SEO audit checklist: 50 checks to run on any website

Tools you need for an SEO audit

1. Crawlability checks

1. 1Robots.txt does not block important pages, CSS or JavaScript.
2. 2An XML sitemap exists, lists only canonical URLs and is submitted.
3. 3Important pages are linked internally and are no more than three clicks from the home page.
4. 4No orphan pages: every page in the sitemap has internal links.
5. 5Redirect chains and loops are fixed.
6. 6Server errors (5xx) are rare in the Crawl stats report.

2. Indexing checks

1. 1Search Console Page indexing report reviewed for excluded pages.
2. 2No important pages carry a noindex tag by mistake.
3. 3Each page has a self referencing canonical tag pointing to its clean URL.
4. 4HTTP, HTTPS, www and non www versions redirect to one version.
5. 5Duplicate and near duplicate pages are merged, canonicalised or noindexed.
6. 6site:yourdomain.com shows roughly the number of pages you expect.

If you see many pages marked "Crawled, currently not indexed", the usual causes are thin or duplicate content. See our glossary entry on duplicate content.

3. Speed and Core Web Vitals checks

1. 1Core Web Vitals report shows most URLs as good on mobile.
2. 2Largest Contentful Paint is under 2.5 seconds on key templates.
3. 3Interaction to Next Paint is under 200 ms.
4. 4Cumulative Layout Shift is under 0.1.
5. 5Images are compressed, sized correctly and served in modern formats.
6. 6Unused JavaScript and heavy third party scripts are removed or deferred.

4. Mobile and usability checks

1. 1Pages are responsive and readable without zooming.
2. 2Tap targets are large enough and well spaced.
3. 3No intrusive pop ups cover content on arrival.
4. 4Navigation is simple and the main call to action is visible.
5. 5Forms work and are short on mobile.

5. On-page SEO checks

1. 1Every important page has a unique title tag with its main keyword.
2. 2Meta descriptions are unique and describe the page.
3. 3Each page has one clear H1.
4. 4Headings follow a logical order and describe sections.
5. 5Images have descriptive alt text.
6. 6URLs are short, lowercase and descriptive.
7. 7Internal links use descriptive anchor text.
8. 8Structured data is valid for the page type.

6. Content quality checks

1. 1Each page targets one clear search intent.
2. 2No two pages compete for the same primary keyword.
3. 3Content is original, accurate and up to date.
4. 4Service and product pages explain offers, pricing factors and proof.
5. 5Author and reviewer details are shown on expert content.
6. 6Thin, outdated or overlapping pages are improved, merged or removed.

7. Backlink and authority checks

1. 1Referring domains are growing over time.
2. 2Top linked pages return 200, not 404 or redirect chains.
3. 3Anchor text looks natural, mostly branded and partial match.
4. 4No obvious spam patterns or paid link networks.
5. 5Competitors' best linked content has been reviewed for ideas.
6. 6No manual actions appear in Search Console.

Our guide to backlink risk explains when to clean up links and when to leave them.

8. Local SEO checks

1. 1Google Business Profile is verified and complete.
2. 2Primary category matches the main service.
3. 3Name, address and phone match on the website and key directories.
4. 4Reviews are steady and replied to.
5. 5Each location has its own page on the website.
6. 6LocalBusiness schema is on location pages.

For the full local list, see our local SEO checklist.

Bonus: AI search visibility checks

1. 1Key pages answer the main question directly near the top.
2. 2Organization and Person schema connect your brand and experts.
3. 3Your brand details are consistent across the web.
4. 4AI crawlers are allowed or blocked on purpose in robots.txt.
5. 5You track whether AI Overviews and chat tools mention your brand.

9. Structured data checks

1. 1Test key page types in Google's Rich Results Test.
2. 2Check Search Console enhancement reports for errors and warnings.
3. 3Confirm Organization or LocalBusiness schema on the homepage or about page.
4. 4Check Product, Article, FAQ and Breadcrumb markup where relevant.
5. 5Make sure marked up content matches what is visible on the page.

10. Internal linking checks

1. 1Find orphan pages with no internal links pointing to them.
2. 2Check that key service and category pages get links from the homepage and menus.
3. 3Look for links pointing to redirected or broken URLs.
4. 4Review anchor text for clear, descriptive wording.
5. 5Make sure important pages are within three clicks of the homepage.

11. International and multilingual checks

1. 1Confirm hreflang tags link every language and country version.
2. 2Check each version has self referencing canonicals.
3. 3Make sure automatic redirects by location do not block crawlers.
4. 4Confirm translated pages are fully translated, including menus and forms.

