Notes for owners · SEO, content and AI search
Technical SEO checks an owner can ask a developer for in plain words
Ten yes-or-no questions on indexing, sitemap, redirects, mobile and speed that you can put to a developer or agency by message, with the answer you should expect to each.
The GullySales team · Updated 17 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
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Send your developer the ten questions below, each answerable with yes or no and a page address or screenshot as proof. They cover whether Google can find and read your pages, whether old addresses still work, and whether the site loads on a phone. A "not checked" is a fair answer. It tells you what to ask them to do next.
How to use the list
Paste the questions into an email or WhatsApp message, one at a time, and ask for proof with each answer. You are not testing the person. You are creating a record of the state of the site on a given day, which you will want if enquiries fall later.
Skip any question that does not apply, such as the one on redirects if you have never changed an address. Keep the answers in one document with the date.
A message you can paste: "Please answer each of these with yes or no, plus a page address or screenshot. If you have not checked one, say so. I am keeping the replies as a record of the site as it stands today." The last sentence matters. It makes clear that nobody is being blamed, which makes honest answers easier.
The ten questions
Can Google see the site?
- Is there any instruction on the live site telling search engines not to index pages? Ask for the robots file address and a screenshot of one page's settings. The answer you want is no.
- Is each important page, such as your services, products and contact page, indexed? Ask for a list of pages Google has read, taken from your search report account, and a note of any that are excluded and why.
- Is there a sitemap, and is it submitted? You want an address such as yoursite.com/sitemap.xml that lists your real pages and nothing that was deleted.
Do the addresses behave?
- Does every old address you have used go to the correct new page with a permanent redirect? Ask for a list of old and new pairs. Anything that ends in a "not found" page is a loss.
- Does the site open at one address only? The version with www and the version without, and the secure and insecure versions, should all lead to one. Two live copies can split your standing.
- Is the secure connection valid on every page, with no warning in the browser? Ask for the certificate's expiry date, and who is responsible for renewing it.
Does it work for a visitor?
- Does each page display correctly on a mobile phone, including the phone number and the enquiry form? Ask for a screenshot taken on a real phone, not a resized desktop window.
- How long does the home page and the top service page take to load on mobile data? Ask for the figure and the tool used. Compare it with a competitor's page, not with a perfect score.
- Do forms and call buttons send enquiries to the register, and has someone tested them after the last change? Ask for a test submission and the time it arrived.
Is the page set up to be read?
- Does each page have its own title, one clear main heading and a description of its own? Ask for a list of pages with duplicates highlighted.
What to do with the answers
| Answer | Meaning | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, with proof | Done | File it with the date |
| Yes, no proof | Unverified | Ask for the screenshot |
| No | A fault | Ask for a date to fix it |
| Not checked | Unknown | Ask them to check, and note the date |
| We do not know what that means | A gap in the supplier | Find out who does know |
If three or more come back as "no" or "not checked", pause spending on content until they are fixed. New pages on a blocked or slow site are unlikely to repay the effort.
A marble exporter in Kishangarh
An invented example. A marble and granite exporter in Kishangarh moves to a new site. Two months later the owner notices that searches for its slabs no longer bring enquiries, and sends the ten questions to the developer.
Question 4 comes back with no proof. Question 5 shows the site opens at both the www address and the plain one, with two copies of every page indexed. The old product pages, which the trade had linked to for years, now lead to an error page.
The developer maps each old address to its new one and picks one version of the site as the main address. The other redirects to it. The owner asks for question 4 to be answered again with the list attached, as a record. Over the following weeks the owner watches enquiries from search in the register, not rankings. Some enquiries come back; the old links from trade directories take longer, and the developer charges for the extra day of work. The fault was not the new site. It was moving without anyone owning the old addresses.
A worked line for the record, as the owner files it: "Q5, 14 Oct: site opens at www and non-www, both indexed. Asked developer to choose one and redirect the other. Reply due with a list of 20 pages." The date, the question and the next step in one line is enough to show, later, what was known and when.
Where this stops
These checks keep a site healthy. They do not make a thin page useful. If every answer is yes and enquiries are still low, the next fault may be the content. The post on why a site is not ranking takes it from there. For a sudden fall, use the checklist for when rankings drop. For slowness, start with how to speed up a slow site without a rebuild.
Send the first three tomorrow
Pick questions one, four and seven, send them to whoever runs your site and file the replies with the date. Search is only one route into your wider marketing, so keep the register open beside the answers. If you would like someone to answer all ten with screenshots, see technical SEO, or tell us what you need.
