Since 2007 · 32 long-term client partnerships · GSC + Screaming Frog + PageSpeed Insights · Transparent billing · Starting at €864

Technical SEO: the foundation without which nothing ranks.

Core Web Vitals, Schema markup, crawling, indexing. We use real GSC data and Screaming Frog to analyze your site—not tool-generated scores.

No matter how good your content is: if Google can’t crawl and index your pages properly, no one will see them. Technical SEO is the discipline that ensures search engines can read, understand, and index your website without errors. No rankings without solid technical foundations.

We systematically check your website’s technical foundation—using real crawl data and Google Search Console, not a score from some random online tool. If something is broken, we’ll find it. And we’ll tell you what actually impacts your rankings and what’s just cosmetic.

●Since 2007 · 18 years of experience ●32 long-term customer partnerships ●GSC + Screaming Frog + PageSpeed Insights ●Transparent billing · €108/hour ●Starting at €864 (one-time fee)
Request a technical SEO audit To the SEO Overview
Technical SEO — Core Web Vitals, Schema Markup, Crawling since 2007
Technical SEO · GSC Data + Screaming Frog

What is technical SEO, and why is it important?

Technical search engine optimization encompasses all measures that ensure a search engine can efficiently crawl, correctly index, and optimally rank your website. While content SEO focuses on keywords and text, technical SEO deals with the underlying infrastructure.

Imagine your website as a building: the content is the interior design, while technical SEO is the foundation, the structural integrity, and the building systems. If the foundation has cracks, even the most beautiful interior design won’t help. Search engines send crawlers to your website to analyze every page. If these crawlers encounter problems—slow loading times, broken redirects, lack of mobile optimization—your content will be ranked lower or not indexed at all.

This will be truer than ever in 2026: Google will place greater weight on technical signals because AI Overviews and other SERP features only consider pages that are technically flawless. Those with gaps here will lose visibility—not only in traditional search results but also in AI-generated answers.

The Six Areas of Technical SEO

1. Crawling and Indexing

Google’s crawler must be able to find and read your pages. It sounds obvious—but in practice, it isn’t. Common issues: Pages are blocked by robots.txt, noindex tags prevent indexing, or internal links lead to dead ends. We check which pages Google actually crawls, which ones end up in the index and which ones don’t—and why.

2. Core Web Vitals and Load Time

Since Google made Core Web Vitals a ranking factor, load time is no longer just a nice-to-have. Three metrics matter:

  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — how fast does the main content load? Goal: under 2.5 seconds
  • Interaction to Next Paint (INP) — how quickly does the page respond to user input? Goal: under 200 ms (INP replaced FID in early 2024)
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — does the layout shift during loading? Target: under 0.1

For Core Web Vitals and PageSpeed optimization, we measure using Google PageSpeed Insights and real-world data from Search Console.

3. Mobile Optimization

Since 2021, Google has been indexing exclusively the mobile version (Mobile-First Indexing). Mobile optimization means more than just responsive design: font sizes must be readable, buttons must be tappable, and content must not be cut off. Over 70% of German searchers use a mobile device.

4. Schema Markup and Structured Data

Schema Markup (structured data in JSON-LD format) helps search engines understand the content of your pages—not just read it. With Schema, you explicitly tell Google: This is an FAQ, this is a service, this is a review. Result: Rich Snippets, more space, higher click-through rates.

Structured data will also be relevant for AI Overviews in 2026. Details on AI SEO preparation.

The most important Schema types for B2B websites:

  • Organization — your company with logo, address, reviews
  • Person — author profiles for E-E-A-T
  • Service — service descriptions with offers and prices
  • FAQPage — FAQ sections as rich snippets
  • Article / BlogPosting — for content marketing
  • BreadcrumbList — Navigation path in search results
  • Local Business — for businesses with a physical location

5. URL Structure and Canonical Tags

Clean, descriptive URLs are a basic best practice. But the real game-changer is canonical tags: They prevent Google from treating different versions of the same page as duplicate content. Common issues: Parameter URLs generate hundreds of duplicates, www and non-www versions display different content, and pagination pages cannibalize the main page.

6. HTTPS and Security

HTTPS has been mandatory for years—both as a ranking factor and to build trust with your visitors. But an SSL certificate alone isn’t enough: mixed content warnings, expired certificates, or incorrect redirects from HTTP to HTTPS can disrupt indexing.

