An SEO audit is a structured check of everything that affects how well a website can rank in organic search. It should end with a list of problems ranked by impact, not a long export of warnings. This guide walks through what a thorough audit covers, using the checklist our SEO team follows.
1. Technical health: can search engines crawl and index the site?
- Crawling and indexing: pages blocked by robots.txt or noindex, pages missing from the index, and URLs that should not be indexed at all.
- Site speed and Core Web Vitals: loading (LCP), responsiveness (INP) and layout stability (CLS) on real phones.
- Mobile usability: text size, tap targets and layouts that break on small screens.
- XML sitemap and robots.txt: the sitemap lists the pages that matter, and robots.txt points to it.
- HTTPS, redirects and canonicals: one secure version of every page, redirects that take one step, and canonical tags that match.
2. On-page: does each page target the right search?
- Titles and meta descriptions: unique, the right length, and written for the query the page should win.
- Headings and content quality: one clear H1, and content that answers the searcher’s question better than competing pages.
- Duplicate and thin content: pages that compete with each other or say too little to rank.
- Internal linking: important pages linked from related pages with descriptive anchor text.
- Images and structured data: compressed images with alt text, and schema that helps search engines understand the page.
3. Off-page: is the site trusted?
- Backlink profile quality: who links to you, and whether those sites are relevant and reputable.
- Toxic links and disavow needs: spammy links that may need disavowing.
- Competitor link gaps: sites linking to competitors but not to you.
- Brand mentions and citations: where your business is discussed without a link.
4. Local search and conversions: does traffic turn into business?
- Google Business Profile: categories, services, photos and reviews for local visibility.
- Local listings consistency: the same business name, address and phone number everywhere.
- Analytics and conversion tracking: enquiries and sales measured, not only visits.
- User experience issues: pages where visitors leave before converting.
What you should receive at the end
A useful audit ends with a prioritized action plan: what to fix first, why it matters, and who needs to do it. Many recommendations need code changes, which is why our SEO specialists work alongside our web developers and implement fixes rather than leaving them in a report. See our SEO services, or read what a monthly SEO package includes if you want the work to continue after the audit.
SEO audit FAQ
How often should a website have an SEO audit?
A full audit once a year is a good baseline, plus a technical check after any redesign, platform move or large content change.
Can I do an SEO audit myself?
You can check the basics with Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights. A full audit also needs crawling tools, backlink data and experience in deciding which problems actually matter.
Does an SEO audit include fixing the problems?
It depends on the provider. Some deliver only a report. FMEOS implements technical fixes through its own developers.