12. Security and site health checks

13. Conversion and tracking checks

1. 1Confirm Google Analytics 4 is installed on every page.
2. 2Check that forms, calls, bookings and purchases are tracked as key events.
3. 3Make sure Search Console is linked to Analytics.
4. 4Test every form and phone link on mobile and desktop.
5. 5Check thank you pages are set to noindex so they do not appear in search.

14. Competitor checks

Competitor checks show what you need to match and where gaps give you an advantage.

How to run an SEO audit step by step

1. 1Set goals: what pages and outcomes matter most to the business.
2. 2Gather access: Search Console, Analytics, CMS, Google Business Profile.
3. 3Crawl the site with a tool such as Screaming Frog.
4. 4Review Search Console reports for indexing, performance and errors.
5. 5Check speed and mobile experience on key templates.
6. 6Review on-page elements and content quality on priority pages.
7. 7Analyse backlinks and local signals.
8. 8Compare with competitors.
9. 9List every issue with impact, effort and owner.
10. 10Write a short summary and a 90 day action plan.

Example audit findings and fixes

Free vs paid SEO audit tools

See our list of the best SEO tools for details.

SEO audit template

Score every issue by impact and effort, then work from high impact, low effort fixes first.

SEO audit checklist by site type

Common SEO audit mistakes

Prefer an expert review? Our SEO audit service delivers a prioritised plan in 1 business day.

Technical SEO audit checklist in detail

Content audit checklist

1. 1Export all indexable pages with traffic and conversions.
2. 2Mark pages as keep, improve, merge or remove.
3. 3Check each key page matches the search intent of its keyword.
4. 4Find thin pages with little unique content.
5. 5Find pages targeting the same keyword and merge or retarget them.
6. 6Update facts, dates, screenshots and statistics.
7. 7Add internal links to and from improved pages.

See our guide on how to write SEO friendly blog posts for content improvements.

Backlink audit checklist

1. 1Export referring domains from a backlink tool.
2. 2Sort by authority and relevance.
3. 3Spot unnatural patterns such as many exact match anchors.
4. 4Find lost links from pages that now return errors and redirect those pages.
5. 5Check for a manual action before considering the disavow tool.
6. 6List link opportunities from competitors' backlinks.

Local SEO audit checklist

1. 1Google Business Profile verified, complete and in the right category.
2. 2Reviews: count, rating, recency and replies.
3. 3NAP consistent on website, profile and major directories.
4. 4Location pages for each office or main service area.
5. 5LocalBusiness schema with correct details.
6. 6Local rankings checked across the area with a geo grid.

Our local SEO checklist covers the fixes.

eCommerce SEO audit checklist

1. 1Check faceted navigation for indexable duplicate URLs.
2. 2Confirm one canonical URL per product, even when listed in several categories.
3. 3Review category pages for unique intro and buying guide copy.
4. 4Check Product schema for price, availability and reviews.
5. 5Review Merchant Center diagnostics for feed errors.
6. 6Check out of stock and discontinued product handling.
7. 7Test speed on category and product templates.

See our eCommerce SEO checklist for fixes.

SEO audit after a website migration

1. 1Compare a crawl of the old site with the new site.
2. 2Check every old URL redirects to its closest new page with a 301.
3. 3Confirm noindex tags from staging were removed.
4. 4Check canonicals, hreflang and sitemaps point to new URLs.
5. 5Watch Search Console daily for 404 errors and indexing drops.
6. 6Compare traffic and rankings with pre launch benchmarks.

Our website migration SEO service handles this end to end.

Writing the audit report

How often to audit different parts of your site

Quick 15 minute SEO health check

1. 1Search site:yourdomain.com to see roughly how many pages are indexed.
2. 2Open Search Console and check for manual actions and security issues.
3. 3Look at the Page indexing report for sudden jumps in excluded pages.
4. 4Run your homepage through PageSpeed Insights on mobile.
5. 5Check your Google Business Profile for accurate hours and recent reviews.
6. 6Click through your main menu on a phone and test the contact form.

If any of these show a problem, run the full checklist above.

Expert audit tips

Signs you need an SEO audit now

1. 1Organic traffic has dropped for more than a month.
2. 2You are planning a redesign or platform change.
3. 3New pages take weeks to appear in Google.
4. 4Search Console shows a rise in errors or excluded pages.
5. 5Competitors now outrank you for your main services.

How to prioritise audit findings

A tool can list thousands of issues. The skill is choosing the ten that will move results. That is the difference between an automated report and a useful audit.