Technical SEO Checklist for Mortgage Sites

As competition in the mortgage industry moves online, having a polished website isn’t enough. If your site isn’t technically sound, Google won’t rank it—no matter how stunning it looks. That’s where technical SEO comes in. This guide offers a comprehensive checklist designed specifically for mortgage websites. If you’re looking to attract local leads, boost organic visibility, and convert visitors into clients, this is your roadmap.

Built for mortgage professionals and brokers using platforms like LoanSites, this checklist ensures your site meets modern SEO standards, performs fast, and ranks well.

1. Make Sure Your Website Is Crawlable and Indexable

Before Google can rank your mortgage site, it needs to find and understand it.

Check the following:

• XML Sitemap: Ensure you have a clean, updated sitemap submitted to Google Search Console. It should include all index-worthy pages like your homepage, service areas, blog posts, and calculators.
• Robots.txt File: Avoid accidentally blocking important pages (like /blog or /loan-options). Check for Disallow rules that may prevent crawling.
• Noindex Tags: Confirm key pages like your homepage, contact page, and blog posts do not contain noindex meta tags.

Pro Tip: With LoanSites’ Advanced SEO service, sitemap submission and crawlability audits are handled for you—just confirm it’s up to date after site edits.

2. Use HTTPS Across All Pages

Security is a ranking factor. Mortgage clients are submitting sensitive financial data, so HTTPS is non-negotiable.

Check for:

• A valid SSL certificate
• A padlock icon in the browser bar
• All internal links pointing to HTTPS URLs (not HTTP)

Tools to Use: Why No Padlock, Google Search Console’s Security Issues report.

3. Improve Page Speed (Especially Mobile)

Fast-loading mortgage sites reduce bounce rates and improve rankings. Aim for a mobile-first speed score of 90+ on key pages.

Optimize:

• Image sizes using WebP or compressed JPEGs
• CSS and JS files using minification
• Server response times by using performance-focused hosting

Tools to Use: Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix

LoanSites clients tip: Your site is already speed-optimized at launch. But continue monitoring if you add plugins, embeds, or custom scripts.

4. Implement Mobile-First Design

Over 60% of mortgage-related searches happen on mobile. A mobile-responsive design isn’t optional—it’s critical for rankings and conversions.

What to check:

• Buttons are tap-friendly
• Fonts are legible on small screens
• No horizontal scrolling
• Lead forms are easy to fill out on mobile

Best practice: Run mobile usability tests in Google Search Console regularly.

5. Structure Your Site With SEO-Friendly URLs

Clean URLs help search engines (and users) understand page topics.

Examples:

• ✅ yourdomain.com/fha-loans
• ❌ yourdomain.com/page?id=3948

Use hyphens (not underscores), keep URLs short, and include keywords where appropriate.

If you’re using LoanSites, ask your support team to rename any outdated URLs—support is unlimited.

6. Use Proper Heading Hierarchy

Google uses headings (H1, H2, H3) to understand your page structure.

Checklist:

• Each page has one H1 tag (usually the page title)
• Use H2s for main sections (e.g., “Loan Types We Offer”)
• Use H3s for subpoints under H2s
• Don’t skip heading levels or use them for style alone

This not only helps search engines but improves readability—especially on longform content like blog posts.

7. Optimize Core Web Vitals

Google’s Core Web Vitals are key performance metrics tied to ranking:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Should load within 2.5 seconds
• FID (First Input Delay): Should be under 100ms
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Keep under 0.1

If your site fails Core Web Vitals, pages may drop in rankings.

Tools to Use: PageSpeed Insights, Chrome Lighthouse, or Search Console > Core Web Vitals report.

8. Use Schema Markup for Local SEO

Local visibility is everything for mortgage professionals.

Mortgage sites should implement schema markup like:

• Local Business Schema: Name, phone, address, business hours
• FAQ Schema: For any on-page Q&A sections
• Article Schema: For blog posts and news updates

Schema helps Google better understand your site and improves how your pages appear in search results.

Bonus: LoanSites’ team can handle schema installation with a quick support request.

9. Eliminate Broken Links and Redirect Chains

Broken links harm user experience and crawl efficiency.

Check for:

• 404 errors (broken pages)
• Redirect chains (pages that go through 2+ redirects)
• Outdated external links to defunct sites

Fix or replace all broken links. Use 301 redirects if pages have been removed or renamed.

Tools to Use: Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Ahrefs Site Audit, Google Search Console

10. Monitor Technical SEO With Google Search Console

Google Search Console is your control panel for technical SEO.

Set it up to monitor:

• Crawl errors
• Indexed pages
• Mobile usability issues
• Core Web Vitals
• Sitemap status

Make it a habit to check it weekly. Use alerts to get notified when issues arise.

Bonus: Technical SEO Setup for LoanSites Clients

If you’re a LoanSites client, much of the heavy lifting is already done:

• Your site is launched with built-in SEO best practices
• A dedicated team handles on-page edits, redirects, and metadata
• Advanced SEO packages include weekly content, backlinks, and analytics

Still, it pays to understand what’s under the hood. A well-informed mortgage professional can ask better questions—and get better results.

Final Thoughts: A Strong Technical Foundation Builds Mortgage SEO Success

A beautifully designed mortgage website is a great start. But if it’s slow, unsecure, or not crawlable, it won’t bring in leads. This technical SEO checklist for mortgage sites gives you the blueprint for long-term visibility.

Want to skip the manual work and ensure your mortgage site ranks higher, loads faster, and generates more leads?

Schedule a free strategy call with LoanSites today.

Let’s build a mortgage website that doesn’t just look good—but performs.