SEO Audit Elements we Focus on

The following are the core sections that we cover as part of an SEO site audit. It is worth noting that some elements are added to, some retracted depending on the needs and the situation. As with all things in SEO, we have to be fluid and adapt.

We also do more of a “limited audit” in some situations as the needs of the client are more specific. This is just a framework I wanted to share for those interested.

NOTE: this is NOT a forensic audit framework, that’s completely different.

1. Domain information

• Domain analysis
• Geo Targeting
• DNS and glue
• CMS status
• Past or present penalties
• CDNs or other off-site assets

2. General Onsite Analysis

• Titles and Meta Data
• TITLE length
• TITLE targeting/duplication
• Meta-D CTAs
• Prominence Elements
• Image Alts
• Duplicate Content
• Thin content
• Phrase Diversity
• URL Structures
• Site/Page Speed
• Mobile Readiness

4. Technical On-site Analysis

• Page Naming Conventions
• Site Structure
• Architecture
• Faceted navigation
• Breadcrumbs
• Click depth
• Canonical Issues
• Page Canonicals
• Rel/Next
• WWW v non-WWW
• Cookies/Session IDs
• Robots.txt
• URL re-Writing;(Apache/Microsoft IIS etc)
• Header status codes
• Error Codes (search console
• Site Maps
• Structured Data / rich media
• HTTPs implementation

5. On-site Link Profile

• Internal links / Navigation
• Keyword Mapping
• Outbound links
• Broken Links

6. Off-site Link Profile

• Summary
• Link Diversity
• Link Text(s
• Velocity
• Potential for link toxicity

7. Search Engine Visibility

• Indexation
• Over/Under indexation
• Search Console
• Existing Rankings(s
• Past ranking reports / search console
• Query classification diversity
• Analytics analysis
• Channels
• Organic
• Conversions
• Annotations
• Local needs/presence
• Citations and reviews
• Social media presence (in engines)
• Brand knowledge graph presence

8. Action Plan

• Summary
• Short Term Recommendations
• Quick wins
• Long Term Recommendations

SEO Audit Start Up Needs

Things we’d like to have (from the client) where possible;

• Google Webmaster Tools (access)
• Google Analytics or related (access)
• Keyword strategy (core and stemming/modified terms)
• Page mapping of terms and target pages (if any)
• Historic rankings (if any)
• Geo-local targeting (if applicable)
• Past SEO work (if recorded)
• Past developer change logs
• List of other domains/microsites (if applicable)
• Competitive analysis (known query competitors)