The best SEO audit tools, and which one a founder needs

An audit tool crawls pages and applies rules. It outputs issues. It does not decide what matters for your business.

An SEO audit is your judgement. You read Search Console, speed and crawl data, then you pick the few changes that move revenue. Tools assist. They do not prioritise the roadmap for you.

There are four jobs. Crawl the site. Check speed and UX. Read your real search data. Compare the market for keywords and links. Map tools to these, not to a brand.

A single all‑in‑one rarely covers everything well. Suites add audits, but a desktop crawler still finds edge cases and lets you verify fixes on your machine.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a desktop crawler for Windows, macOS and Linux. The free version crawls up to 500 URLs. The licence unlocks unlimited crawls, custom extraction, scheduling and API connections. It outputs tables you interpret yourself.

Sitebulb is a desktop crawler for Windows and macOS, with a cloud version. It is known for explained audit hints with priorities and visual crawl maps. It suits founders who want guidance over raw sheets.

• Choose Screaming Frog if you like spreadsheets and custom extraction.
• Choose Sitebulb if you want prioritised hints and diagrams.
• For big sites you cannot crawl on a laptop, a cloud crawler like Lumar or Oncrawl fits, but that is rarely needed on a young SaaS or store.

A fixed page looks like this in a crawler: /pricing has one h1, a self‑referencing canonical, 200 status, indexed, and receives internal links from / and /features. The old /pricing-v2 301s to /pricing with no chains.

Ahrefs is known for its backlink index and Site Explorer. It also has Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker and Content Explorer. Domain Rating is a link‑based score from 0 to 100. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free for verified sites and gives Site Audit and Site Explorer on your own site.

Semrush is a broad suite. Keyword Magic Tool, Position Tracking, Site Audit, Backlink Analytics and competitive research come standard, with modules for advertising and content. Authority Score is its domain‑level metric. The audit module is solid, and the suite is deep if you run campaigns beyond SEO.

Moz Pro holds Keyword Explorer, Link Explorer, Site Crawl, Rank Tracking and an On‑Page Grader. Domain Authority runs 0 to 100 and is relative and logarithmic. The MozBar extension is free. Moz is also known for education, which helps if you are new to audits.

SE Ranking covers rank tracking, website audit, keyword and competitive research, backlinks and on‑page checks. It includes agency features and is often chosen as the affordable full suite. It is a fit for small teams that need a bit of everything.

Ubersuggest offers keyword ideas, content ideas, a site audit, rank tracking and backlink data. There is a free daily allowance. It is aimed at beginners and has a simpler interface than the big suites. Its data is smaller than the large suites as of 2026.

• Pick Ahrefs if links and competitive research lead your plan.
• Pick Semrush if you want a deep suite across SEO, paid and content.
• Pick Moz if you value clarity, DA and simple crawl checks.
• Pick SE Ranking if you need an all‑rounder on a lean budget.
• Pick Ubersuggest if you are new and want a gentle start.

Lighthouse is an open‑source lab tool in Chrome DevTools, the CLI and PageSpeed Insights. It scores performance and flags accessibility, SEO basics and more in a controlled test. Treat it as a lab signal, not the truth for users.

PageSpeed Insights is free. It runs Lighthouse and shows Chrome UX Report field data. You see Core Web Vitals from real users when available and a lab run for both mobile and desktop.

GTmetrix and WebPageTest add waterfalls, locations and devices. GTmetrix is built on Lighthouse. WebPageTest shows filmstrips and deep request data. Both help you catch render‑blocking, slow third‑party scripts and image weight.

Chrome DevTools adds the Performance panel. Record a slow page. You will see long tasks and layout shifts in context. Fix the one script that blocks the thread, not every warning in a list.

Google Search Console is free. It shows search performance, indexing, sitemaps, Core Web Vitals and enhancements. It is pre‑click. It is the source for your queries, pages, impressions, clicks and positions, not a third‑party guess.

