SEO Audit Checklist: Complete Site Evaluation

An SEO audit answers a simple question: what’s preventing this site from performing better in search?

The answer is rarely one thing. Sites underperform due to combinations of technical issues, content gaps, authority deficits, and strategic misalignment. A comprehensive audit examines all these dimensions and prioritizes what to fix.

A Nashville healthcare company commissioned their fifth SEO audit in three years, each from a different provider. The first four audits produced similar lists of issues, but nothing got fixed because the reports lacked prioritization and stakeholder context. The fifth audit succeeded not because it found different issues but because it distinguished between critical blockers and nice-to-haves, and translated technical findings into business impact.

This guide provides the complete checklist and the methodology for making audits actionable.

Audit Scope and Methodology

Before auditing, define what you’re auditing and why.

Scope decisions:

Full site audits examine everything. Targeted audits focus on specific areas (technical only, content only, specific site sections). The right scope depends on your situation, timeline, and resources.

Audit Type	When to Use	Typical Timeline
Full comprehensive	New engagements, major strategy planning	2-4 weeks
Technical focused	Known technical issues, platform migrations	1-2 weeks
Content focused	Content strategy development	1-2 weeks
Competitive	Strategic planning, understanding market	1-2 weeks
Quick health check	Routine maintenance, issue triage	2-5 days

Tools and data sources:

Audits combine tool-generated data with manual analysis.

Essential tools:

Google Search Console (primary performance data)
Google Analytics (user behavior data)
Crawling tool (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or similar)
Backlink analysis tool (Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz)
Page speed testing (PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix)

Manual inspection remains essential. Tools find patterns; humans evaluate significance and prioritize.

Technical Audit Checklist

Technical SEO ensures content can be found, crawled, indexed, and rendered properly.

Crawlability

Robots.txt review:

[ ] Robots.txt exists and is accessible at /robots.txt
[ ] No accidental blocking of important content
[ ] Appropriate blocking of low-value areas (admin, search results, filters)
[ ] Sitemap location specified
[ ] No conflicting directives

XML sitemap analysis:

[ ] Sitemap exists and is valid XML
[ ] All important pages included
[ ] No non-indexable URLs in sitemap (noindex, redirects, 404s)
[ ] Sitemap size within limits (50,000 URLs, 50MB)
[ ] Sitemap index used for large sites
[ ] Last modified dates accurate (when used)

Crawl errors:

[ ] Server errors (5xx) identified and addressed
[ ] Client errors (4xx) evaluated for impact
[ ] Redirect chains and loops identified
[ ] Broken internal links fixed

Crawl budget factors (large sites):

[ ] Faceted navigation controlled
[ ] Parameter handling configured
[ ] Low-value pages blocked or noindexed
[ ] Log file analysis conducted for crawl patterns

Indexation

Index coverage:

[ ] Search Console Index Coverage report reviewed
[ ] Excluded URLs evaluated for correctness
[ ] Indexed URL count reasonable relative to site size
[ ] No unexpected noindex tags

Canonical implementation:

[ ] Self-referencing canonicals on primary pages
[ ] Cross-domain canonicals used correctly (if applicable)
[ ] No conflicting canonical signals
[ ] Canonical chains avoided

Duplicate content:

[ ] Parameter variations canonicalized or blocked
[ ] WWW/non-WWW and HTTP/HTTPS redirects implemented
[ ] Trailing slash consistency enforced
[ ] Pagination handled appropriately

Site Speed and Core Web Vitals

Performance metrics:

[ ] Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) under 2.5 seconds
[ ] First Input Delay (FID) under 100 milliseconds
[ ] Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) under 0.1
[ ] Time to First Byte (TTFB) acceptable
[ ] Mobile and desktop performance both evaluated

Common speed issues:

[ ] Image optimization (format, compression, dimensions)
[ ] Render-blocking resources minimized
[ ] Third-party script impact assessed
[ ] Caching headers configured
[ ] CDN implementation appropriate

Mobile Experience

Mobile-friendliness:

[ ] Mobile-friendly test passed
[ ] Viewport configured correctly
[ ] Touch targets adequately sized
[ ] Content not wider than screen
[ ] Text readable without zooming

Mobile parity:

[ ] Mobile content matches desktop content
[ ] Links accessible on mobile version
[ ] Structured data present on mobile
[ ] No mobile-only crawl issues

Structured Data

Implementation review:

[ ] Appropriate schema types implemented
[ ] Schema validates without errors
[ ] Schema matches visible content
[ ] Required properties present
[ ] No spammy or misleading markup

Rich results eligibility:

[ ] Search Console Enhancements reports reviewed
[ ] Rich result opportunities identified
[ ] Schema supporting priority rich results implemented

Security and Technical Foundation

Security:

[ ] HTTPS implemented site-wide
[ ] Valid SSL certificate
[ ] Mixed content issues resolved
[ ] HTTP to HTTPS redirects in place

URL structure:

[ ] URLs readable and descriptive
[ ] Reasonable URL depth
[ ] Consistent URL format
[ ] No problematic characters or excessive parameters

On-Page Audit Checklist

On-page factors evaluate how well individual pages are optimized.

