| name | seo-audit |
| description | Use when the user wants to audit, review, or diagnose SEO issues on their site. Also use when the user mentions 'SEO audit,' 'technical SEO,' 'why am I not ranking,' 'SEO issues,' 'on-page SEO,' 'site audit,' or 'how do I improve my Google rankings.' |
SEO Audit
Expert knowledge for diagnosing technical SEO issues, on-page problems, and content gaps that prevent sites from ranking.
Audit Framework
An SEO audit covers five layers. Work through them in order — technical issues block all subsequent gains.
1. Crawlability → 2. Indexation → 3. On-Page → 4. Content → 5. Authority
Don't optimize content on pages that aren't being crawled correctly.
Layer 1: Crawlability
robots.txt
Check /robots.txt for:
- Blocked URLs that should be indexed (especially
/blog/, /pricing/, /product/)
- Blocked directories that contain important pages
Disallow: / blocks the entire site — a catastrophic error that happens after migrations
Tool: Fetch yoursite.com/robots.txt directly in browser.
XML Sitemap
Requirements:
- Sitemap exists at
/sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml
- All important URLs included
- No noindex URLs in the sitemap (contradictory signals)
lastmod dates present and accurate- Sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
Crawl Errors
In Google Search Console → Coverage report:
- Excluded by robots.txt: Are important pages excluded?
- Blocked by noindex: Intentional or accidental noindex tags?
- Not found (404): Pages generating 404 errors (check if they have backlinks)
Tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider for full crawl (free up to 500 URLs).
Core Web Vitals
Google uses CWV as a ranking signal. Measure:
| Metric | Good | Needs Work | Poor |
|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | < 2.5s | 2.5-4s | > 4s |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | < 200ms | 200-500ms | > 500ms |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | < 0.1 | 0.1-0.25 | > 0.25 |
Common CWV fixes:
- LCP: Compress images to WebP; add
fetchpriority="high" to hero image
- CLS: Add width/height attributes to images; use
font-display: swap
- INP: Defer non-critical JavaScript
Tools: Google PageSpeed Insights, Core Web Vitals report in GSC.
Layer 2: Indexation
Google Search Console Coverage
Valid (indexed): Are the right pages indexed?
- Do you have pages indexed that shouldn't be? (admin pages, thank-you pages, filtered URLs)
Excluded:
- "Crawled, currently not indexed" → Usually: thin content, duplicate content, or low quality signal.
- "Discovered, currently not indexed" → Usually: low PageRank signal, crawl budget issues.
- "Duplicate, submitted URL not selected as canonical" → Google chose a different canonical.
Canonical Tags
Check for:
- Canonical tag present on every page (self-canonical)
- Canonical points to the correct, preferred URL
- Consistent canonical form (www vs non-www, trailing slash vs no trailing slash)
Duplicate Content
URL parameter duplication: Does /page?color=red and /page?color=blue produce identical content? Canonicalize or noindex parameterized versions.
HTTP/HTTPS duplication: All http pages should 301 redirect to https.
www/non-www duplication: Pick one; redirect the other.
Layer 3: On-Page SEO
Title Tags
Requirements:
- Unique on every page
- Contains the primary keyword (near the front preferred)
- 50-60 characters (displays fully in SERPs)
Common issues:
- Duplicate titles across pages
- Too long (truncated in SERPs at ~60 chars)
- Not keyword-optimized
Meta Descriptions
- Unique on every page
- 150-160 characters
- Contains a call to action and the primary keyword
H1 Tags
- One H1 per page (not zero, not multiple)
- Contains the primary keyword
- Different from the title tag (not identical)
Internal Linking
Audit questions:
- Do all important pages have internal links pointing to them?
- Are any important pages "orphaned" (no internal links)?
- Are anchor texts descriptive (not "click here" or "read more")?
Layer 4: Content Audit
E-E-A-T Signals
E-E-A-T = Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.
Experience signals: Author bylines with relevant experience; first-hand accounts; original data.
Expertise signals: Author credentials; depth and accuracy of content; citations of reputable sources.
Authoritativeness signals: Backlinks from authoritative sites; brand mentions; press coverage.
Trustworthiness signals: HTTPS; clear privacy policy and contact information; accurate, up-to-date content.
Keyword Cannibalization
Occurs when multiple pages target the same keyword. Google gets confused about which to rank.
Detection: Use Ahrefs or Semrush site explorer → search for your target keyword → see if multiple pages rank for it.
Fix: Consolidate into one comprehensive page, or clearly differentiate intent between pages.
Layer 5: Authority (Backlink Profile)
Tools: Ahrefs Site Explorer, Semrush Backlink Analytics, Google Search Console (Links report)
Key metrics:
- Domain Rating (Ahrefs DR) or Domain Authority (Moz DA)
- Total referring domains (more unique domains = better)
- Anchor text distribution (over-optimized exact-match anchors are a red flag)
- Lost backlinks (identify if major links were recently lost)
Toxic link signals:
- Links from link farms or PBNs
- Links from sites with DR < 10 and no organic traffic
- Sudden spike in links from unrelated foreign-language sites
Audit Report Structure
Critical (fix within 1 week):
- Crawl blocks on important pages
- Whole-site noindex or robots block
- Canonical pointing wrong
- 5xx server errors
High (fix within 1 month):
- CWV fails
- Duplicate title tags
- Missing or duplicate H1s
- Key pages not indexed
Medium (fix within quarter):
- Missing meta descriptions
- Thin content on secondary pages
- Missing alt text on images
- Broken internal links
Low (optimize when possible):
- Suboptimal title tag lengths
- Missing schema markup
- Image file size optimization
Common Rationalizations
| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|
| "We rank for our brand — SEO is fine" | Brand rankings are easy. Non-branded organic traffic is the revenue driver. |
| "We did an SEO audit 2 years ago" | SEO changes. Algorithm updates, site changes, and competitive shifts require annual audits at minimum. |
| "Our developer handles technical SEO" | Developers fix technical issues; they don't diagnose SEO strategy. Both roles are needed. |
| "We can't fix the Core Web Vitals — it requires a site rebuild" | Most CWV improvements are targeted changes (image optimization, JS deferral) not full rebuilds. |
Verification
