tech-seo-audit

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# /digital-marketing-pro:tech-seo-audit

> **Script location.** If your host does not set `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}`, the scripts are in this plugin's `scripts/` folder, next to `skills/`. Run them with Python 3.10 or newer: `python`, or `python3` where `python` is not found (macOS, many Linux systems).

## Purpose

Run a comprehensive technical SEO audit that covers the infrastructure and code-level factors that affect search engine crawling, indexation, and ranking. This audit focuses on the technical foundation rather than content or backlinks. Produces a prioritized report with specific fixes, expected impact, and implementation guidance.

### Technical SEO and algorithm updates

**Status as of 2026-10-04 (time-boxed — re-check after ~2026-12):** per the [Google Search Status Dashboard](https://status.search.google.com/summary), the most recent **core** update began **21 May 2026** (completed after ~12 days). Since then Google has run only **spam** updates: the **August 2026 spam update** (18–21 Aug) and the **September 2026 spam update** (started 24 Sep; not yet marked complete on 2026-10-04). **There was no September 2026 core update** — several SEO blogs reported one; the dashboard lists none. Attribute only to updates the dashboard lists. Separately, Google's **site reputation abuse** policy has split at the EEA border since 30 Aug 2026: outside the EEA a manual action demotes the affected section; inside the EEA the section is separated and ranks on its own instead ([Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/08/update-site-reputation-policy)) — word audit findings on third-party/"parasite" sections per region.

Algorithm updates are quality/policy reweightings, not technical signal changes. When a brand asks about ranking volatility that coincides with a listed update:

- **Run this audit anyway** — updates surface pre-existing technical debt because relative quality matters more during reweighting. Crawl-budget waste on low-quality pages, broken canonical chains, soft-404s, and orphaned JS-rendered routes all amplify the damage.
- **Resist crawler/rendering "fixes" pitched as update remedies.** No technical change undoes a quality or spam-policy hit if the underlying issue isn't addressed. Pair this audit with `/digital-marketing-pro:seo-audit` (content/E-E-A-T side) — both are needed.
- **Hreflang, structured data, and Core Web Vitals carry their normal weight.** Two structured-data notes from Google's docs changelog: `VideoObject` gained a `creator` property (24 Sep 2026), and review snippets got a guideline against fake and undisclosed incentivised reviews (24 Jul 2026) ([Search Central updates](https://developers.google.com/search/updates)).

## Input Required

The user must provide (or will be prompted for):

- **Website URL** (required): The domain or specific section to audit
- **CMS/Platform** (helpful): WordPress, Shopify, Next.js, custom, etc.
- **Known issues** (optional): Any specific technical concerns
- **Site size** (helpful): Approximate number of pages
- **International presence** (optional): Whether site serves multiple countries/languages
- **Access to Google Search Console data** (optional): Enables real data vs estimates

## Process

1. **Load brand context**: Read `~/.claude-marketing/brands/_active-brand.json` for the active slug, then load `~/.claude-marketing/brands/{slug}/profile.json`. Apply brand voice, compliance rules for target markets (`skills/context-engine/compliance-rules.md`), and industry context. **Also check for guidelines** at `~/.claude-marketing/brands/{slug}/guidelines/_manifest.json` — if present, load restrictions and relevant category files. Check for custom templates at `~/.claude-marketing/brands/{slug}/templates/`. Check for agency SOPs at `~/.claude-marketing/sops/`. If no brand exists, ask: "Set up a brand first (/digital-marketing-pro:brand-setup)?" — or proceed with defaults.
2. **Load reference files**: Read `skills/technical-seo/core-web-vitals.md`, `skills/technical-seo/crawlability.md`, `skills/technical-seo/site-architecture.md`, `skills/technical-seo/indexation.md`, and `skills/technical-seo/international-seo.md` for detailed technical SEO frameworks
3. **Run tech-seo-auditor script** (if Python available): `python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/tech-seo-auditor.py" --url {url}` to get automated checks on status codes, redirects, meta tags, and page structure
4. **Core Web Vitals assessment**: Evaluate LCP, INP, and CLS using known thresholds. If GSC MCP is connected, pull real CrUX data. Otherwise, provide optimization checklist based on CMS/platform
5. **Crawlability audit**: Check robots.txt configuration, XML sitemap presence and structure, crawl budget considerations, JavaScript rendering impact
6. **Indexation review**: Canonical tag usage, meta robots directives, duplicate content risks, index bloat potential, pagination handling
7. **Site architecture analysis**: URL structure, internal linking patterns, site depth, navigation efficiency, breadcrumbs
8. **Page speed optimization**: Image optimization, render-blocking resources, compression, caching, CDN usage
9. **Mobile-first compliance**: Viewport configuration, responsive design, mobile usability, touch targets
10. **Redirect health check**: Redirect chain detection, mixed HTTP/HTTPS, trailing slash consistency
11. **Structured data review**: Schema markup presence, validation, completeness, opportunity identification
12. **International SEO** (if applicable): Hreflang implementation, language targeting, URL structure
13. **Security check**: HTTPS enforcement, HSTS, mixed content
14. Compile prioritized report: Group findings by severity (Critical / High / Medium / Low), include specific fix instructions, estimated effort, and expected impact for each issue

