What is an SEO Audit, and Do You Need One?

If you own a business, you’ve likely received dozens of emails (or even phone calls) offering a comprehensive SEO audit that will somehow, magically, improve your ranking in search engine results. These emails likely leave you with more questions than answers, but today we’ll clarify:

1. What exactly is an SEO audit?
2. Does your website need one?
3. Can you do an SEO audit yourself?

What is an SEO Audit?

An SEO audit is a detailed analysis of your website to assess how it could perform better on search. It examines everything from how quickly your pages load to whether you’re targeting the right keywords.

A thorough SEO audit looks at three main areas:

• Technical performance, including website speed and site structure
• Content quality, including keyword usage and meta descriptions
• Off-site factors, like your backlink profile and social media presence 

Technical Performance

Your website’s technical performance plays a huge role in how well it ranks on search engines. A technical audit examines how fast your website loads, whether search engines can properly read and index your content, and whether your website works well on mobile devices. It also analyses how well your website is structured for both users and search engines to navigate.

Content Quality

The content on your site is what brings users from search, so making sure it’s SEO-friendly is one the most important parts of an SEO site audit.

This part of the audit examines whether your content matches what users are searching for, how often you use keywords, and whether your pages have proper meta descriptions and title tags.

It also looks at how you’re linking between pages across the site and whether your content is structured in a way that’s easy for readers and search engines to understand.

Off-Page SEO Factors

What happens off your website can be just as important as what happens on it. This part of the audit examines the links to your site from other sources (known as backlinks), how your brand is mentioned online, and how you compare to your competitors. 

Going Beyond Surface Level

The end result of an all-in-one SEO audit from a professional should be a clear, actionable report that outlines:

• What’s working well on your website
• What needs improvement
• Specific steps to fix any issues
• Priorities for implementing changes

Rather than just pointing out problems, a good SEO audit also provides practical advice on how to fix problems and helps you understand what changes will have the biggest impact on your search rankings.

Do You Need an SEO Website Audit?

As a stand-alone service from an external provider? No. While it’s well and good to know your website is a bit slow or some of your headings are missing keywords –  it’s another thing entirely to effectively fix those issues and develop a successful SEO strategy.

While service providers often offer free SEO audits as a lead-in to their services, you’re better off during your research and finding an SEO provider with a good reputation and a clear focus on strategy and going from there.

Rather than a list of technical SEO issues, what businesses actually need is a comprehensive SEO strategy that includes:

• Regular website monitoring and maintenance
• Consistent content optimisation
• Ongoing keyword research and implementation
• Continuous performance tracking
• Strategic adjustments based on results

Many businesses fall into the trap of paying for one-off audits and then struggling to implement the recommendations. Instead, look for an SEO provider who takes the time to understand your business goals first and then plans a concrete strategy to achieve them.

A good provider will naturally include an SEO audit as part of their ongoing service, using the findings to inform their strategy rather than treating the audit as an end in itself.

Performing an SEO Audit Yourself 

Running your own basic SEO audit is always a good idea before investing in professional services. It can help you identify simple improvements you can make yourself, and give you a clearer picture of whether you need expert help.

Free tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics are a great place to start. you can check: 

• Your current search performance – which search terms bring traffic to your website, how many clicks you get, and where your pages rank.
• Technical basics – whether your pages work properly on mobile devices, if Google can access all your content, and whether you have any broken links or pages.
• User behaviour – how long people stay on your pages, which pages they visit most, and at what point they leave your website.

For a bit of a deeper look, I also recommend using Ahref’s Site Audit tool. It’s free and will give you an SEO score that gives you an idea of where your website stands and a list of on-page SEO issues you can fix yourself, like slow page speeds or missing meta descriptions. 

If you’re looking for more free SEO tools, read our list of favourites.

Manual SEO Audit

You can also review your content manually by:

• Reading through your pages to check if your content is clear and helpful
• Making sure each page has proper titles and headings
• Checking whether you’re using relevant keywords naturally
• Looking for outdated or incorrect information

Small Changes That Can Make a Big Difference

These checks often show quick fixes you can make right away, like updating old posts, deleting duplicate content, adding alt text to images, or fixing broken links. These small changes can often go a long way to improve your website and your ranking in search results.

They also help you spot bigger issues with your website’s SEO health that might need professional help, like problems with your site architecture or trouble ranking for competitive search terms.

A self-audit won’t give you the full picture that a complete SEO audit from a professional can, but it will help you understand your website better and make basic improvements while you decide what to do next.

DIY SEO Audit Checklist

Search Console Health Checks

• Look in Google Search Console for any manual actions (penalties from Google)
• Check for errors that stop Google from crawling and indexing your website
• Review your mobile usability report
• See which of your pages Google has indexed – and which it hasn’t

Content Review

• Check all your pages have unique titles and descriptions
• Look for thin content (pages with very little text)
• Look for duplicate content
• Make sure your headings follow a logical structure (H1, H2, H3)
• Review how you link between pages on your site

Technical Checks

• Test your site speed using Google’s PageSpeed Insights
• Check if your website works properly on mobile phones
• Make sure you have an XML sitemap and you’ve submitted it to Google
• Check your SSL certificate is working (your website should start with ‘https://’)

User Experience

• Check if your menu makes sense for users and works properly
• Look for broken links using a tool like Screaming Frog
• Make sure your contact details are easy to find
• Test all your forms to make sure they work

Why SEO Takes More Than Just a Site Audit

Running your own SEO audit is a great way to get started, but getting your website to rank well on search engines takes ongoing work and expertise. 

Search engines update their algorithms constantly, meaning what works today might stop working tomorrow. You need someone to keep track of these changes and adjust your website accordingly.

On top of that, your competitors want to rank for the same search terms too. Without regular monitoring and updates to your strategy, you’ll likely lose ground to businesses that work actively on their search presence.

SEO also goes beyond fixing technical issues. You need a clear understanding of what your potential customers search for so you can tailor your website accordingly, giving visitors the answers they need. This takes ongoing keyword research, content updates, and performance tracking to help you attract visitors who become customers.

How We Can Help

Our SEO team goes beyond simple audits to build strategies that work long-term. Rather than just giving you a list of problems to fix, we:

• Find out which search terms will bring you valuable customers
• Fix technical issues that hold your website back
• Create content that ranks well and converts visitors
• Track what works and adjust our approach based on results

If you want your website to consistently bring in new customers through search, get in touch with our team. We’ll help you develop a strategy that drives real growth for your business.