For your first SEO site audit ensure the site is crawlable & accessible by search engines. New Client or New Prospective Client you should flow this site audit checklist first.
SEO Site Audit Checklist
1. On-Page – Check for:
Title and Description Tags:
- Duplication
- Primary and Secondary keywords present
Scannability:
- Bullet points
- Numbered lists
- Short paragraphs
Overall content:
- Duplication
- Primary and Secondary keywords present
- H-tags
- Cannibalization (multiple pages optimized for the same primary keywords)
- Location-based keywords (Chicago, Hampton Roads, Disney World)
- Contact information is present
Internal links:
- Descriptive anchor text
- Broken links
Multimedia:
- Include images, GIFs, or videos
- Descriptive alt text for images
- Broken images or videos
Outbound links:
- Open into new windows or tabs
- Broken links
2. Off-Page — Check for:
Backlinks:
- The total count of other sites linking back to this site
- Toxicity Score (an indicator of spammy sites)
- Relevancy to your niche, topic, or location
- Referring domains
- Broken links or backlinks leading to redirects
- Anchor text diversity
NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number):
- Review profiles on listing sites for consistency
- Missing profiles such as Google My Business
Reviews:
- Check major review sites for profiles
- Assess sentiment of reviews
- Check for proper NAP information including website URL
- Assess response from the client to reviews
Social media:
- Check all relevant platforms for profiles
- Review each profile to ensure it’s up-to-date
- Assess the most recent content
3. Technical — Check for:
Analytics and webmaster tools in place:
Loading Speed:
- Large HTML page size
- Redirect chains/loops
- Uncompressed images
- Slow loading time
Status Codes:
- 5xx are server-side issues
- 4xx means a page cannot be accessed
- 3xx indicated redirects
URL Structure:
- Clean and free from irrelevant characters
- Clearly details what the page is about
- Duplication
- Consistent naming conventions
Loading Speed:
- Missing or inaccessible
- Contains broken or outdated pages
- Format issues
4. User Experience — Check for:
Customer journey:
- Simple navigation
- Strong CTAs
- A clear description of services, products, or purpose
- Internal linking to guide the audience through the site
Banners / Pop-ups:
- Is there an excessive amount of blocking users from interacting with the site?
- Are they relevant and helpful?
Status Codes:
- Content shifts after or while loading
- Multiple media loads quickly
- Site elements are quickly and easily able to be clicked on
- Videos do not play audio automatically