SEO Audit
An SEO audit is a thorough review of a website to find the issues holding back its search performance and the opportunities to grow. A good audit does not just list problems; it explains their impact and prioritises what to fix first.
When to do an SEO audit
- Before starting a new SEO campaign.
- When organic traffic or rankings fall.
- Before and after a redesign or Website Migration.
- After a major Google update affects your site.
- At least once a year as a health check.
What a full SEO audit covers
Technical SEO
- Crawlability and indexability (Crawling, Indexing).
- Robots.txt, XML sitemaps and meta robots tags.
- Status codes, redirects and broken links.
- Duplicate content and canonicalisation.
- Site speed and Core Web Vitals.
- Mobile usability and Mobile-First Indexing.
- Structured data, HTTPS and international setup.
On-page and content
- Titles, meta descriptions and headings (On-Page SEO).
- Content quality, depth and Search Intent match.
- Keyword cannibalisation and Thin Content.
- Internal linking and Site Architecture.
- E-E-A-T signals such as authorship and trust information.
Off-page
- Backlink profile quality and Referring Domains.
- Anchor text distribution and potential Toxic Backlinks.
- Brand mentions and reputation.
Local SEO (if relevant)
- Google Business Profile, reviews and citations.
Performance and competitors
- Rankings, traffic and conversions from Google Search Console and analytics.
- Competitor comparison: content, links and SERP features.
How to run an SEO audit
- Gather data from Search Console, analytics, a site crawl and a backlink tool.
- Crawl the site with a tool such as Screaming Frog or Sitebulb.
- Review each area using a checklist.
- Compare with competitors ranking above you.
- Prioritise findings by impact and effort.
- Create an action plan with owners and timelines.
What a good audit report includes
- An executive summary of the biggest issues and opportunities.
- Clear explanations in plain English, not just tool exports.
- Evidence and examples for each issue.
- Prioritised recommendations.
- Estimated impact and effort.
Automated tools vs expert audits
Tools are excellent at finding technical issues, but they cannot judge content quality, intent, business priorities or which problems actually matter. An expert audit combines tool data with experience. If you are considering paying for one, my guide to how much an SEO consultant costs includes typical audit pricing, and what to expect when working with an SEO consultant explains the process.
After the audit
An audit only creates value when its recommendations are implemented. Track fixes, measure results and use the findings to shape your SEO Strategy.
Key Takeaways
- An SEO audit reviews technical health, content, links and local signals to find what holds a site back.
- Run one before a new campaign, after a traffic drop, around a Website Migration and at least once a year.
- Combine Google Search Console, analytics, a crawler and a backlink tool for a complete picture.
- Prioritise findings by impact and effort; an audit only creates value when its fixes are implemented.
- Tools find issues, but expert judgement decides which ones matter.
Related Terms
Wondering what to fix first on your site? Get a free check of your site’s SEO, or keep learning in the SEO Encyclopedia.