Technical SEO checklist: from crawlability to AI search engines

Why technical SEO underpins everything else

Even the best content and link building achieve nothing if search engines cannot crawl or index your pages. Technical SEO is not optional, it is a prerequisite: it is the layer that ensures all your other efforts actually get seen.

With the rise of AI search engines such as Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and ChatGPT search, technical structure gains an extra dimension. These systems need to parse content as well as or better than traditional crawlers, which means clear markup and structure matter more than ever.

Crawlability and indexation

Start by checking whether search engines can actually reach and index your most important pages. Use Google Search Console to review the indexing status of your pages and resolve any errors.

• Check that important pages aren't accidentally blocked via robots.txt
• Avoid unnecessary noindex tags on valuable pages
• Maintain a logical, flat site architecture with a maximum of three clicks to any page
• Remove or redirect dead links and outdated pages
• Monitor crawl budget on large websites with thousands of pages

Configuring sitemaps and robots.txt correctly

An XML sitemap helps search engines efficiently find all your important pages. Keep the sitemap up to date, split it for large websites, and submit it via Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

Your robots.txt file determines which parts of the site can or cannot be crawled. Check this file regularly, especially after a migration or redesign, because a misplaced disallow rule can render entire sections of your site invisible.

Canonicals and hreflang for NL/EN websites

Canonical tags prevent duplicate content issues by telling search engines which version of a page is preferred. This is essential when dealing with filters, parameters or multiple URL variants of the same page.

For websites with a Dutch and English version, hreflang is crucial: it tells search engines which language version to show to which users. Errors in hreflang implementation are among the most common technical problems on multilingual sites.

Structured data that helps AI and search engines

Structured data (schema.org markup) gives search engines explicit context about your content. This increases the chance of rich results such as star ratings, expandable FAQs and product information in search results.

• Organization and LocalBusiness schema for company information
• FAQPage schema for frequently asked questions sections
• BreadcrumbList schema for navigation structure
• Article schema for blog posts and news
• Product and Review schema for online shops

Internal link structure

Internal links distribute authority across your site and help search engines understand the relative importance of pages. Link from strong, well-visited pages to pages that deserve extra attention, using descriptive anchor text instead of generic terms such as 'click here'.

Build a clear hierarchy: main pages, category pages and detail pages that logically reference each other. This improves not only SEO but also user experience and time on site.

Core Web Vitals and page speed

Core Web Vitals measure actual user experience: how quickly content loads, how quickly the page becomes interactive, and how stable the layout remains while loading. These metrics are a confirmed ranking factor and directly affect conversion and bounce rate.

Optimise images with modern formats, minimise render-blocking JavaScript and CSS, use a content delivery network where relevant, and test regularly through PageSpeed Insights to catch regressions early.

Structuring content for AI search engines (GEO)

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) focuses on optimising content so AI systems can cite and summarise it. This calls for a different approach than traditional SEO: clear, directly answerable questions, short summaries at the top of articles, and factual, well-supported claims.

Use clear headings phrased as questions, structure content into scannable sections, and make sure each article contains a concise answer that can stand alone as a quote. This increases the chance your content gets included in AI-generated answers.