What does an SEO audit include? A plain checklist.

What is an SEO audit, really?

Think of it as a health check with a treatment plan. The auditor crawls your site the way a search engine does, reviews your data in Google Search Console and analytics, reads your key pages as a customer would, and compares you with the sites that already show up for the searches you care about.

The output that matters is the action list: what is broken, what is holding you back, what is worth doing next — and roughly how much effort each item takes. If an audit doesn’t tell you what to do first, it isn’t finished.

What areas should an SEO audit cover?

Six areas, in roughly the order they matter. A small site might move through some of them quickly; none should be skipped.

• Technical health — Can search engines crawl and index the pages you care about? Robots.txt, sitemaps, redirects, broken links, HTTPS, duplicate URLs and canonical tags.
• Speed & Core Web Vitals — How fast the main content loads, how quickly the page responds and whether the layout jumps — measured on mobile, with real-user data where available.
• On-page basics — Titles, meta descriptions, headings, internal links and image alt text. Does each important page clearly target one topic?
• Content quality — Is the content genuinely helpful, accurate and better than what already ranks? Thin, outdated or overlapping pages are flagged.
• Links & authority — Who links to you, whether those links look natural, and which real opportunities exist — partners, suppliers, local press, industry directories.
• Local & AI search — Your Google Business Profile, consistent business details across the web, structured data, and whether AI assistants can understand what you do.

Why does the technical review come first?

Everything else depends on it. If a page is blocked from indexing, has a broken canonical tag, or sits behind a chain of redirects, no amount of new content will help it. The technical section of an audit typically checks:

• Pages returning errors (404s, 5xx) and links pointing to them.
• Pages accidentally set to noindex or blocked in robots.txt.
• Redirect chains and loops, especially after a redesign or migration.
• Duplicate versions of the same page (with and without “www”, trailing slashes, URL parameters).
• Whether the XML sitemap lists only the pages you actually want found.
• Mobile usability and HTTPS across every page.

Search Console’s Pages (indexing) report is one of the best starting points: it shows which URLs Google has indexed, which it hasn’t, and why.

How does an audit judge content?

Tools can count words; they can’t tell you whether a page answers the question. A useful audit looks at the searches you want to appear for, checks what Google currently shows for them, and asks whether your page matches that intent. Someone searching “plumber near me” wants a phone number and proof you cover their area — not a history of plumbing.

It also looks for cannibalization — two or more of your pages competing for the same search — and for pages that could be merged, improved or retired.

How can you tell a good audit from a bad one?

A useful audit

• Starts with a short summary of the biggest issues
• Explains each issue in plain language
• Prioritizes by impact and effort
• Uses your Search Console and analytics data
• Gives a clear next step for each item

A noisy audit

• Hundreds of pages of raw tool output
• Every warning treated as urgent
• No link to your business goals
• Generic advice that fits any site
• Promises of rankings or guaranteed results

What should you do with the findings?

1. Fix blockers — Indexing problems, broken pages and redirect errors first.
2. Quick wins — Titles, internal links and obvious speed fixes.
3. Content plan — Improve, merge or create pages based on intent.
4. Authority — Earn genuine links and keep business details consistent.
5. Re-check — Review Search Console data again after the changes settle.