SEO Audit Template — The Framework I Use
This is the streamlined version of the audit framework I run for commercial SEO engagements. It won’t replace a full audit, but it will surface the biggest issues on most sites.
Technical Health
- Crawl your site with Screaming Frog (free up to 500 URLs) — note 4xx/5xx errors, redirect chains, missing meta
- Check Google Search Console → Coverage. How many pages are “Valid”? “Excluded”? “Error”?
- Run PageSpeed Insights on top 5 landing pages. LCP < 2.5s? INP < 200ms? CLS < 0.1?
- Mobile-Friendly Test — any issues?
- robots.txt blocks anything it shouldn’t?
- XML sitemap submitted and valid?
- Schema markup — tested with Rich Results Test? Errors?
On-Page
- Do key pages have unique, keyword-targeted title tags (<60 chars)?
- Meta descriptions present and compelling (<155 chars)?
- One H1 per page, logical H2/H3 structure?
- Content matches search intent?
- Internal links to related pages on each content page?
- Images have descriptive alt text?
- URLs clean, descriptive, hyphenated?
Keywords & Traffic
- Check GSC → Performance. Which queries drive clicks? Impressions?
- Which pages get the most organic traffic?
- Any recent drops (last 3–6 months)?
- Top 20 keywords by clicks — are you ranking #1–3 or pages 2+?
- Gap analysis: what do competitors rank for that you don’t?
Content
- How much evergreen content exists? (vs thin or time-sensitive)
- Any cannibalization (multiple pages targeting same keyword)?
- Thin content (<300 words) on pages that should rank?
- Last-updated timestamps on key commercial pages?
Backlinks
- Total referring domains (Ahrefs free DR checker or Moz free link explorer)
- Any toxic or spammy profiles needing disavow?
- Anchor text distribution — natural or over-optimized?
- Recent link velocity — growing, flat, declining?
Local (If Applicable)
- Google Business Profile completeness (every field filled)?
- NAP consistency across directories?
- Review velocity and response rate?
- Ranking in local pack for core queries?
Want a full, commercial-grade audit? Learn about my SEO Audit service.