Our technical SEO tools

We use a combination of professional tools and manual analysis. No single tool provides the full picture.

  • Screaming Frog SEO Spider — primary crawling tool. Simulates the Google crawler and detects broken links, missing meta tags, redirect chains, duplicate content, and missing structured data
  • Google Search Console — the only data source that shows how Google actually sees your website. Indexing status, crawl errors, Core Web Vitals based on real user data, manual actions
  • Google PageSpeed Insights — lab and field data combined (Chrome UX Report). Both are necessary because lab data alone doesn’t show how your page performs in reality
  • Schema.org Validator + Google Rich Results Test — Checking whether structured data is implemented correctly
  • SE Ranking and DataForSEO — ranking monitoring and keyword data in the context of technical optimizations

Project Example: Saving Core Web Vitals

TYPO3 website · 180 pages
, 18-hour sprint
(anonymized)

Background

  • B2B service provider with a TYPO3 website
  • GSC: 65% of URLs with poor Core Web Vitals (May 2025)
  • LCP sometimes > 5 seconds
  • CLS at 0.35 (target < 0.1)
  • 12 main keywords dropped by an average of 6 positions in 8 weeks

What we did

  • GSC Field Data Analysis: LCP Issues from Hero Image (Unoptimized)
  • Images fully converted to WebP with correct dimensions
  • Critical CSS extracted, JavaScript set to defer
  • CLS fix: explicit width/height for all iframes/videos
  • Preload hints for fonts and hero image
  • Schema markup for Organization + Service + FAQPage implemented

Results after 6 weeks

5.2 s → 1.8 s
LCP (Target < 2.5 s ✓)
0.35 → 0.04
CLS (Target < 0.1 ✓)
35% → 75%
URLs containing "Guten CWV"
8 / 12
Keywords back to their previous position (10 weeks)

We do not disclose full names or company names (confidentiality agreement). Reference calls available upon request.

Our Process

From SEO audits to monitoring

Four phases — prioritized based on measurable impact, not on the length of the list of issues.

// Step 01 / 4

Technical SEO Audit

Full crawl with Screaming Frog: page titles, meta descriptions, H-structure, internal links, status codes, canonical tags, structured data. In parallel: real Google data from Search Console. Details: SEO audit.

Prices

Prices for Technical SEO

Four pricing options based on scope and time constraints. All prices are net and billed in 15-minute increments at €108 per hour.

Package 01
Technical SEO Audit
Standard

Comprehensive technical audit for websites with 50–500 pages. Turnaround time: 5–10 business days. All six areas included.

ab 864 €einmalig
8 HOURS · 50–500 PAGES
  • Full crawl (Screaming Frog)
  • GSC Analysis and Indexing Review
  • Core Web Vitals Analysis (Lab + Field Data)
  • Schema Markup Check
  • URL Structure + Canonical Check
  • Mobile-First Testing
  • One-on-one meeting with Dennis
Websites with 50–500 pages · Annual routine check
Request standard →
Package 02
Express Audit
Before the relaunch

Expedited delivery in 3 business days. For time-sensitive situations—such as before a relaunch or when rankings drop. See the SEO Audit page for details.

ab 1.620 €einmalig
15 HOURS · 3 WORKING DAYS
  • Full standard features
  • Delivery in 3 business days
  • Prioritized processing
Relaunch Preparation · Drop in Rankings · Emergency
Request an Express Audit →
Package 03
Enterprise Audit
Enterprise

For websites with 500+ pages, multi-site setups, or international architecture (hreflang, geo-targeting). Customized in-depth analysis.

ab 3.240 €einmalig
30 HOURS · CUSTOMIZED
  • Multi-site and hreflang analysis
  • International SEO Architecture
  • Geo-Targeting Audit
  • Expanded crawl scope
Websites with 500+ pages · Multi-site · International
Discuss the enterprise audit →
Package 04
Ongoing technical support
Retainer

As part of our SEO packages starting at €864/month—including monthly crawling, GSC monitoring, and quick fixes.

ab 864 €/Monat
NET · IN THE SEO PACKAGE
  • Monthly crawl with change comparison
  • GSC Monitoring + Crawl Error Alerts
  • Quick fixes for new problems
  • Reporting at the monthly meeting
Long-term technical stability · Regular CMS updates
View SEO Package →
€108/hour for individual services Targeted optimizations, schema markup implementation, PageSpeed sprints. Ideal for teams with in-house development resources that need specialized assistance with specific technical issues.
Request a quote for a specific service →

Our Commitment to Precision

Five critical errors or a refund of the audit fee

If our technical SEO audit doesn’t identify at least five critical errors or opportunities for improvement that are measurably hindering your visibility, we’ll refund the audit fee. We don’t guarantee results that are beyond our control (rankings, traffic)—but we do guarantee the quality of our analysis.