Bing Webmaster Tools is free. It includes backlinks, keyword research and IndexNow. It is worth a look even if your main traffic is from Google. You may find easy wins and missed sitemaps.

Google Analytics 4 is free and event‑based. It is post‑click. It shows sessions, pages, events and conversions. GA4 and Search Console never reconcile exactly. Use each for its job and resist chasing a match that does not exist.

Links are part of an audit. Use Ahrefs Site Explorer, Semrush Backlink Analytics or Moz Link Explorer to find referring domains, broken backlinks and spammy patterns. Majestic runs its own link index and adds Trust Flow and Citation Flow from 0 to 100 and Topical Trust Flow by category.

Use a keyword tool to check intent and gaps. Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Semrush Keyword Magic Tool and Moz Keyword Explorer are strong. Mangools KWFinder and Ubersuggest suit small teams and beginners. SpyFu is handy to see a rival’s paid and organic keyword history over years.

Similarweb estimates traffic for any site and breaks sources. Treat it as an approximation, more rough for small sites. It is not a keyword or audit tool for your own site, but it helps set expectations in a market scan.

• A new site under 200 pages: Screaming Frog or Sitebulb for a crawl, Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse. Add Bing Webmaster Tools.
• A growing SaaS with content plans: add a suite, usually Ahrefs or Semrush, for keywords, links and rank tracking. Keep your desktop crawler.
• An ecommerce store with filters: prefer a desktop crawler that handles parameters and canonicals well. Pair with Search Console and PageSpeed Insights.
• A team with agency needs: SE Ranking can cover tracking, audits and reporting in one place.
• A beginner who wants simple: start with Ubersuggest, MozBar and Search Console. Add a crawler when you are ready.

1. 1

   Pull the truth from Search Console

   Open Performance. Filter last 28 days. Sort pages by clicks. Note top 10 pages and their top queries. Spot pages with high impressions and low CTR.

2. 2

   Crawl the site

   Run Screaming Frog or Sitebulb. Export 3 lists: 4xx and 5xx, non‑200 with internal inlinks, and indexability with canonicals. Check /, /pricing, /guides/getting-started, and any template URL.

3. 3

   Fix the blockers

   Repair broken internal links. Ensure one canonical per page. Remove noindex from pages meant to rank. Add a sitemap if missing, then submit in Search Console.

4. 4

   Tighten titles and h1s

   On the top 10 pages from step 1, check title length and query fit. For a query like "best crm for freelancers", make sure the title and h1 match the intent.

5. 5

   Tune internal links

   From /guides, link to the main money pages with clear anchors. Add a link to /pricing from /features. Remove orphan pages or link them in.

6. 6

   Check speed on two key pages

   Run PageSpeed Insights on / and /pricing. If LCP is over 2.5 seconds, optimise the hero image or reduce render‑blocking scripts. Re‑test after a change.

7. 7

   Note content intent gaps

   Search your top queries in an incognito window. If your /blog/tips page ranks for a transactional query, plan a landing page to match purchase intent.

8. 8

   Write your next three actions

   One technical, one on‑page, one content. For example: remove a redirect chain to /pricing, retitle /guides/getting-started, and draft /compare/yourtool-vs-alt.

Many sites offer a free SEO checker. They scan one URL and flag titles, headings, links and speed basics. They are fine to spot obvious misses on a homepage. They are not a site audit. Use one as a smoke test, then run your own crawl and read Search Console.

Sometimes you do not want to run tools, you want the next three moves. That is a report. It reads your site, your searches and your rivals, and it weighs what matters. We make Porteur, a growth report bought once with a free check first, not a rank tracker or a crawler you run yourself.

Take /pricing. Title under about 60 characters, clear value and brand. One h1 that matches the title. Primary content loads early, with LCP under 2.5 seconds. The canonical is self‑referencing. No duplicate variants like /pricing?ref=twitter in the index. Internal links from / and /features with anchor "Pricing". Search Console shows rising CTR after the title and meta refresh.