Title Tags

[ ] Every indexable page has a unique title tag
[ ] Titles include primary target keyword
[ ] Titles are compelling (not just optimized)
[ ] Title length appropriate (under 60 characters for display)
[ ] No duplicate titles across site

Meta Descriptions

[ ] Important pages have unique meta descriptions
[ ] Descriptions include relevant keywords naturally
[ ] Descriptions are compelling (affect CTR)
[ ] Length appropriate (under 160 characters)
[ ] No duplicate descriptions across site

Heading Structure

[ ] Every page has one H1
[ ] H1 includes primary topic
[ ] Heading hierarchy logical (H1 → H2 → H3)
[ ] Headings describe content accurately
[ ] No heading abuse (entire paragraphs as headings)

Content Quality

[ ] Content addresses user intent for target queries
[ ] Content provides unique value
[ ] Content comprehensive for topic
[ ] Content accurate and current
[ ] Thin content pages identified

Internal Linking

[ ] Important pages receive internal links
[ ] Anchor text descriptive and varied
[ ] No orphan pages (no internal links pointing to them)
[ ] Link distribution reasonable
[ ] Contextual links present, not just navigation

Image Optimization

[ ] Images have descriptive alt text
[ ] Alt text accurate to image content
[ ] File names descriptive
[ ] Image file sizes optimized
[ ] Appropriate image formats used

Content Audit Checklist

Content audit evaluates whether content meets user needs and supports business goals.

Content Inventory

[ ] Complete list of content assets
[ ] Traffic and engagement data for each
[ ] Conversion data where applicable
[ ] Content categorized by type/topic
[ ] Content age identified

Content Performance Analysis

Traffic and rankings:

[ ] Top performing content identified
[ ] Underperforming content identified
[ ] Ranking positions for target keywords
[ ] Traffic trends over time
[ ] Seasonal patterns noted

Engagement:

[ ] Bounce rate by content type
[ ] Time on page patterns
[ ] Conversion rates where applicable
[ ] User flow through content

Content Gap Analysis

[ ] Keyword research conducted for gaps
[ ] Competitor content analyzed
[ ] User intent coverage evaluated
[ ] Funnel stages represented
[ ] Topic clusters complete

Content Quality Assessment

[ ] Outdated content identified
[ ] Thin content flagged
[ ] Duplicate content issues noted
[ ] Content accuracy verified
[ ] E-E-A-T signals present

Content Recommendations

For each content asset, determine action:

Keep: Performing well, no changes needed
Improve: Has potential, needs optimization
Consolidate: Merge similar thin pages
Remove: No value, should be pruned

Off-Page Audit Checklist

Off-page audit examines external signals affecting site authority.

Backlink Profile Analysis

Overview metrics:

[ ] Total backlinks and referring domains
[ ] Domain authority/rating
[ ] Historical link trends
[ ] Link velocity patterns

Link quality:

[ ] Top linking domains identified
[ ] Link relevance assessed
[ ] Anchor text distribution analyzed
[ ] Toxic links identified
[ ] Link placement patterns (content vs. footer/sidebar)

Competitive comparison:

[ ] Competitor link metrics benchmarked
[ ] Link gaps identified (sites linking to competitors but not you)
[ ] Competitor link building strategies inferred

Brand and Mention Analysis

[ ] Unlinked brand mentions identified
[ ] Brand sentiment assessed
[ ] Citation consistency (NAP for local)
[ ] Review presence on relevant platforms

Local SEO Audit Checklist

For businesses with physical locations.

Google Business Profile

[ ] GBP claimed and verified
[ ] Business information accurate and complete
[ ] Categories appropriate
[ ] Photos current and quality
[ ] Posts used regularly
[ ] Reviews responded to
[ ] Q&A monitored

Local Citations

[ ] Major citation sites have accurate listings
[ ] NAP consistency across citations
[ ] Industry-specific directories covered
[ ] Duplicate listings resolved

Local Content and Signals

[ ] Location pages optimized (multi-location)
[ ] Local schema implemented
[ ] Local content present
[ ] Local backlinks present

Findings Organization

Raw audit data must be organized into actionable findings.

Prioritization framework:

Priority	Criteria	Timeline
Critical	Prevents indexing or severely harms performance	Immediate
High	Significant ranking impact, relatively easy fix	Within 30 days
Medium	Moderate impact, may require resources	Within 90 days
Low	Minor impact or nice-to-have	As resources allow

Issue documentation:

For each finding, document:

What the issue is (specific and clear)
Why it matters (impact on SEO and business)
How to fix it (actionable recommendation)
Priority level
Effort estimate

Stakeholder communication:

Technical findings need business translation. “Crawl budget inefficiency due to faceted navigation” means little to executives. “The site is wasting Google’s attention on pages that don’t generate revenue” communicates impact.

Post-Audit Action Planning

Audits without action plans are expensive documentation exercises.

Roadmap development:

Group related fixes into projects. Create timeline accounting for dependencies and resource constraints. Assign ownership for each project.

Quick wins identification:

Flag high-impact, low-effort fixes for immediate implementation. Early wins build momentum and demonstrate audit value.

Measurement planning:

Define how you’ll know if fixes worked. Baseline metrics before implementation. Schedule follow-up measurement.

Audit recurrence:

SEO audits aren’t one-time events. Schedule regular audits (annually comprehensive, quarterly targeted) to catch new issues and measure progress against previous audits.

The audit itself isn’t the goal. Improved performance is. Every audit element should connect to action that moves the site toward its SEO objectives.

Sources

Google Search Central: Search Console help documentation

https://support.google.com/webmasters

Google Search Central: SEO fundamentals

https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide

Web.dev: Core Web Vitals

https://web.dev/vitals/

Note: Audit scope and depth should match your specific situation and objectives. Not every checklist item applies to every site.