How To Perform a SEO Audit for Your Website
Jul 24
7 min read
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An SEO audit helps you understand you website's current condition and reveals opportunities for SEO improvement.
It should be the first step when working on a new site website that you want to revisit.
Where you are auditing your first website or coming back to a website to check on the state of thing an SEO audit is the best place to start!
Table of Content
Crawl Your Site
Crawling your website can be a powerful and easy way to check for Broken links, Pages with no meta description and many other problems that are invisible to the naked eye.
Here are the SEO Tools I use and Recommend
Main Issues to look out for :
Common Site Crawl Issues and Why They Matter
When crawling your website for SEO, it's important to understand not just which issues exist, but exactly why they are harmful. Below is a breakdown of each key issue you should look for and the negative impact each can have on your website’s performance.
1. Status Codes & Broken Links
404 (Not Found), 500 (Server Error), and Problematic Status Codes
Why it’s bad: Pages giving errors can't be accessed by users or search engines, resulting in poor user experience and lost ranking opportunities.
Broken Internal and External Links
Why it’s bad: Directs users and bots to dead ends, eroding user trust and wasting crawl budget.
Redirect Chains and Loops
Why it’s bad: Slow down site performance, dilute link equity, and can keep important pages from being crawled or indexed efficiently.
2. Duplicate Content
Duplicate Titles, Meta Descriptions, H1s, and Pages
Why it’s bad: Causes keyword cannibalization, confuses search engines about which page to rank, and can lead to lower rankings or de-indexing.
Misconfigured Canonical Tags
Why it’s bad: Search engines may index undesired versions of your pages, harming visibility and diluting ranking power.
3. Meta Data & On-Page SEO
Missing or Duplicate Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Why it’s bad: Weakens relevancy signals, reduces click-through rates, and can result in search engines rewriting your snippets, often suboptimally.
Title or Meta Tags that are Too Long or Too Short
Why it’s bad: Critical keywords may be truncated or missed, decreasing ranking and user engagement.
Missing or Multiple H1 Tags
Why it’s bad: Hinders clear page topic signaling for both users and search engines.
Non-Optimized Image Alt Text
Why it’s bad: Wastes SEO value from images and creates accessibility barriers.
4. Indexability & Crawlability
Pages Blocked by robots.txt or Meta Robots Tags
Why it’s bad: Prevents important pages from being discovered and indexed by search engines.
Orphaned or Non-Indexable Pages
Why it’s bad: Pages not linked internally may never be found by bots, resulting in them not appearing in search results.
Incomplete Sitemaps
Why it’s bad: Critical URLs might not be crawled, leaving valuable content invisible in search.
5. URL Structure & Parameters
Long, Complex, or Duplicate URLs
Why it’s bad: Harder for users to read/share, increases chance of duplicate content and makes crawling less efficient.
URL Parameter Issues
Why it’s bad: Can generate endless duplicate pages, wasting crawl budget and causing cannibalization.
Case Sensitivity Issues in URLs
Why it’s bad: Results in duplicate content and split page authority.
Addressing these issues improves user experience, increases your site’s visibility, and greatly enhances your chances for success in organic search.
feature sets, scalability, and insight into technical website performance. The right option depends on your site size, technical needs, and budget.
technical needs, SEO focus, and budget.
Check Page Speed
You should check site speed because it directly impacts SEO, user experience, and conversion rates:
SEO Ranking Factor: Google uses site speed as a ranking signal. Faster-loading sites tend to rank higher because Google aims to prioritize websites that offer the best user experience by loading quickly.
User Experience: Users expect pages to load in 2-3 seconds or less. Slow loading frustrates visitors, increasing bounce rates (users leaving the site quickly), which negatively affects SEO performance.
Crawl Efficiency: Faster websites allow search engine bots to crawl and index more pages efficiently, improving your site's visibility in search results5.
Mobile Performance: With mobile-first indexing, site speed on mobile devices is crucial. Slow mobile sites are penalized in rankings, making speed optimization essential for mobile traffic.
Conversion Rate: Slow-loading pages lead to lost conversions (e.g., abandoned shopping carts). Improving speed boosts customer engagement and sales, indirectly benefiting SEO through better site reputation and user signals.
Mobile Performance: Why It Matters
Google now mainly looks at the mobile version of your website when deciding how to rank your pages in search results. This approach is called mobile-first indexing. Because of this, how well your site performs on mobile devices is very important.
If your website is slow to load on phones or tablets, it can hurt your rankings. Google considers page speed on mobile a key factor when ranking sites. Slow-loading pages make people frustrated, and they may leave your site quickly (this is called a high bounce rate). When users leave fast, it sends a signal to search engines that your site isn’t providing a good experience.
