Most SEO audits try too hard. They throw a hundred checks at you, print a colourful PDF, and hope you mistake noise for insight.
I don’t want to do that to you. You’re here because you want the truth — what matters, what doesn’t, and how to fix what’s slowing you down.
So here’s the version I use with clients. It’s practical. It’s honest. And it’s something you can run through in an afternoon if you stay focused.
Let’s pretend we’re sitting across the table, laptop open, coffee cooling. We’ll go through your site piece by piece until it makes sense.
1. Technical foundations
Start here. Always. Technical issues won’t make you rich, but they will quietly drain traffic, rankings, and trust when you least expect it.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s stability. You want a site Google can crawl, understand, and move through without friction.
Check how Google crawls your site
Pull up your sitemap. If you don’t know where it is, try yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Most sites follow that pattern.
Now open a Google search and type site:yourdomain.com. Compare what you see in the index to what’s in the sitemap.
Your sitemap shows what you want Google to pay attention to. The site:yourdomain.com results show what Google actually sees as important.
If the lists match, great. If they don’t, that’s a signal:
— Google is indexing pages you don’t care about.
— Google is ignoring pages you do care about.
— Or somewhere along the way, you’ve sent mixed messages.
Fixing this isn’t glamorous. But removing junk from the index and giving Google a cleaner structure almost always improves how your site performs without touching a line of content.
Find broken pages and weak links
Run a crawl using whatever tool you prefer. Screaming Frog. Sitebulb. Ahrefs. Doesn’t matter — as long as it finds issues.
Export the following:
— 404s (pages that don’t exist)
— 500s (server problems)
— Soft 404s (pages that technically load but shouldn’t)
— Redirect chains (long, messy paths that confuse Google)
This part isn’t exciting, but it’s necessary. Broken pages waste crawl budget, frustrate users, and signal neglect. You want your site to feel maintained, not abandoned in places.
If you find loops, fix them. If you find redirect chains that look like a family tree, cut them down to a single jump. Google rewards clean structure with smoother crawling and faster indexing.
Check Core Web Vitals
Open PageSpeed Insights or Search Console’s Experience report. Look at real-world data, not just lab tests. Lab tests are helpful, but real data shows you how people are actually experiencing your site.
You’re checking three things:
— Is the site loading fast enough?
— Are elements shifting around?
— Does it respond quickly when someone taps or clicks?
You don’t need a perfect score. You just need consistency. A site that loads in under two seconds on most devices is more than enough to compete in most industries.
And if your site is dragging because of heavy images, oversized scripts, or bloated plugins, fix them. Every second you shave off helps.
Review your site structure
This is the part people skip — and it’s also the part that makes your life easier when you get it right.
Your structure should look like a series of clear categories, not a tangled web. If your URLs feel random, your navigation feels confusing, or your pages feel orphaned, Google will struggle too.
Group things logically. Make it easy for someone to go from A to B. If your site feels intuitive to a human, it will usually feel intuitive to Google.
2. Content and intent
This is where most SEO audits either go shallow or go off-track. They measure “content length,” “keyword density,” and other things that don’t matter.
What matters is whether your content genuinely answers what people are searching for — the job they’re trying to get done.
Identify your real queries
Open Search Console. Look at the queries your pages are actually appearing for.
Don’t skim. Don’t guess. Look at the exact phrases. Highlight the ones that show clear intent — especially bottom-of-funnel searches.
If the page ranking doesn’t match the expectation of the query, that page will never reach its potential. This is one of the biggest reasons pages stay stuck on page two or three.
Maybe your article targets a broad term, but Google keeps showing you for something specific. Or maybe the page was written years ago and no longer targets what people actually search for.
Either way, let the data guide you. Rewrite for what people want now, not what you thought they wanted when you published it.
Check if your content matches the job-to-be-done
Pick a page. Look at its main query. Ask yourself one honest question: does this page help someone solve their problem quickly?
