SEO audit

Cover the whole picture, not just a crawl export. For a small site, keep the scope tight and decisive.

• Technical: crawlability, indexation, canonicals, redirects, speed, mobile, structured data.
• On-page: titles, descriptions, headings, content quality, internal links.
• Content: coverage of topics that matter, thin and decayed pages, cannibalisation.
• Off-page: links, mentions, and what rivals show for your queries.
• Performance, when data is connected: Search Console queries and pages, and analytics conversions.

The deliverable is a short, ranked plan. Each item states the change, the pages it touches, why it matters, and the expected impact window.

An example entry: Fix duplicate titles on /pricing and /pricing?ref=. Rewrite to one title under 60 characters, and set a canonical to /pricing. Goal: higher click through rate and stable indexation this month.

Attach the crawl and sheets as evidence, not as the plan. The plan should fit on one page you can act on this week.

1. 1

   Start with the stakes

   List the five pages that bring signups or sales. For a SaaS, that is often /, /pricing, /guides/getting-started, and two key features pages.

2. 2

   Crawl and spot blockers

   Run a crawler to get status codes, canonicals, titles, descriptions, and heading data. Note 404s, 302s that should be 301, duplicate titles, missing descriptions, and noindex.

3. 3

   Check indexation and queries

   Open Search Console. Confirm the five pages are indexed. Pull the top queries for each page, plus impressions, clicks, and click through rate for the last 28 days.

4. 4

   Assess content coverage

   Map your core topics. For example, if you sell invoices, do you cover “invoice template”, “recurring invoice”, and “send invoice by email”. Flag thin pages and overlapping posts.

5. 5

   Review speed and mobile

   Run PageSpeed Insights for your top pages. Aim for LCP under 2.5 seconds, CLS under 0.1, and INP under 200 ms as of 2026.

6. 6

   Scan links and rivals

   List sites that mention or link to you. Compare the top three rivals on your target queries. Note gaps in topics and referring domains.

7. 7

   Write the ranked plan

   Group fixes by effort and impact. Put quick wins first. Tie each change to a page and a metric you can watch.

A good readout sounds like: Fix /guides/getting-started H1 mismatch with title, add two internal links from /pricing and /, and consolidate two posts that both target “free invoice”.

• Blockers: wrong canonicals, noindex on live pages, redirect chains, 404s on linked URLs.
• Big levers: missing titles and weak descriptions on pages with impressions but low clicks.
• Confusion: cannibalisation where two pages chase the same query.
• Trust and reach: a handful of relevant internal links to key pages, and one or two target backlinks.
• Speed gremlins on money pages: large images, render blocking scripts, layout shift.

Example, if /pricing shows many impressions for “product pricing” but a low click through rate, tighten the title and description, and match the H1. If two posts both target “invoice template”, merge them into one URL and redirect the old one with a 301.

• Shipping a huge crawl export as the audit. The plan is missing.
• Auditing every URL the same. Treat /, /pricing, and /signup first.
• Chasing green scores and ignoring search demand. Fix what people search for.
• Creating new pages before pruning thin or decayed ones.
• Ignoring internal links. Most small sites can add five useful links today.
• Assuming tools decide priority. Tools surface facts, they do not set goals.