where real choices exist**Clear headers and consistent rows. Not every page has something to compare.*Applies to: Pages comparing products, plans, or options.* - **Person schema where a real byline exists**Only for authors you actually publish, with genuine credentials and sameAs profiles.*Applies to: Pages with a named author.* - **Retrieval crawlers you want citations from are allowed**On-demand fetching is a separate control from training. Check the specific agent you care about. - **Spot-check whether you appear in generated answers**Ask category questions and record the result. This is a sample, not a visibility metric. ## Performance 0 / 8 - **LCP under 2.5s**The largest in-view element paints quickly on mobile. - **INP under 200ms**Clicks and taps stay responsive across the page lifetime. - **CLS under 0.1**Reserve space for images, embeds, and banners. - **Review TTFB against the 800ms guideline**A rough responsiveness guideline, not a Core Web Vital. Judge it alongside the full experience. - **Images are sized, compressed, and lazy-loaded**Keep the LCP image eager and discoverable. - **Fonts use font-display: swap**Preload only the critical face. - **Static assets on a CDN with long cache headers**Fingerprinted filenames so the cache can be immutable. - **No render-blocking scripts in the critical path**Defer or module-load non-critical JavaScript. ## Authority 0 / 7 - **Property verified in Google Search Console**This is where real indexing and query data comes from. - **Property verified in Bing Webmaster Tools**Same domain, same sitemap habit, and its own AI performance reporting. - **Backlink monitoring in place**The Search Console links report is enough to start. - **Public profiles state the same facts as the site**Name, URL, and sameAs entries agree across directories and Wikidata.*Applies to: Organisations and named people.* - **Organization schema links only profiles you actually run**An abandoned account is worse than no link.*Applies to: Sites publishing Organization markup.* - **Mentions in reputable publications**Coverage, talks, or documented case studies. - **Real third-party reviews where relevant**Never invent aggregate ratings in schema.*Applies to: Products, services, and local businesses.* A full audit checks most of this list on a live page for you, with the evidence for each item. Plans start at $14.99 a month. [Run a full audit](https://crawlwise.site/#audit-url) [See plans](https://crawlwise.site/plans) ## How to use the seo + generative search checklist 1. ### Work down the list Each item says what to check and why it matters. 2. ### Tick what is done Mark items done, or not applicable to your site. 3. ### Come back later Your progress stays in this browser, or on your account if you are signed in. 4. ### Run a full audit An audit checks most of these items on a page for you. ### What this does not measure We would rather say what a tool cannot see than let a clean result mislead you. - It has no idea what your site looks like. It is a list, and nothing on it is verified. - Marking something not applicable is not evidence that it is. That judgement is yours. - Completing every item does not produce a ranking, and the checklist deliberately gives you no score. Want the full picture? This tool answers one question. A full audit runs every check on a page, scores it, and gives you a short list of what to fix first. [Run a free audit](https://crawlwise.site/#audit-url) ## Questions about the seo + generative search checklist More in the [guides](https://crawlwise.site/guides). ### What does the SEO + generative search checklist do? Work through what applies to your site. Items you mark not applicable are excluded, not counted against you. ### Do I need a Crawlwise account to use SEO + generative search checklist? No. Every tool in the free toolkit runs without sign-up, card, or email. A full site audit and saved history require an account and credits. ### What can SEO + generative search checklist not tell me? It has no idea what your site looks like. It is a list, and nothing on it is verified. ### How is this different from a paid SEO suite? Crawlwise shows the evidence behind each result and prices work in credits. Suites bundle backlinks and ads research; we focus on measurable on-page health and crawler access. ### Can I run the same check on my whole site? The free tool answers one URL or one question. Add a site in Crawlwise to crawl many pages, export reports, and track changes over time on paid plans. ### Will fixing what the tool flags improve rankings? Nothing outside Google can promise rankings. Fixing real technical issues removes friction for crawlers and readers; it is necessary but not sufficient for visibility. ## Keep reading [Blog](https://crawlwise.site/blog) [All guides](https://crawlwise.site/guides)