If the answer is no, rewrite it. Make it clearer. Make it tighter. Add examples. Remove filler. Get to the point faster.
The job of your content is to help someone do something — understand something, choose something, fix something, compare something.
If you don’t know what they’re trying to do, you don’t know how to write for them. And that’s why your rankings stay soft.
Spot thin or unhelpful pages
Thin pages aren’t always short. Many are long, bloated, and unhelpful. Look at performance through three metrics:
— Low impressions
— Low click-through
— Low time on page
If a page has all three, it’s not pulling its weight. You have options:
— Rewrite it
— Merge it with a stronger page
— Delete it if it has no purpose
Every page on your site should deserve its spot. If it doesn’t, it hurts more than it helps.
Check content freshness where it matters
Some pages age well. Others don’t. Check pages where facts, data, or processes change.
If it looks outdated, your reader sees it. Google sees it too. Refresh it with real updates — not a fake “last updated 2025” stamp.
3. On-page essentials
This is the part everyone thinks they already know. But most sites I audit fail here.
Getting these small things right can move rankings faster than nearly anything else because they reduce friction for both Google and your reader.
Fix your titles
Your title isn’t a tagline. It’s not a brand moment. It’s a direct promise tied to the search you want to win.
If the page targets how to clean a heat exchanger, the title should reflect that — plainly and confidently. No fluff. No creativity for creativity’s sake.
Good titles are boring. They work because they say exactly what the page is about.
Tighten your headings
Headings guide people through the page. They also guide Google.
If your headings are vague, poetic, or decorative, fix them. Make them say something clear. Make them support the main topic.
A clean heading structure gives your page shape. It lowers bounce rate because people can scan faster.
Clean up internal links
Internal links are how you tell Google what matters. Link from high-authority pages to pages that need help. Keep anchor text natural but descriptive.
Don’t force links. But don’t ignore them either. A well-connected site ranks easier than a disconnected one.
Fix duplicate content issues
Look for similar pages that target the same intent. These pages compete with each other — not your competitors.
Pick a winner. Redirect the others. Merge content where it makes sense. Give Google a single, strong version of what you want to rank.
Review structured data
Schema won’t magically rank you, but it does help Google understand your content faster.
Check for errors. Use the basics: Article, Breadcrumb, Product, FAQ where appropriate.
4. Off-page and authority
This part of the audit is simple: who trusts you, and why?
You don’t need hundreds of backlinks. You need the right ones — from relevant sources, in the right context, pointing to the right pages.
Look at where your best pages get their strength
Open your top URLs in a backlink tool. Filter out junk. Look at real links that matter.
You’ll usually see a pattern:
— Certain pages attract links naturally
— Certain topics get more attention
— Certain content formats perform better
Use that pattern intentionally. Build more content in that style. Pitch links in that same direction.
Spot dangerous links
No panic here. Just awareness.
If you see links from hacked domains, spam sites, or random foreign-language blogs, flag them. You don’t always need a disavow, but you should monitor them.
Google is better at ignoring bad links today. But if something feels off, document it. Keep an eye on trends.
Check your digital footprint
If you’re a real business doing real work, you should show up in the places your customers expect:
— Google Business Profile
— Industry directories
— Review sites
— Social profiles
Consistency matters. Strange discrepancies in your business name, phone number, or address cause confusion for both users and Google.
FAQ
How often should you do an SEO audit?
Every three to six months is usually enough.
If you’re fixing a messy site, run smaller monthly check-ins until things stabilise.
How long does a full audit take?
For a small site, a few hours. For a large or chaotic site, a few days.
The goal isn’t speed. The goal is understanding the shape of your site and why it behaves the way it does.
Do you need expensive tools?
No. You need Search Console, a crawler, and a clear head. Everything else is optional.
What’s the most important part of an SEO audit?
The part where you take action. Reports don’t rank sites. Fixes do.
What should you fix first?
Start with anything preventing Google from indexing or understanding your site. Then tackle the content that drives revenue. Everything else can wait.