Most SEO audits fail in one of two ways. Some are a 200-row spreadsheet nobody acts on. Others are a quick look at titles that misses the noindex tag hiding half the site. This checklist runs in priority order, from "can Google reach the site at all" to "is each page as good as it can be," so you fix the problems that block rankings before the ones that polish them. Each step says what to check, how to check it, and where to go for the fix.
Key takeaways
- Audit in priority order, starting with crawlability and indexability, because a page Google cannot crawl gains nothing from on-page fixes.
- Accidental indexing blocks, such as a sitewide noindex or Disallow: / left over from staging, are the most common critical SEO issue.
- Core Web Vitals should pass at the 75th percentile, with LCP of 2.5 s or less, INP of 200 ms or less and CLS of 0.1 or less.
- Fix issues by template rather than by URL wherever you can, since one template change can fix thousands of pages.
Before you start: tools
You can do a complete audit with free tools:
- Google Search Console: Page indexing, Sitemaps, URL Inspection, Core Web Vitals, Performance and Crawl stats reports
- Bing Webmaster Tools: a second opinion on crawl errors and sitemaps
- A site crawler to list every URL, status code, title and canonical
- PageSpeed Insights for field and lab performance data
- Rich Results Test for structured data
- A browser and
curlfor checking headers and redirects
Record each finding with the URL, the issue, its priority and an owner. A finding without an owner doesn't get fixed.
Part 1: Crawlability
If Google can't crawl a page, nothing else in this checklist matters for that page.
1. robots.txt returns 200 and blocks nothing important.
Open https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Look for a stray Disallow: /, blocked CSS/JS/image folders, and rules covering pages you want ranked. Check in Search Console under Settings > robots.txt. See the robots.txt guide.
2. Your preferred host is reached in one redirect. Test all four homepage variants:
for u in http://example.com http://www.example.com https://example.com https://www.example.com; do
echo "== $u"; curl -sIL "$u" | grep -iE "^(HTTP|location)"
done
Each should end at the same final URL with at most one 301.
3. No broken internal links or redirect chains. Crawl the site. Fix every internal link returning 4xx/5xx, and update internal links that pass through redirects so they point at the final URL. Google follows up to 10 redirect hops but recommends redirecting straight to the destination. See broken links and redirect chains.
4. Links are crawlable.
Navigation, pagination and "load more" should use real <a href> links. Google can only reliably follow <a> elements that have an href.
5. The server is healthy for Googlebot. In Settings > Crawl stats, check host status, average response time and the share of 5xx responses. Google crawls less when a site returns 5xx or 429 errors. Make sure your firewall or CDN bot protection isn't challenging Googlebot.
Part 2: Indexability
6. Important pages aren't noindexed. Check page source and response headers:
curl -sI https://www.example.com/services/ | grep -i x-robots-tag
curl -s https://www.example.com/services/ | grep -i '<meta name="robots"'
A sitewide noindex left over from staging, or a WordPress "Discourage search engines" checkbox, is a common launch-day mistake.
7. Canonicals are self-referencing, absolute and consistent. Every indexable page should have exactly one canonical pointing to itself. Watch for canonicals that point to redirects, 404s, noindexed pages or the http version. See canonical tags explained.
8. The Page indexing report makes sense. In Search Console, open Indexing > Pages and review the "Why pages aren't indexed" table. For each reason, ask whether those URLs should be indexed. A large "Excluded by noindex" count is fine if it's tag pages. It's a problem if it's products. For "Crawled – currently not indexed" and "Discovered – currently not indexed," follow this guide.
9. The mobile version has the full content. Google uses the mobile version of your pages, crawled with its smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking. Check that mobile pages have the same main content, headings, structured data, titles, meta descriptions and robots tags as desktop. Content that only loads after a tap or swipe may never be seen.
10. Soft 404s are fixed. "Not found," "out of stock, no content" or empty search pages that return 200 show up as Soft 404 in Search Console. Return a real 404/410, or add useful content.
Part 3: Sitemaps
11. An XML sitemap exists, is referenced in robots.txt and is submitted. Submit it in Search Console (Indexing > Sitemaps) and Bing Webmaster Tools. Status should be Success.
12. The sitemap lists only canonical, indexable, 200-status URLs. No redirects, 404s, noindexed pages or parameter duplicates. Each file is limited to 50,000 URLs or 50MB uncompressed.
13. lastmod is accurate. Values should change only when content really changes. If every URL shows today's date, Google has no reason to trust it. See the XML sitemap guide.
Part 4: Site architecture and internal links
14. Key pages are a few clicks from the homepage. Use your crawler's click-depth report. Revenue pages buried four or more clicks deep should get links from the homepage, menus or hub pages.
15. No orphan pages. Compare URLs in your sitemap, analytics and Search Console with the URLs your crawler found through links. Pages that only appear in the sitemap are orphans.