## Output

A structured technical SEO audit report containing:

- **Audit header**: Brand name, URL, date, CMS/platform, overall health score (0-100)
- **Executive summary**: 3-5 sentence overview of technical health
- **Critical issues** (fix immediately): Issues blocking crawling, indexation, or causing significant ranking impact
- **High priority** (fix this week): Issues with measurable ranking or UX impact
- **Medium priority** (fix this month): Optimization opportunities with moderate impact
- **Low priority** (backlog): Minor improvements and best-practice alignment
- **Each finding includes**: Description, affected URLs/pages, specific fix with code/config examples, estimated effort (hours), expected impact (traffic/ranking)
- **Core Web Vitals scorecard**: LCP, INP, CLS with current estimates and target values
- **Quick wins list**: Top 5 highest-impact, lowest-effort fixes
- **Implementation roadmap**: Suggested timeline for addressing all findings

## Tips & caveats

- **Core Web Vitals from synthetic tests (Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights) often disagree with field data (CrUX, GSC).** Field data is what Google ranks against. If lab says PASS but field says FAIL, trust field.
- **JavaScript rendering is the #1 silent killer** of indexation on modern sites. Always check whether the rendered HTML (post-JS) matches the source HTML at critical content. Use `view-source:` vs DevTools.
- **Don't fix what isn't broken.** A site at 95th-percentile CWV doesn't need re-engineering — that effort is better spent on content. Tech-SEO is necessary, not sufficient.
- **Robots.txt + meta robots conflicts** are common. If both fire, Google obeys the most restrictive. Always cross-check.
- **Check the CDN's bot settings, not just robots.txt.** On Cloudflare (headers `server: cloudflare` or `cf-ray`), the AI crawler controls changed on 15 Sep 2026: **Block** and **Block on pages with ads** now also stop Googlebot, Bingbot and Applebot, so **Block** removes the site from search. **Disallow AI Training** keeps search crawlers and publishes a no-training preference instead. A sudden indexing drop with a clean robots.txt is worth this check. Source: [Cloudflare blog](https://blog.cloudflare.com/accountable-mixed-use-ai-crawlers/), 15 Sep 2026.
- **For a Core Update window,** run this audit anyway — Core Updates often surface pre-existing tech debt, but the fixes are background work, not Core Update remedies.
- **Link-profile work is out of scope for this technical audit.** This audit covers own-domain *technical* health (crawlability, indexation, redirects, canonicals, CWV, schema) — not backlinks. For own-domain link health see `/digital-marketing-pro:seo-audit`; for competitor link-gap analysis hand off to `/digital-marketing-pro:backlink-gap`.

## Agents Used

- **seo-specialist** — Runs the technical audit across all dimensions, generates structured data recommendations, provides CMS-specific fix guidance, prioritizes findings by impact/effort

From indranilbanerjee/digital-marketing-pro, MIT.

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