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SEO Audit Checklist

A 33-point audit covering technical, on-page, off-page, local, and AI-citation signals. Find what is holding your rankings back.

33 Audit Items
8 Critical Checks
5 Focus Areas
Updated for 2026
Technical SEOOn-Page SEOOff-Page SEOLocal SEOAI Citation Signals
Priority Levels:
Critical
High
Medium

Technical SEO

Foundation-level issues that affect how search engines crawl and index your site.

4 critical4 high priority8 total items
HTTPS redirects in place site-wide (no mixed content warnings)
critical
XML sitemap exists, is valid, and is submitted to Google Search Console
critical
robots.txt present and does not accidentally block crawling of key pages
critical
Canonical tag present on every page pointing to the preferred URL
high
No crawl errors or 404s reported in Google Search Console
high
Core Web Vitals pass: LCP under 2.5s, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1
high
Mobile-friendly test passes (test at search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly)
critical
Structured data (schema markup) present and error-free in Rich Results Test
high

On-Page SEO

Page-level signals that tell Google what each page is about and for whom.

2 critical5 high priority8 total items
Title tags are unique on every page and under 60 characters
critical
Meta descriptions are unique, compelling, and 150-160 characters
high
Each page has exactly one H1 that includes the primary keyword
critical
Heading hierarchy is correct: H1 → H2 → H3 (no skipped levels)
high
Primary keyword appears within the first 100 words of body copy
high
Images have descriptive alt text (not keyword-stuffed, not empty)
high
Internal links use descriptive anchor text (not "click here" or "learn more")
medium
No keyword cannibalization: each target keyword has one designated page
high

Off-Page SEO

External signals that build domain authority and topical relevance.

0 critical2 high priority5 total items
Backlink profile reviewed in Google Search Console or a third-party tool
high
No toxic or spammy backlinks pointing to the site (disavow if necessary)
high
Brand mentions on authoritative sites (industry publications, local press)
medium
Anchor text diversity in inbound links (not over-optimized)
medium
Competitor backlink gap identified (sites linking to competitors but not you)
medium

Local SEO

Signals that influence map pack rankings and local search visibility.

2 critical4 high priority6 total items
Google Business Profile claimed, verified, and fully completed
critical
NAP (Name, Address, Phone) is identical across GBP, website, and all citations
critical
LocalBusiness schema markup on homepage and contact page
high
Location-specific pages exist for each service area served
high
Google Business Profile has recent posts and active review responses
high
Business is listed on key directories: Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps
high

AI Citation Signals

Emerging signals that influence whether AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) cite your site.

0 critical4 high priority6 total items
Author bylines with credentials present on all blog/editorial content
high
About page includes team bios, location, and relevant credentials
high
FAQ schema implemented on key pages to surface as AI answer sources
high
/llms.txt file present to guide AI crawler behavior (check public/llms.txt)
medium
Structured data clearly identifies the organization type, location, and services
high
Content includes original data, first-hand examples, or cited sources
medium

Where to Start Your Audit

If you are starting from scratch, work through these sections in order. Technical issues must be fixed before on-page work will have full effect.

1

Fix crawl errors

2

Resolve Core Web Vitals

3

Audit title tags

4

Check local citations

5

Add author signals

SEO Audit Questions Answered

Common questions about running and interpreting a website SEO audit.

How often should I run an SEO audit?

A full technical audit is worth running every 6 months. For actively growing sites, quarterly is better. You should also run a targeted audit after any major site change — platform migration, redesign, or URL restructure — since these can accidentally break crawlability or redirect chains.

What tools do I need to run this audit?

You can complete most of this checklist with free tools: Google Search Console (crawl errors, coverage, Core Web Vitals), Google PageSpeed Insights (performance), Google Rich Results Test (schema), and Mobile-Friendly Test. For backlink analysis, Ahrefs or Moz offer free tiers with limited data.

What is keyword cannibalization and how do I fix it?

Keyword cannibalization is when two or more of your own pages compete for the same search query, splitting ranking signals. Fix it by identifying the overlapping pages, choosing one as the primary, and either merging the content, 301 redirecting the weaker page, or updating the weaker page to target a different but related keyword.

How do I check my Core Web Vitals?

Go to Google Search Console and open the Core Web Vitals report. This shows real-user data from your site. For page-level testing, use PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev) which gives both lab and field data. Focus on mobile scores first — Google uses mobile-first indexing.

What is an llms.txt file and do I need one?

An llms.txt file (placed at yourdomain.com/llms.txt) provides guidance to AI crawlers about how to interpret your content. It is an emerging standard — not yet universally supported — but placing one helps AI tools understand which content is authoritative and how your site is structured. It is a low-effort, potentially high-upside addition.

Should I handle the SEO audit myself or hire an agency?

If you are comfortable in Google Search Console and can read a crawl report, a self-audit with this checklist will surface most common issues. For large sites (500+ pages), sites that have had major technical problems, or situations where rankings have dropped suddenly, a professional audit is worth the investment — especially to catch issues that require deeper technical knowledge.

Related Resources

Local SEO Checklist

100+ items specifically for local business SEO.

View Resource

GBP Checklist

30 steps to a fully optimized Google Business Profile.

View Resource

Local Keyword Starter List

40 keyword patterns organized by search intent.

View Resource

Need a Professional SEO Audit?

This checklist surfaces the most common issues. A full professional audit goes deeper — crawl analysis, competitor benchmarking, and a prioritized fix roadmap.

SEO Audit ServicesView All SEO Services