Measuring Success→Lesson 2

SEO Audit Checklist

Extra
3 min
intermediate

You'll learn:

  • •Identify common SEO issues
  • •Prioritize fixes based on impact

Why SEO Audits Matter

Regular SEO audits catch issues before they hurt rankings. Use this checklist as a starting point for reviewing your site's SEO health.

Technical SEO Checklist

  • ☐ HTTPS enabled with valid SSL certificate
  • ☐ All pages return 200 status (check for 404s, 500s)
  • ☐ XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
  • ☐ robots.txt isn't blocking important pages
  • ☐ No crawl errors in GSC Coverage report
  • ☐ Mobile-friendly test passes for all pages
  • ☐ Page speed score is "Good" on Core Web Vitals
  • ☐ Canonical tags self-reference on unique content pages
  • ☐ No duplicate content issues (use GSC "URLs inspected")

On-Page SEO Checklist

  • ☐ Each page has unique title tag (under 60 characters)
  • ☐ Each page has unique meta description (150-160 characters)
  • ☐ H1 tag exists and includes primary keyword
  • ☐ H2/H3 headings structure content logically
  • ☐ Images have descriptive alt text
  • ☐ Internal links point to related content
  • ☐ URLs are short, descriptive, and use hyphens
  • ☐ Content is comprehensive and matches search intent
  • ☐ Pages load within 3 seconds on mobile

Off-Page & Authority Checklist

  • ☐ Backlink profile shows growth over time
  • ☐ No toxic backlinks from spammy sites
  • ☐ Branded search volume is increasing
  • ☐ Positive reviews on Google Business Profile and industry sites
  • ☐ Brand mentioned in industry publications or media
  • ☐ Social profiles are active and link to website
💡

Tools to help with audits: Google Search Console (free), Google Lighthouse (free), Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free up to 500 URLs), or Ahrefs/SEMrush (paid).

Prioritizing Fixes

Not all issues are equally important. Prioritize based on impact:

  • Critical: Site down, HTTPS issues, index blocking (fix immediately)
  • High: Slow pages, 404 errors, duplicate content (fix this week)
  • Medium: Missing meta descriptions, thin content (fix this month)
  • Low: Minor optimizations, nice-to-have improvements (ongoing)
Key Takeaway:
SEO isn't "set it and forget it." Schedule quarterly audits to catch issues, track progress, and identify new opportunities as search algorithms and your site evolve.