Checklist

SEO Audit Checklist

A comprehensive SEO audit checklist to identify technical issues, content gaps, and optimization opportunities. Use this to systematically analyze and improve your site's search performance.

60+ Audit Points

6 Categories

Priority Framework

Technical Foundation

Core technical elements that affect crawling and indexing.

Verify site is accessible to search engines (not blocked by robots.txt)Critical

Tool: Google Search Console, robots.txt tester

Check XML sitemap exists and is submitted to search enginesCritical

Tool: GSC, manually check /sitemap.xml

Verify HTTPS is implemented across all pagesCritical

Tool: Site crawl, browser check

Check for mixed content warnings (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages)High

Tool: Browser console, SSL checker

Test site load speed (aim for < 3 seconds)High

Tool: PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix

Check Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID/INP, CLS)High

Tool: PageSpeed Insights, GSC CWV report

Verify mobile-friendlinessCritical

Tool: Mobile-Friendly Test, manual testing

Check for crawl errors in Search ConsoleHigh

Tool: GSC Coverage report

Identify and fix broken links (4xx errors)High

Tool: Screaming Frog, Ahrefs

Check for redirect chains and loopsMedium

Tool: Screaming Frog, redirect checker

Verify proper use of canonical tagsHigh

Tool: Site crawl, manual inspection

Check for duplicate content issuesHigh

Tool: Siteliner, Screaming Frog

Crawlability & Indexing

Ensure search engines can discover and index your content.

Review robots.txt for unintended blocksCritical

Tool: GSC robots.txt tester

Check for noindex tags on pages that should be indexedCritical

Tool: Site crawl, manual inspection

Review crawl budget usage (for large sites)Medium

Tool: GSC Crawl Stats

Verify important pages are in sitemapHigh

Tool: Compare sitemap to site crawl

Check sitemap for 404s or redirectsMedium

Tool: Screaming Frog sitemap mode

Review internal linking structureHigh

Tool: Site crawl, internal link analysis

Identify orphan pages (no internal links)Medium

Tool: Screaming Frog, Ahrefs

Check click depth (pages should be reachable in 3-4 clicks)Medium

Tool: Site crawl depth report

On-Page SEO

Page-level optimization elements.

Review title tags (unique, 50-60 characters, keyword-optimized)Critical

Tool: Site crawl, bulk analysis

Review meta descriptions (unique, 150-160 characters, compelling)High

Tool: Site crawl, bulk analysis

Check H1 tags (one per page, includes primary keyword)High

Tool: Site crawl

Review heading hierarchy (logical H1-H6 structure)Medium

Tool: Manual inspection, site crawl

Audit image alt text (descriptive, not keyword-stuffed)Medium

Tool: Site crawl image report

Check for missing or oversized imagesMedium

Tool: Site crawl, PageSpeed Insights

Review URL structure (short, descriptive, keyword-relevant)Medium

Tool: Site crawl, manual review

Verify structured data implementationMedium

Tool: GSC, Rich Results Test

Check for thin content pages (< 300 words)High

Tool: Site crawl word count

Content Quality

Content performance and optimization opportunities.

Identify pages with declining traffic/rankingsHigh

Tool: GA4, GSC, rank tracking

Review content for outdated informationMedium

Tool: Manual content audit

Check for keyword cannibalizationHigh

Tool: GSC performance by query, Ahrefs

Identify content gaps vs. competitorsMedium

Tool: Ahrefs Content Gap, SEMrush

Review top-performing content for optimization opportunitiesMedium

Tool: GA4, GSC, manual review

Check for duplicate or near-duplicate contentHigh

Tool: Siteliner, Copyscape

Verify E-E-A-T signals (expertise, experience, authority, trust)Medium

Tool: Manual review, author bios, citations

Off-Page Factors

Backlinks, authority signals, and local SEO.

Analyze backlink profile qualityHigh

Tool: Ahrefs, Moz, Majestic

Identify toxic or spammy backlinksHigh

Tool: Ahrefs, GSC links report

Check for lost backlinks from high-authority sitesMedium

Tool: Ahrefs Lost Backlinks report

Review anchor text distributionMedium

Tool: Ahrefs, Majestic

Analyze competitor backlink profilesMedium

Tool: Ahrefs, SEMrush

Check Google Business Profile optimization (local SEO)High

Tool: GBP dashboard, manual review

Audit NAP consistency across citations (local SEO)High

Tool: Moz Local, BrightLocal

Performance Metrics

Key metrics to track and analyze.

Review organic traffic trends (YoY, MoM)Critical

Tool: GA4, GSC

Analyze keyword ranking distributionHigh

Tool: Ahrefs, SEMrush, rank tracker

Check click-through rates by page/queryHigh

Tool: GSC Performance report

Review conversion rates from organic trafficHigh

Tool: GA4 conversions

Analyze bounce rate and engagement metricsMedium

Tool: GA4 engagement report

Compare performance to competitorsMedium

Tool: Ahrefs, SEMrush, SimilarWeb

Recommended Tools

Crawling & Technical

Screaming Frog(Paid/Free)

Site crawling

Google Search Console(Free)

Indexing, errors

Ahrefs Site Audit(Paid)

Technical issues

Speed & Performance

PageSpeed Insights(Free)

Core Web Vitals

GTmetrix(Free/Paid)

Load time analysis

WebPageTest(Free)

Detailed waterfall

Backlinks & Authority

Ahrefs(Paid)

Backlink analysis

Moz Link Explorer(Paid/Free)

Domain authority

Majestic(Paid)

Trust flow metrics

Content & Keywords

Surfer SEO(Paid)

Content optimization

Clearscope(Paid)

Content scoring

SEMrush(Paid)

Keyword research

Issue Prioritization Framework

Critical (Fix immediately)

Issues blocking indexing or causing major ranking loss

Examples: Noindex on key pages, blocked by robots.txt, site down

High (Fix within 1-2 weeks)

Issues significantly impacting rankings or user experience

Examples: Slow page speed, duplicate content, broken important links

Medium (Fix within 1 month)

Issues affecting optimization but not critical

Examples: Missing meta descriptions, poor internal linking, thin content

Low (Address when possible)

Minor optimizations and nice-to-haves

Examples: Image optimization, anchor text improvements, minor redirects

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