SEO · ServiceBOFU
Technical SEO: fix what stops you ranking
The short answer
Technical SEO is everything that determines whether your content gets found, rendered and understood. No amount of writing outranks a site that serves duplicate URLs, blocks its own resources, takes eight seconds to paint on a mid-range Android, or hides its content behind JavaScript that crawlers won't execute.
PMG audits and then fixes — we work in the codebase or alongside your developers with specific, prioritised tickets, not a 90-page PDF of observations.
What a technical audit covers
- Crawlability: robots.txt, crawl traps, faceted navigation, parameter handling
- Indexation: indexed-to-published ratio, thin and duplicate pages, index bloat
- Canonicalisation and duplicate content across URL variants
- Site architecture and internal link distribution
- Core Web Vitals on real mobile devices, not just lab scores
- JavaScript rendering and server-side content availability
- Structured data validity and coverage
- XML sitemaps, segmented and auto-updating
- International and language targeting where relevant
- Log file analysis for crawl behaviour on larger sites
The issues we find most in Indian sites
- JavaScript-rendered content that crawlers see as empty — common on React and Vue sites built without SSR
- Index bloat from filter and sort parameters generating thousands of near-duplicate URLs
- Mobile Core Web Vitals failing while desktop passes, in a market that is overwhelmingly mobile
- Duplicate pages across www/non-www, http/https, and trailing-slash variants
- Orphan pages with no internal links pointing to them
- Broken or invalid schema that silently fails validation
- Uncompressed hero images as the LCP element, adding seconds on 4G
How we prioritise
- Blockers first. Anything preventing indexation of money pages.
- Duplication and bloat. Consolidate before optimising — ranking signals split across duplicates help nobody.
- Core Web Vitals on mobile. LCP under 2.5s, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1 on field data, not lab data.
- Architecture and internal linking, so authority reaches the pages that earn money.
- Structured data, validated and accurate.
- Monitoring, so regressions are caught in days rather than quarters.
The technical SEO audit, area by area
| Area | What we check |
|---|---|
| Crawlability | robots.txt, internal links, orphan pages, crawl depth, crawl budget on large sites |
| Indexation | Index coverage, noindex tags, canonicals, duplicates, parameters |
| Rendering | Whether key content and links exist in server-rendered HTML |
| Performance | LCP, INP, CLS on mobile field data |
| Architecture | URL structure, hierarchy, pagination, faceted navigation |
| Structured data | Schema validity and relevance |
| International | hreflang, regional URLs |
| Security and hosting | HTTPS, redirects, server errors, uptime |
| AI crawler access | Whether search and AI crawlers you want are allowed |
Core Web Vitals thresholds
| Metric | Good | Needs improvement | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCP | ≤ 2.5 s | 2.5 – 4 s | > 4 s |
| INP | ≤ 200 ms | 200 – 500 ms | > 500 ms |
| CLS | ≤ 0.1 | 0.1 – 0.25 | > 0.25 |
Source: web.dev. Field data from real users (Chrome UX Report, Search Console) is what counts, not a single lab test.
JavaScript and rendering
Sites built with client-side JavaScript frameworks can hide content and links from crawlers or delay indexing. AI crawlers are often less capable of rendering JavaScript than Googlebot. We check the raw HTML each crawler receives and recommend server-side rendering or static generation for important pages.
Technical SEO by platform
| Platform | Common issues |
|---|---|
| WordPress | Plugin bloat, duplicate archives, slow themes |
| Shopify | Duplicate collection URLs, app scripts |
| JavaScript frameworks | Rendering, client-side routing |
| Custom platforms | Indexing controls, sitemaps, canonicals |
A worked example
A JavaScript-heavy site had important content that search engines couldn't see without rendering. We moved key content to server-side rendering, fixed internal links that relied on scripts and cleaned up sitemaps. Indexed pages and rankings rose.
Before technical SEO work
- Crawl of the site
- Search Console coverage review
- Core Web Vitals data
- Developer availability
How a Technical SEO engagement with PMG runs
- Audit (week 0–1). Accounts, analytics, tracking, website, CRM flow and competitors reviewed, with a written list of what's broken, what's wasted and the three moves we'd make first.