Fast mobile websites not only keep visitors happy but also help Google’s crawler (Googlebot) access and index your pages more efficiently. This means your site is more likely to appear in search results and attract visitors.
In summary:
Google looks at your mobile site first when ranking pages.
Slow mobile sites get lower rankings.
Visitors expect pages to load quickly on mobile.
Fast mobile sites improve user experience and SEO.
Optimizing your mobile speed is essential to compete in mobile search results and get more organic traffic.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-Page SEO refers to optimizations you make directly on your website’s pages to help search engines understand your content and rank it higher in search results. Unlike Off-Page SEO (which involves backlinks and external signals), On-Page SEO focuses on elements within your control on the site itself.
Why On-Page SEO Is Important
Improves Search Relevance: Helps search engines assess what your page is about, matching it to user queries.
Enhances User Experience: Well-structured content and fast-loading pages reduce bounce rates and increase engagement.
Boosts Crawl Efficiency: Proper technical settings ensure search engines can easily crawl and index your pages.
Increases Conversion Rates: Clear, relevant content with optimized elements encourages visitors to take desired actions.
Key Components of On-Page SEO
Title Tags
Should be unique and descriptive for each page.
Include primary keywords naturally without keyword stuffing.
Keep within 50-60 characters to avoid truncation in search results.Why it matters: Title tags are a major ranking factor and the first thing users see in search results.
Meta Descriptions
Concise summaries (150-160 characters) of page content.
Include relevant keywords and a compelling call to action.
Not a direct ranking factor but improves click-through rates .Why it matters: A good meta description can entice users to visit your page over competitors.
Headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
Use a clear hierarchy to organize content.
Include keywords in headings to reinforce topic relevance.
Only one H1 per page, describing the main topic. Why it matters: Headings improve readability and help search engines understand content structure.
Content Quality and Keyword Optimization
Create useful, original, and relevant content that satisfies user intent.
Naturally incorporate primary and secondary keywords.
Avoid keyword stuffing and thin content. Why it matters: Quality content ranks better and engages users, reducing bounce rates.
URL Structure
Use short, descriptive URLs including primary keywords.
Avoid long or complex URLs with unnecessary parameters. Why it matters: Clean URLs are easier to read and share, improving both UX and SEO.
Internal Linking
Link to other relevant pages within your website using descriptive anchor text.
Helps distribute page authority and guides users through your site. Why it matters: Supports crawlability and signals the importance of pages to search engines.
Image Optimization
Use descriptive file names and alt attribute texts for images.
Compress images to reduce load times without losing quality. Why it matters: Improves accessibility, site speed, and can help rank in image search.
Mobile-Friendliness & Page Speed
Ensure your pages are responsive and render well on all devices.
Optimize load times by compressing files, leveraging caching, and minimizing scripts.Why it matters: Mobile usability and fast speed are critical ranking factors and improve user experience.
Schema Markup / Structured Data
Add schema to provide explicit information about your content (e.g., articles, reviews, events).
Enhances search results appearance with rich snippets .Why it matters: Helps search engines better understand your content and can improve click-through rates.
Technical Elements
Fix broken links, redirect chains, and ensure pages are indexable.
Properly configure robots.txt and XML sitemaps. Why it matters: Helps ensure search engines can access and crawl your content efficiently.
Backlinks and Their Importance in SEO
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks are links from other websites that point to pages on your website. They are also called “inbound links” or “external links.” Each backlink acts as a signal of your website’s authority, credibility, and value in the eyes of search engines.
Why Are Backlinks Important?
1. Increase Search Visibility and Rankings
Search engines like Google use backlinks as a major ranking factor.
Sites with many high-quality backlinks rank higher in search results.
Backlinks serve as endorsements or votes of confidence for your content.
2. Build Domain Authority and Trust
Quality backlinks from trusted, authoritative sites help increase your own site’s authority.
Search engines are more likely to trust and crawl your site if it is referenced by other reputable sources.
3. Drive Referral Traffic
Backlinks bring direct traffic from users who click links on other websites.
Relevant backlinks from high-traffic sites can lead to a steady stream of new visitors.
4. Faster Site Indexing
Search engine bots follow backlinks to discover and index new pages more quickly.
Especially important for new sites or recently added content.
5. Support Brand Building
When authoritative sites mention and link to your website, it increases your brand visibility and reputation.
Backlinks from industry-related sources can position your business as a leader in your field.
What Makes a Good Backlink?
Relevance: The linking site and the content should be topically related to your page.
Authority: Links from high-authority domains (well-known, established sites) are more valuable.
Diversity: A variety of referring domains (not just many links from one site) is preferred.
Natural Placement: Contextual links placed within related content carry more weight than footer or sidebar links.
Anchor Text: Descriptive, relevant anchor text is better than generic phrases like “click here.”
