Handbook
Handbook
SEO & Indexing Handbook
A complete, sourced technical-SEO handbook: crawling and indexing, JavaScript rendering, Core Web Vitals, content quality and E-E-A-T, structured data, site architecture, media, accessibility, spam risks, and AI search (GEO/AEO).
13
handbook chapters
5
primary sources synthesized
The Crawlinx SEO & Indexing Handbook: 13 in-depth chapters covering how Google crawls, renders, indexes, and ranks — from Core Web Vitals and structured data to JavaScript SEO, E-E-A-T, and the AI-search era. Every recommendation is backed by primary sources and linked to the exact checks Crawlinx runs.
How to read severity
Throughout the handbook, recommendations are colour-coded by the same severity scale Crawlinx uses in your audit report:
CriticalBlocks indexing or ranking — Google cannot crawl, render, or index the page correctly. Fix first.
WarningWastes crawl budget, dilutes signals, or caps ranking potential. Fix once criticals are clear.
Good practiceA best practice that compounds over time — structure, internal links, freshness, E-E-A-T.
The 13 chapters
1How Google Search Actually WorksThe crawl → render → index → rank → serve pipeline, ranking systems, and why Quality Raters never move your rankings.2Crawling & IndexingCrawl budget, HTTP status codes, robots.txt, meta robots, canonicalization, sitemaps, and the disallow-plus-noindex trap.3Rendering & JavaScript SEOThe Web Rendering Service pipeline, why SSR/SSG is mandatory, the noindex-in-HTML trap, lazy loading, and framework guidance.4Page Experience & Core Web VitalsLCP, INP, CLS thresholds and the 75th-percentile field-data rule, plus HTTPS, mobile-first indexing, and content parity.5Content Quality, E-E-A-T & YMYLMain-content quality levers, E-E-A-T with Trust at the center, YMYL scrutiny, the Page Quality scale, and the AI-content stance.6Structured Data & Schema.orgJSON-LD best practices, supported types and 2026 rich-result status, key examples, and the FAQ/HowTo deprecations.7Site Architecture, Internal Linking & InternationalCrawlable links, flat hierarchy, URL design, faceted-navigation crawl control, and the three hreflang rules.8Media SEO — Images & VideoImage alt text and filenames, the three video URL roles, VideoObject requirements, and image/video sitemaps.9Accessibility ↔ SEOWhy the semantic tree unites screen readers and Googlebot, the overlap table, semantic HTML, ARIA rules, and WCAG 2.2 AA thresholds.10Spam & Quality RisksThe spam-policy list, link spam, scaled content abuse, parasite SEO, and how algorithmic vs manual-action recovery works.11The AI Search Era — GEO / AEOEligibility for AI answers, the measurable tactics that get you cited, the three-function AI crawler model, and the llms.txt reality check.12Fresh 2026 Changes & DeprecationsThe 2026 core and spam updates, AI Mode changes, the zero-click reality, new GSC AI reports, schema deprecations, and IndexNow.13Master Build ChecklistThe single actionable pre-launch and ongoing checklist that ties all 12 chapters into a shippable build list.
Audit your own site — free
156 checks, internal PageRank, render-diff. No signup, results in ~30s.