- Plan (week 1–2). Break-even ROAS or a target cost per lead, a measurement plan and a 90-day roadmap for Technical SEO, with owners and dates.
- Launch (week 2–4). Clean structures, verified conversion signals, the first creative sprint and landing-page fixes.
- Optimise (months 2–3). A weekly test cadence, with budget following the cheapest incremental results rather than platform-reported ones.
- Scale (month 3 onwards). New channels, geographies and retention loops, added only when the economics hold.
Every week you get a one-page scorecard, a change log, the test board and a 30-minute call with your strategist. See how we work and pricing for details.
Why teams choose PMG for Technical SEO
- Measurement first. Unit economics and clean tracking come before any increase in spend.
- You own everything. Ad accounts, data and creative stay in your name; ad spend goes straight to the platforms.
- Senior hands on the account. The strategist you speak to is the person running it.
- Weekly transparency. Scorecard, change log and test board — every week.
- Short minimum terms. We keep clients with results, not contracts.
- India and international. One Mumbai team running campaigns across Indian cities and overseas markets, Mon–Sat, 7am–9pm IST.
Where we run Technical SEO
We manage Technical SEO for businesses across India — including Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad — and for companies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Germany. Campaigns are planned market by market, with language, currency, platform mix and privacy rules matched to each. See all Indian locations and international markets.
Free growth audit
Get a written audit for Technical SEO.
No sales call required. Tell us where to look; a strategist replies within working hours and sends the written audit within 72 hours.
- Tracking check
- Pixels, Conversions API, GA4 events and offline conversions — what is firing, what is double-counted, what is missing.
- Wasted spend
- Search terms, placements, audiences and overlap that cost money without producing qualified leads or sales.
- Conversion path
- Landing page speed, message match, form friction and follow-up time — where interested people drop off.
- 90-day priorities
- The three changes we would make first, with the metric each one should move.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a technical SEO audit take?
Two to three weeks for the audit on a mid-sized site, then four to eight weeks of implementation depending on development capacity.
Will fixing technical SEO improve rankings immediately?
Fixing indexation blockers can produce fast, dramatic improvements. Speed and architecture changes compound over weeks. Neither substitutes for genuinely useful content.
Do you implement the fixes or just recommend them?
Both. We can work directly in the codebase for common stacks, or supply developer-ready tickets with acceptance criteria.
Does site speed really affect rankings?
It's a ranking factor, but the larger effect is on conversion. A slow mobile site loses users before Google's opinion matters.
What is crawl budget, and does it matter for us?
It's how many pages search engines crawl on your site in a period. It matters mainly for large sites with many URLs, parameters or duplicate pages; small sites rarely need to worry.
Do we need an XML sitemap?
Yes. Sitemaps help search engines discover important URLs and see when they change. Keep them accurate — only indexable, canonical URLs.
Should we block AI crawlers in robots.txt?
Only if you don't want to appear in those AI services. Blocking search-related AI crawlers removes you from their answers and citations.
What are Core Web Vitals?
Google's page-experience metrics for loading (LCP), responsiveness (INP) and visual stability (CLS).
Does site speed affect rankings?
It's one signal among many, and it strongly affects conversion rates.
What is crawl budget?
How much of a site search engines crawl in a given period — mainly a concern for very large sites.
Do JavaScript websites rank well?
They can, if content is rendered for search engines — server rendering helps.
How often should technical SEO be checked?
Continuously monitored, with deeper audits after major changes.
Will we own the ad accounts and data?
Yes. Everything runs in your own accounts with partner access for PMG, and you can see it all at any time.
What do you need from us to start?
Access to ad accounts and analytics, your margins and order values (or deal values), brand assets, and a decision-maker available for a weekly 30-minute call.
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Free growth audit
Find out where your budget is leaking.
Send us your ad account, analytics or site. Within 72 hours you get a written audit: tracking gaps, wasted spend, and the three moves we'd make first. No pitch deck.