SEO Audit
An SEO audit is a comprehensive checkup of your website’s search engine health. Just like a car needs a regular inspection to run smoothly, your website needs an audit to make sure it's optimized for Google and other search engines.
The goal of an SEO audit is to find and fix issues that might be stopping your site from ranking well in search results. This can include technical problems, content issues, or weaknesses in your link profile.
Why an SEO audit is important
Running an SEO audit helps you:
- Understand why your site isn’t ranking as high as it should
- Fix errors that are blocking search engine crawlers
- Improve page speed and user experience
- Identify content gaps or keyword opportunities
- Stay competitive with others in your industry
Even if your site is already doing well, regular audits help you stay ahead of changes in Google’s algorithm.
What an SEO audit typically checks
Here are some common areas included in a basic SEO audit:
| Area | What it checks for |
|---|---|
| Technical SEO | Site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability, HTTPS, broken links |
| On-page SEO | Titles, headings, meta descriptions, keyword usage, duplicate content |
| Off-page SEO | Backlink quality, anchor text, spammy links |
| Content quality | Relevance, structure, freshness, and value of your pages |
| Indexing & crawling | Which pages are indexed, sitemap setup, robots.txt file |
Tools used for SEO audits
You don’t have to do everything manually. Here are a few tools that help:
- Google Search Console – shows indexing issues and site performance
- Screaming Frog – crawls your site to find technical errors
- Ahrefs / SEMrush / Moz – offer in-depth audits for backlinks and on-page SEO
- PageSpeed Insights – analyzes loading speed and performance
- That’s Rank! – a beginner-friendly tool to check rankings and SEO health
Example: A basic HTML issue found in audits
<meta name="description" content="">
If the meta description is empty, search engines might fill it in with random content — or skip it entirely. An SEO audit would flag this and suggest adding a clear, keyword-rich description.
How often should you run an SEO audit?
- For small sites: Every 6–12 months
- For active or large sites: Every 3–6 months
- After major website changes, such as a redesign or domain switch
- When you see a sudden drop in traffic or rankings
In summary, an SEO audit helps you identify and fix issues that may be hurting your site’s visibility in search results. It’s a must-do step for anyone who wants to grow their traffic, improve their website, and stay competitive online.