An SEO audit is a comprehensive evaluation of your website's search engine optimization health. Regular audits help you identify issues, track improvements, and stay ahead of algorithm changes. Here's how to run one step by step.
Step 1: Technical Foundation
Start with the technical basics that affect crawling and indexing:
- Check robots.txt — Make sure important pages aren't blocked
- Verify XML sitemap — Ensure it's submitted and contains all important URLs
- Test HTTPS — All pages should redirect to HTTPS
- Check redirect chains — Fix chains longer than 2 redirects
- Find broken links — Identify and fix 404 errors
- Review canonical tags — Ensure correct implementation
Step 2: On-Page SEO
Evaluate the content and HTML elements of your key pages:
- Title tags — Unique, 50-60 characters, include target keyword
- Meta descriptions — Unique, 150-160 characters, compelling
- H1 tags — One per page, includes primary keyword
- Header hierarchy — Logical H1 > H2 > H3 structure
- Image alt text — Descriptive text for all meaningful images
- Internal links — Important pages linked from relevant content
Step 3: Content Quality
Assess the quality and relevance of your content:
- Thin content — Pages with fewer than 300 words may not provide enough value
- Duplicate content — Check for identical or near-identical pages
- Content freshness — Update outdated content with current information
- Keyword targeting — Each page should target a specific keyword cluster
- E-E-A-T signals — Author bios, credentials, citations, and trust signals
Step 4: Performance
Measure and optimize loading speed and user experience:
- Core Web Vitals — LCP ≤ 2.5s, CLS ≤ 0.1, INP ≤ 200ms
- Page size — Keep total page weight under 3MB
- Request count — Minimize HTTP requests
- Image sizes — Compress and serve appropriate dimensions
- JavaScript — Minimize render-blocking scripts
Step 5: Security
Review security measures that affect both safety and SEO:
- SSL certificate — Valid, not expired, correct configuration
- Security headers — HSTS, CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, etc.
- Mixed content — No HTTP resources loaded on HTTPS pages
- Vulnerability scan — Check for known vulnerabilities
Step 6: AI Readiness
With AI-powered search becoming mainstream, check your AI optimization:
- Schema markup — Proper JSON-LD structured data
- Content structure — Clear, extractable information
- llms.txt — AI crawler instructions file
- Citation readiness — Content formatted for AI citation
Step 7: Create an Action Plan
Prioritize fixes based on impact and effort:
- Critical fixes — Broken pages, indexing issues, security problems
- High-impact improvements — Title tags, Core Web Vitals, mobile issues
- Quick wins — Meta descriptions, alt text, internal links
- Long-term projects — Content creation, link building, schema implementation
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