How to Do an SEO Audit: A Step-by-Step Guide

What Is an SEO Audit?

An SEO audit is a systematic review of your website to identify issues that are hurting your search rankings or preventing your site from performing as well as it should. Think of it like a health check. A doctor doesn't guess what's wrong — they run tests. An SEO audit does the same thing for your website.

Why You Need an SEO Audit

Most websites have dozens of SEO issues they don't know about. Missing title tags, broken links, duplicate content, slow pages, images without alt text. These issues don't just affect one page — they can suppress your entire domain. An audit finds them all in one go.

What Does an SEO Audit Cover?

A thorough SEO audit covers five main areas:

1. Technical SEO

• Can Google crawl and index your pages?

• Are there broken links or 404 errors?

• Is your page speed acceptable?

• Is your site mobile-friendly?

• Do you have an XML sitemap?

• Is HTTPS enabled?

2. On-Page SEO

• Does every page have a unique title tag?

• Are meta descriptions filled in and compelling?

• Is there a single H1 on every page?

• Do all images have alt text?

• Is there enough content on each page?

• Are internal links used effectively?

3. Content Quality

• Is your content genuinely useful and comprehensive?

• Are there thin or duplicate pages?

• Does your content match search intent?

4. Keywords

• Are your target keywords in your title tags and headings?

• Are you tracking your keyword rankings?

• Are there keyword opportunities you're missing?

5. Off-Page SEO

• How many quality backlinks do you have?

• Are there toxic or spammy links pointing to your site?

• Is your Google Business Profile optimised (for local businesses)?

How to Do an SEO Audit

Option 1: Use an Automated Tool

Tools like Oh So SEO crawl your entire site and produce a prioritised list of issues. This takes minutes, not days, and is the practical choice for most small businesses.

Option 2: Manual Audit

Check each page manually using Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and your browser's developer tools. Time-consuming but free.

The Hybrid Approach

Use an automated tool to find issues quickly. Use Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights to investigate specific problems in more depth.

How to Prioritise Audit Findings

Not all issues are equally important. Prioritise by: Critical — fix immediately. These are things preventing Google from indexing your pages, or significantly harming your rankings. Missing title tags, broken pages, blocked crawling. Important — fix within the next month. Missing meta descriptions, slow page speed, missing alt text. Low priority — fix when you have time. Minor content improvements, optional structured data.

How Often Should You Run an Audit?

At minimum, quarterly. Monthly if you regularly publish new content or make site changes. Think of it like maintenance. You don't service your car once and assume it's fine forever.

FAQ

How long does an SEO audit take? With an automated tool, the crawl itself takes minutes. Reviewing the results and planning your fixes might take 1–2 hours. Implementing the fixes takes longer, depending on how many issues you find. Do I need to fix every issue an audit finds? No. Focus on critical and high-impact issues first. Some low-priority recommendations can be ignored if they're impractical to fix. How do I know if my fixes worked? Run another audit after implementing your changes. Also monitor your rankings and organic traffic in Google Search Console.