16. Anchor text is descriptive. Replace "click here" and "read more" with anchors that describe the target. Don't point the same anchor at several different pages. See the internal linking strategy.
17. No pages competing for the same intent. In Search Console Performance, filter by your main queries and check the Pages tab. Two URLs with the same intent swapping positions should usually be merged. See keyword cannibalization.
Part 5: On-page
18. Every indexable page has a unique, descriptive title.
Find missing, duplicate and boilerplate titles. Put the specific topic first and the brand last. Google mostly uses your <title> element for the title link, but rewrites titles that are half-empty, outdated, inaccurate or repetitive.
19. Meta descriptions are unique and specific. They aren't a ranking factor, but they shape the snippet when Google uses them. Prioritize pages with high impressions and low CTR. See title tags and meta descriptions.
20. One clear H1 per page that matches the title's intent. A logical H2/H3 structure underneath helps readers and makes the main topic obvious.
21. Images have descriptive alt text and sensible file sizes. Alt text matters most for meaningful images, and for linked images, where it acts as the anchor text.
22. Thin and duplicate content is dealt with. Near-identical location pages, copied manufacturer descriptions and short overlapping posts should be expanded, merged or noindexed.
23. Content is helpful and current. Use Google's own self-assessment questions. Does the page provide original information or analysis, and substantial value compared with other results? Update outdated facts, prices and dates.
Part 6: Performance and page experience
24. Core Web Vitals pass at the 75th percentile. The "good" thresholds are:
| Metric | Good |
|---|---|
| Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | 2.5 s or less |
| Interaction to Next Paint (INP) | 200 ms or less |
| Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | 0.1 or less |
INP replaced First Input Delay as a Core Web Vital in 2024. Google says Core Web Vitals are used by its ranking systems, but that great page experience involves more than scores. Check the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console for field data grouped by URL. See Core Web Vitals explained.
25. The whole site uses HTTPS with a valid certificate. No mixed content, no certificate warnings, and http redirecting to https.
26. No intrusive interstitials on mobile. Full-screen popups that cover the content as soon as the page loads make for a poor experience. Google's page experience guidance specifically lists them.
Part 7: Structured data
27. Organization or LocalBusiness markup is present and accurate. Name, address, phone and hours should match your Google Business Profile.
28. Article, Product or Breadcrumb markup is valid where relevant. Test with the Rich Results Test and check the Search Console enhancement reports for errors.
29. No effort spent on retired features. HowTo rich results were deprecated in 2023, and FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Google Search in May 2026. See the structured data guide for what still works.
Part 8: International and special cases (if relevant)
30. hreflang is reciprocal, and each language version is self-canonical. Every version lists all the others, including itself, and none canonicalizes to another language.
31. Pagination and faceted navigation are under control. Paginated pages are self-canonical. Endless filter combinations are blocked from crawling or consolidated.
How to prioritize the findings
| Priority | Examples | Fix within |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Sitewide noindex, Disallow: /, key pages 404, broken canonicals site-wide, HTTPS errors |
Days |
| High | Duplicate titles across templates, orphaned money pages, redirect chains on main URLs, failing Core Web Vitals on key templates | Weeks |
| Medium | Thin pages, missing meta descriptions, weak internal anchors, sitemap hygiene | This quarter |
| Low | Alt text on decorative images, minor schema warnings | Ongoing |
Fix by template, not by URL, wherever you can. One change to a product template fixes thousands of pages.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I run an SEO audit?
A full audit once or twice a year suits most small sites, plus a quick check after every redesign, migration, CMS update or plugin change. Automated weekly scans catch regressions like a stray noindex between full audits.
What is the most common critical SEO issue?
In practice, accidental indexing blocks: a noindex or Disallow: / carried over from staging, or canonicals pointing at the wrong host after a migration. They're quick to fix but can wipe out search traffic until someone notices.
Can I do an SEO audit without paid tools?
Yes. Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, PageSpeed Insights, the Rich Results Test and a free crawler cover every item on this list. Paid tools mostly save time on large sites and add history and monitoring.
Does a good audit score guarantee rankings?
No. An audit removes technical barriers and on-page weaknesses, so Google can crawl, understand and index your pages. Ranking still depends on content quality, relevance and authority compared with competing pages.
What to do next
Work through Parts 1 and 2 today. They take under an hour and catch the problems that hurt most. Schedule the rest as template-level fixes. Run a free audit to get an A-F grade covering titles, meta descriptions, headings, canonical, robots.txt, sitemap, a sample of internal links, Core Web Vitals, security headers and DNS in one scan. For sites with more than a handful of pages, paid plans add a whole-site crawl and scheduled re-scans, so regressions show up in your inbox instead of in your traffic.
Sources
- Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide
- Google Search Central: Mobile-first indexing best practices
- Google Search Central: Understanding page experience in Google Search results
- web.dev: Web Vitals
- Search Console Help: Page indexing report
- Google Search Central: How HTTP status codes, and network and DNS errors affect Google Search
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