Quick answer: An SEO audit is a structured check of everything that affects how a site appears in search: whether search engines can crawl and index it, how pages are built and titled, the quality of the content, the links pointing to it, and how it performs for real users. Work through it in order (crawl and index first, then on-page, content, links and local), write down every issue, and finish with a prioritised list so the fixes with the biggest effect get done first.
An audit is not about producing a long report. It is about finding the handful of problems that are actually holding the site back. Plenty of audits list hundreds of minor warnings and miss the one setting that stops Google indexing half the site. The process below is the one we follow, and it works for a five page brochure site or a large online shop.
Before you start
Gather access and tools first. You will need:
- Search Console access for the site. If it is not set up, see our Google Search Console guide.
- Google Analytics access, to see which pages get traffic and from where.
- A crawler. Screaming Frog SEO Spider is the usual choice and free for up to 500 URLs. Others work too.
- A spreadsheet to log every issue with its URL, a note and a priority.
- Basic business context: the main services or products, the target locations, and the keywords that matter.
Step 1: Crawling and indexing
If search engines cannot reach or index your pages, nothing else matters. Start here.
Check robots.txt
Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt. Look for Disallow rules that block important sections, or the whole site. Development sites often go live with a blanket block still in place. Also make sure CSS and JavaScript folders are not blocked, so Google can render the pages.
Look for noindex tags
Crawl the site and filter for pages with a noindex meta robots tag. In WordPress, check that “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is not ticked under Settings, Reading.
Compare indexed pages with real pages
The Index Status report in Search Console shows roughly how many pages Google has indexed. Compare it with the number of pages your crawl found. Far fewer indexed pages suggests blocked or low quality pages. Far more suggests duplicate URLs, such as tag pages, search results or tracking parameters, being indexed.
Review crawl errors
The Crawl Errors report lists URLs Google tried and failed to reach. Fix broken internal links and redirect old URLs that still have links or traffic to the closest current page with a 301.
Check the XML sitemap
Make sure a sitemap exists, is submitted in Search Console, includes only pages you want indexed and returns no errors.
Step 2: Site structure and URLs
- Canonical version. The site should resolve to one version: either www or non www, and either HTTP or HTTPS. All other versions should 301 redirect to it.
- Canonical tags. Pages should carry a canonical tag pointing to themselves, or to the main version where duplicates are unavoidable.
- Clean URLs. Short, readable URLs with words rather than IDs are easier for people and search engines.
- Click depth. Important pages should be reachable within three clicks of the home page.
- Internal links. Look for pages with few or no internal links pointing to them. These orphan pages are hard for search engines to find and rank.
Step 3: On-page elements
Export the crawl data and look at each element across all pages.
Title tags
- Every page has one.
- Each is unique.
- The main keyword appears near the start.
- Length is roughly 50 to 60 characters, so it is not cut off in results.
Meta descriptions
Not a ranking factor, but they affect clicks. Look for missing, duplicated or very short descriptions and rewrite them for your most important pages first.
Headings
Each page should have one clear H1 that describes the page, with H2 and H3 headings breaking up the content. Themes that wrap the logo in an H1 on every page are a common issue.
Images
Check for missing alt text on meaningful images, and for very large image files that slow pages down.
Structured data
If you have reviews, products, events or a local business address, schema.org markup can help your listings stand out. Test it with Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.
Step 4: Content quality
Since the Panda updates, thin and duplicate content can drag down the whole site, not just the weak pages. Look for:
- Thin pages with only a few sentences and no real purpose.
- Duplicate content, such as the same text on many location pages or product descriptions copied from the manufacturer.
- Keyword cannibalisation, where several pages target the same phrase and compete with each other.
- Out of date content that no longer reflects your services or prices.
- Gaps. Questions your customers ask often that no page answers.
For each weak page, decide whether to improve it, merge it with a stronger page and redirect, or remove it.
Step 5: Mobile and speed
- Run key templates through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and check the Mobile Usability report. Our article on the mobile-friendly update explains what Google looks for.
- Test speed with PageSpeed Insights and a tool such as WebPageTest or Pingdom. Note large images, uncompressed files, too many scripts and slow server response times.
Step 6: Links
Inbound links
Use the Links to Your Site report in Search Console, plus a tool such as Majestic, Ahrefs or Moz Open Site Explorer, to review who links to you. Look for:
- The overall number of linking domains compared with competitors.
- Unnatural patterns, such as large numbers of links from directories, article sites or links with exact match anchor text. These carry Penguin risk.
- Valuable links pointing to pages that now return a 404. Redirecting those pages recovers the value.
Check the Manual Actions report too. If there is a penalty, it goes to the top of your list. For safe ways to build links afterwards, see our link building guide.
Outbound links
Check for broken outbound links and for any paid or sponsored links that should carry rel="nofollow".
Step 7: Local signals
For businesses that serve local customers:
- Is the Google My Business listing claimed, verified and complete?
- Are the name, address and phone number the same on the site and on major directories?
- Does the site have a clear contact page with the address, and a page for each main location?
- Are reviews being collected?
Step 8: Analytics and tracking
An audit should also confirm you can measure results:
- Analytics is on every page, once only.
- Internal traffic is filtered.
- Goals are set up for enquiries, calls or sales.
- Spam referrals are not distorting the data.
Step 9: Prioritise the fixes
Go through your issue list and score each one on two things: how much it affects search visibility, and how hard it is to fix. Then sort.
- Critical: anything stopping indexing, manual actions, site wide redirect problems.
- High impact, low effort: titles on key pages, broken redirects for linked pages, missing sitemap.
- High impact, high effort: content rewrites, site structure changes, speed work.
- Low impact: minor warnings. Fix them when convenient.
Write a short summary for the person who owns the site, with the top ten actions in plain language. That page will get read; a 60 page export will not.
FAQ
How often should I run an SEO audit?
A full audit once a year is sensible, with a quick check of Search Console every month and after any redesign or migration.
Can I do an SEO audit myself?
Yes, for smaller sites. The steps above need time more than specialist skill. Larger or complex sites benefit from experienced eyes.
How long does an audit take?
A small site can be done in a day. A large shop with thousands of pages can take a week or more.
Want an audit done for you?
We run audits like this and turn them into a clear, prioritised plan, then help you carry it out. See how we help businesses get found in search.