Quality craftsmanship, not gimmicks. This guarantee applies in writing to every standard audit, with a 14-day return period following delivery.

// TECH_SEO_COMMITMENT
min. 5Fehler
Otherwise, refund the audit fee
In writing · 14 days after delivery
Dennis Hüttner — Technical SEO since 2007, Founder of Waterproof Web Wizard GmbH
Dennis Hüttner · Technical SEO

About the Founder

Dennis Hüttner personally oversees every technical SEO audit

Dennis Hüttner heads up Waterproof Web Wizard GmbH. He’s been in the field since 2007—from his first crawl check with Xenu Link Sleuth to Screaming Frog and today’s Core Web Vitals optimization. He personally reviews every priority and action plan before they’re sent to you. No account manager, no ticket system.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Technical SEO

Ten questions we’re asked regularly — answered straight up, without any marketing jargon.

How much does a technical SEO audit cost?

Standard starting at €864 net (8 hours) for websites with 50–500 pages. Express Audit (3 business days) starting at €1,620. Enterprise Audit (500+ pages) starting at €3,240. All prices are hourly (€108/h). During the initial consultation, we’ll estimate the effort required for your specific website.

How often should you conduct a technical SEO audit?

At least once a year, or after major changes to the website (relaunch, CMS migration, new plugin). In the meantime, we recommend monthly monitoring: regular crawls that automatically detect changes.

What are good Core Web Vitals scores?

Google defines "good" as: LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds, CLS under 0.1. These metrics must be achieved in the 75th percentile of page views—75% of your visitors must experience this level of performance, not just lab tests.

How important is schema markup, really?

Very important; varies depending on the page type. For B2B service providers, Organization, Service, FAQPage, and BreadcrumbList are mandatory. Schema markup will be particularly relevant in 2026 because AI overviews and AI-generated answers (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) use structured data to identify sources.

Can I handle technical SEO on my own?

The basics, yes: Screaming Frog and Google Search Console are freely available. The challenge isn’t in identifying the issues, but in evaluating them: Which issues actually affect your rankings? Which are cosmetic, and which are critical? That takes experience.

What is PageSpeed optimization, and how is it related to Core Web Vitals?

PageSpeed optimization is the umbrella term for measures taken to improve page load times. Core Web Vitals are the three specific metrics Google uses to measure this quality (LCP, INP, CLS). We bill for PageSpeed sprints on an hourly basis (€108/hour).

What is the difference between crawling and indexing?

Crawling = Google finds and reads your page. Indexing = Google adds the page to its search index. A page can be crawled but not indexed (e.g., if it has a noindex tag or is of poor quality).

Is technical SEO alone enough to achieve good rankings?

No. Technical SEO is the foundation, but without good content and a well-thought-out strategy, even a technically flawless website won’t rank. That’s why technical SEO is always part of our overall strategy. Learn more on our SEO consulting page.

Do you also do server optimization?

We configure the CMS layer (TYPO3, WordPress, Neos) and work closely with your hosting provider. We do not handle pure server administration (PHP tuning, Nginx configuration, CDN setup) ourselves—but we can recommend hosting partners based on our project experience.

My project is in trouble: Core Web Vitals are in the red in GSC, and rankings are plummeting. What should I do now?

This isn't a routine audit case—it's an emergency. We respond within 30 minutes, even at night and on weekends—via Code-Rescue.

15-Minute Check

Your website deserves a solid foundation

Technical SEO issues are invisible—until they start hurting your rankings. Let’s take a look at your website’s technical health. A 15-minute initial consultation, no hard sell. You’ll get an honest assessment of whether and where technical improvements are needed.

Request a technical SEO audit Call: +49 751 95899217
Free No obligation Without preparation