SEO Audit Checklist: 44 Evidence-Based Checks

An SEO audit checklist turns crawl, search, page and business evidence into reproducible findings. Run these 44 checks within a defined scope and record the method, observed result, affected URLs and owner.

This checklist contains over 40 individual checks organised into five categories: on-page, technical, content, off-page, and local SEO. Each check includes what to look for, which tool to use, and what constitutes a pass or fail. Work through it sequentially for new audits, or use it as a reference to verify specific areas when investigating a ranking problem.

The checklist is designed to be tool-agnostic — you can complete it with free tools (Google Search Console, Screaming Frog free version, PageSpeed Insights) or with premium platforms (Ahrefs, Semrush, Sitebulb). The methodology is the same regardless of the tools you use.

On-Page Checks

On-page checks evaluate the elements on individual pages that communicate relevance to search engines and influence click-through rates in search results.

1. Every page has a unique title tag — export all title tags from your crawl data. Sort alphabetically to identify duplicates. No two pages should share the same title. Duplicates indicate either genuine duplicate content or templating issues where the CMS generates identical titles for different pages. Fix duplicates by writing unique, keyword-targeted titles for each page.
2. Title tags describe each page concisely — inspect rendered search results and device widths because Google truncates by available space rather than a fixed 60-character rule. Remove boilerplate that hides the distinctive answer.
3. The title names the page clearly — compare the title with the visible heading, page purpose and likely query. Put distinctive terms early when it improves clarity; do not force an exact phrase or fixed character position.
4. Important pages have useful meta descriptions — check for missing, duplicated and misleading descriptions on priority templates. Write a concise page-specific summary, then inspect its appearance because Google may truncate it or generate a different snippet.
5. The main heading identifies the content — verify that users can identify the page topic from the visible heading and surrounding structure. HTML permits more than one h1; use headings to express a coherent hierarchy rather than treating their count as a ranking score.
6. Heading hierarchy is logical — headings should represent sections and subsections, not visual styling. Inspect the resulting outline and accessible names; fix skipped levels where they make that relationship unclear.
7. Images have descriptive alt text — every meaningful image should have alt text that describes the image content. Decorative images should have empty alt attributes. Check for missing alt text, generic alt text ("image1.jpg"), and keyword-stuffed alt text that does not describe the actual image.
8. Image delivery matches the use — compare formats, dimensions, responsive candidates, loading priority and transferred bytes for representative images. Set budgets from the template and user connection rather than a universal file-size limit.
9. Internal links use descriptive anchor text — review a sample of internal links across the site. Anchor text should describe the destination page's topic, not use generic phrases like "click here" or "read more." Descriptive anchors pass topical relevance to the linked page.
10. No broken internal links — run a crawl and identify all internal links pointing to 4xx or 5xx pages. Fix each broken link by updating the URL to the correct destination or removing the link if the page no longer exists.
11. Canonical tags are correctly implemented — every indexable page should have a self-referencing canonical tag. Verify that canonical tags point to the correct URL (HTTPS, correct trailing slash convention, no parameter variations). Check for accidental cross-domain canonicals and canonical chains.
12. Open Graph tags are present — pages likely to be shared on social media should have og:title, og:description, and og:image tags. Check that OG images are the correct dimensions (1200x630 pixels for optimal display) and that OG titles and descriptions are compelling for social sharing.

Technical Checks

Technical checks assess the infrastructure that determines whether search engines can access, crawl, render, and index your content.

13. Robots.txt does not block important pages — review your robots.txt file and verify that no critical pages, sections, CSS files, or JavaScript files are disallowed. Common mistakes include blocking /wp-admin/ resources needed for rendering, blocking staging site rules left on the live site, and blocking entire directories containing important content.
14. XML sitemap is accurate and submitted — your sitemap should contain every indexable page and no non-indexable pages (noindexed, redirected, 404, or canonicalised URLs). Submit the sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Verify the sitemap is referenced in your robots.txt file.
15. HTTP status matches URL intent — classify crawl responses by purpose. Indexable pages normally return 200; moved URLs use an appropriate redirect; removed URLs can return 404 or 410; server errors require diagnosis. Redirect only when a relevant replacement exists.
16. Avoidable redirect chains are removed — identify internal links and redirect rules that create extra hops or loops. Update owned links and rules to the intended final destination while preserving necessary migrations.
17. HTTPS is fully implemented — verify that every page loads via HTTPS, that HTTP requests redirect to HTTPS with a 301, and that no mixed content warnings exist (HTTP resources loaded on HTTPS pages). Check SSL certificate validity and expiration date.
18. Core Web Vitals are interpreted correctly — check Search Console or CrUX field data. Google's good thresholds at the 75th percentile are LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP within 200 milliseconds and CLS within 0.1. Use lab traces to diagnose templates, not as a replacement field pass.
19. Mobile rendering supports complete tasks — the Search Console Mobile Usability report was retired in December 2023. Test representative URLs on real devices and inspect mobile-first indexing evidence where needed.
20. Page performance is measured with field and lab data — review Core Web Vitals field data when available and use repeatable lab traces to identify the responsible element, request or task.
21. Structured data is eligible and accurate — test supported rich-result markup with Google's Rich Results Test and compare it with visible content and feature policies. Add a type only when the page and entity qualify. Google limits FAQ rich results mainly to authoritative government and health sites.
22. No orphan pages exist — identify pages in your sitemap or Search Console that receive zero internal links. These orphan pages are effectively invisible to crawlers that navigate via links. Add contextual internal links from related content to connect orphan pages to the rest of the site.
23. Hreflang is correct (if applicable) — for multilingual or multi-regional sites, verify that hreflang tags are bidirectional (every page that references another also gets referenced back), language codes are correct, x-default is specified, and hreflang URLs match canonical URLs.
24. JavaScript-rendered content is available — for JavaScript-dependent templates, compare initial and rendered HTML and inspect representative URLs in Search Console. Verify that critical content and crawlable links render without errors or blocked resources.

