SEO audit checklist
SEO audit checklist
An audit is a list of problems ranked by what they cost you. This checklist gives the order we work in, how we score findings and what a finished audit table looks like.
In short
An SEO audit checks whether search engines can crawl, index and understand your site, then whether the pages deserve to rank. The order is: Search Console and analytics access, indexing, crawl and status codes, page speed, on-page content, internal links, structured data, links and then a ranked fix list scored by impact and effort.
Before you crawl anything
A crawler tells you what is on the site. Your own data tells you what matters. Collect both first.
- Get read access to Google Search Console. Our note: this is the source of truth for clicks, impressions and indexing, and the one we report from.
- Get analytics access with conversions defined. Our note: an audit with no goal produces a list of tidy-ups, not priorities.
- Export the last 16 months of Search Console data. Our note: 16 months is the maximum it keeps, and you need a full year to compare seasons.
- Note recent changes: redesign, migration, plugin or theme swap, new CMS. Our note: most sudden drops trace back to one of these within a few weeks.
The ten checks, in order
The order is deliberate. A page that cannot be indexed cannot be helped by better copy, so earlier checks block later ones.
| # | Check | How we test it | Our note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indexing status | Pages report in Search Console, then URL inspection on key pages | Look at 'Crawled, currently not indexed' first; it often signals thin or duplicate pages |
| 2 | Crawl and status codes | Full crawl; list 3xx, 4xx, 5xx | Fix chains of redirects before single broken links |
| 3 | Robots rules and sitemap | Read the robots file and sitemap line by line | A single stray disallow line has taken whole sites out of search |
| 4 | Canonicals and duplicates | Compare canonical to final URL for every template | Check trailing slashes, www, http and tracking parameters |
| 5 | Speed and Core Web Vitals | Field data in Search Console, then lab tests on slow templates | Fix templates, not individual pages |
| 6 | Mobile and rendering | Inspect the rendered HTML, not the source | If key text appears only after scripts run, flag it |
| 7 | On-page content | Titles, headings, intent match, thin pages | Ask whether this is the strongest page on the site for that query |
| 8 | Internal links | Crawl depth and inbound internal links per page | Important pages should be reachable in about three clicks |
| 9 | Structured data | Rich Results Test on one page per template | Remove markup that does not match the page |
| 10 | Links and mentions | Referring domains, anchors, lost links | Look for patterns, not a single number |
How to score findings
A raw list of 140 issues is useless. Give every finding a score for impact and for effort, each from one to three, and sort by impact divided by effort.
- Impact 3: affects many pages or the pages that bring leads. Example: noindex on a service template.
- Impact 2: affects a segment, or limits growth. Example: duplicate titles across a blog category.
- Impact 1: tidy-up with little effect. Example: a missing alt attribute on a decorative image.
- Effort 1: one setting or one template edit. Effort 3: needs development, content or approval across teams.
A sample extract from an audit table shows what the output should look like. The rows below are an illustration, not a real client.
| Finding | Pages hit | Impact | Effort | Fix first? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service template carries noindex from staging | 14 | 3 | 1 | Yes, today |
| Redirect chain from old URLs after redesign | 220 | 3 | 2 | Yes, this week |
| Category pages share one title pattern | 40 | 2 | 1 | Yes |
| Blog tags indexed with no content | 300 | 2 | 1 | Yes |
| Missing alt text on icon images | all | 1 | 2 | Later |
What changes by site type
The ten checks apply everywhere, but the weight shifts. A catalog such as the 67-product catalog on the site we built for Asian Packaging puts most of the risk in templates, canonicals and internal links. A small brochure site puts it in content and local signals. An online store like Blume, built on Shopify, adds variant and collection URL rules.
- Large catalog: audit one page per template, then spot-check.
- Small business site: audit every page by hand; there are not many.
- After a migration: check redirects and indexing first, content last.
Finish with a plan, not a PDF
- Agree the top tenPick the highest scoring fixes and name an owner for each.
- Fix in batchesTechnical issues first, then content, then links. Do not mix batches or you cannot tell what moved results.
- Annotate the datesWrite each change into your reporting so a later dip or rise can be explained.
- Re-crawl and re-checkRun the same crawl two to four weeks after fixes land and compare.
A downloadable copy of this checklist is meant to be offered on this page. If you would rather hand the job over, our SEO audit service follows this same order.
Updated 30 October 2026
Questions, answered
How long does an SEO audit take?
Can I do an audit with free tools?
How often should I audit?
Should the audit include AI search?
Why does my audit tool score differ from yours?
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