PRACTICAL GUIDE
SEO audit: what to check and how to use the findings
Turn technical analysis, content review and link assessment into priorities with specific URLs, evidence and actions that can be verified.
An audit answers a specific question
A decline in organic visits, an underperforming service or a planned migration require different priorities. Define the goal, period, market and key pages. An automated score is a starting point for investigation, not a diagnosis.
1. Technical access and indexing
Check HTTP statuses, robots.txt, noindex, canonicals, hreflang, sitemaps and access to the main HTML. Compare a crawl with URL Inspection and the indexing report. A page eligible for indexing is not necessarily indexed.
2. Performance and mobile usability
Review LCP, INP and CLS where field data is available, and use laboratory tests to investigate causes. Test navigation, forms and key actions on a phone. The retired Google Mobile-Friendly Test is no longer an available tool for this workflow.
3. Content and missing topics
Review the intent of each important page, the specificity of its answer and its evidence. Competitor comparison suggests questions to investigate, not a quota of articles to publish. A smaller blog does not automatically mean a content gap.
4. Internal and external links
Look for pages without internal incoming links, broken destinations and unclear anchors. Assess backlink context and actual risks. Do not disavow or remove links solely because a tool labels them toxic.
What the deliverable should contain
A useful report connects an observation with an action and an acceptance check. For example: an important category is blocked; the affected URL and rule are identified; access and indexing are checked after correction.
- Issue, evidence and affected URLs.
- Priority based on business importance and dependencies.
- Recommended action, owner and required access.
- A post-change check and measures to monitor.
How to use the findings
Address obstacles affecting key pages first. Then work on content and the user journey. Record changes and their dates so you can compare equivalent periods. An audit without implementation does not change the website.
Timing, frequency and self-review
Scope depends on size, technology and available data. Review again after a migration, significant changes or an unexplained decline. Self-review can help, but complex indexing and redirect decisions require technical context.