Content Checks

Content checks evaluate whether your content meets the quality, depth, and relevance standards required to rank and satisfy search intent.

25. Each page fulfils its purpose — review pages with little unique value, duplicated boilerplate or an unanswered task. Expand, consolidate, retain or remove them based on user need and evidence; word count alone is not a quality threshold.
26. Content matches search intent — for your top 20 target keywords, check the current SERP to see what content format Google ranks (guides, lists, tools, videos). If Google ranks how-to guides and your page is a product page, there is an intent mismatch. Align your content format with what the SERP tells you Google expects.
27. No keyword cannibalisation — export query data from Search Console and identify keywords where multiple pages appear. If two or more pages compete for the same keyword without either ranking well, consolidate them into a single authoritative page and redirect the weaker URLs.
28. Content is current where facts change — check claims, sources, screenshots, product behaviour, prices and dates according to the topic's rate of change. Update or remove obsolete material; do not refresh dates without substantive review.
29. Trust evidence matches the topic — verify authorship, sources, business details and editorial responsibility where users need them. Google describes E-E-A-T as a concept used by search quality raters, not a single page-level ranking factor or score.
30. Content covers the necessary subtopics — compare the page with its user task, first-party evidence, relevant queries and strong sources. Add missing decisions or explanations that belong on this page and link to distinct tasks rather than padding for length.
31. No duplicate content across pages — check for pages with substantially similar content. Common causes include product variants with identical descriptions, location pages with only the city name changed, and syndicated content without canonical attribution. Consolidate or differentiate duplicate content.
32. Content has clear structure — every content page should have a clear introduction, logically organised sections with descriptive headings, supporting detail under each section, and a conclusion or summary. Unstructured content that reads as a wall of text performs poorly for both users and search engines.

Off-Page Checks

Off-page checks assess external signals that influence your site's perceived authority and trustworthiness.

33. Backlink profile is healthy — pull your backlink profile from Ahrefs or Semrush. Check the ratio of referring domains with high domain authority versus low quality. A healthy profile has more links from relevant, authoritative sites than from spam directories, blog comment networks, or unrelated sites.
34. Manual-action and link-spam evidence is reviewed — check Search Console's Manual Actions report and investigate links the site created or paid for to manipulate rankings. Google says most sites do not need the disavow tool; use it only with a substantial artificial-link problem and the official guidance.
35. Anchor text is investigated in context — review suspicious sitewide, paid or controlled links and their destinations. No universal exact-match percentage distinguishes a natural profile from manipulation.
36. Link changes have an explanation — chart new and lost referring pages to find campaigns, migrations, sitewide links or spam bursts. A spike or plateau alone does not establish manipulation.
37. Competitor link gap is assessed — compare your referring domain count and quality against your top three organic competitors. Quantify the gap and identify the types of links competitors have that you lack (editorial mentions, resource page links, directory listings, industry associations). This informs your link-building strategy.
38. Brand mentions are linked — search for your brand name across the web and identify mentions that do not include a link to your site. Reach out to site owners and request a link be added. Unlinked brand mentions are the lowest-friction link-building opportunity because the site has already demonstrated awareness of your brand.

Local SEO Checks

Local SEO checks apply to businesses that serve a specific geographic area. Skip this section if your business operates entirely online without a local presence.

39. Google Business Profile is complete and verified — verify your GBP listing. Check that business name, address, phone number, website URL, business hours, and categories are accurate. Complete all available fields including business description, attributes, services, and photos. Ensure the primary category is the most specific option available.
40. NAP is consistent across the web — your name, address, and phone number must be identical across every online directory, social profile, and citation source. Use a citation audit tool or manual search to identify inconsistencies. Even small differences (abbreviated street names, old phone numbers, former addresses) confuse local search algorithms.
41. Reviews are monitored and answered appropriately — check reviews on platforms relevant to the business, follow each platform's policies and respond where useful. Do not insert service phrases merely to influence rankings.
42. Local business markup matches visible facts — use the most specific supported subtype on a page that represents the business or location, and include only accurate, visible or otherwise policy-compliant properties. Do not add LocalBusiness or FAQPage to every page by default.
43. Location pages exist for each service area — if you serve multiple locations, each should have a dedicated page with unique content about the services available in that area. Location pages should include the address (if a physical office exists), local landmarks or geographic references, area-specific information, and embedded Google Maps.
44. Local content supports geographic relevance — check for blog posts, case studies, or news content that references your local area. Content about local events, community involvement, area-specific advice, and local industry news all reinforce geographic relevance signals that support local pack visibility.

Check interpretations against Google's SEO Starter Guide and people-first content guidance. A checklist pass does not predict ranking or revenue; use the 66-check sitewide checklist for the wider review.