A professional SEO audit costs $500-2000. You don't need to pay that yet. You can do a solid DIY audit in a few hours using free tools and this checklist.
This audit won't find every issue, but it will find the ones that actually matter—the problems costing you traffic and rankings. Let's start there.
Part 1: Indexing & Crawlability
The foundation. If Google can't find your pages or index them, nothing else matters.
Is your site in Google Search Console?
Go to Google Search Console (search.google.com/search-console). If your site isn't verified there, verify it now. It takes 5 minutes. This is non-negotiable. (For more on this, check out our guide on the best free SEO tools.)
Check Google's index count.
In Search Console, go to Coverage. You should see "Valid" (pages Google can rank). Look at the number. Is it close to how many pages you actually have? If you have 50 pages but Google only indexes 10, you have a problem. We cover this in more detail in our post about our on-page SEO checklist.
Click on any "Excluded" pages to see why Google isn't indexing them. Common issues: pages blocked by robots.txt, duplicate content, pages behind login walls, or pages marked "noindex."
Look for crawl errors.
Still in Search Console, go to Crawl Statistics. Look for any errors. If you see "404 errors" or "500 errors," those are pages Google tried to crawl but couldn't access. Fix them or remove them.
Check your sitemap.
Go to sitemaps.org and search for your domain. If you don't see a sitemap, you need to create one. If you do, make sure it's current. Remove pages you've deleted.
Mobile-friendly test.
Go to Google's mobile-friendly test (search.google.com/mobile-friendly). Enter your homepage URL. It should pass. If it doesn't, you have formatting issues on mobile that need fixing.
Useful resource: Google PageSpeed Insights
Useful resource: Google Search Console
Part 2: Site Speed (Core Web Vitals)
Google ranks fast sites higher. Period. Use PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev).
Run PageSpeed Insights on your homepage, main service pages, and a few blog posts.
You get desktop and mobile scores. Anything under 50 is bad. 50-80 is okay. 80+ is good.
Look for quick wins.
The report shows "Opportunities" section. The top 3 opportunities usually account for 80% of your speed problems. Common ones:
- Unoptimized images: Compress images or use WebP format.
- Unused JavaScript: Certain plugins or tools load code you don't need.
- Poor server response time: This is hosting-related. If it's consistently slow, talk to your host.
Check your Core Web Vitals.
PageSpeed shows your LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), FID (First Input Delay), and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift). These are the metrics Google actually cares about for ranking.
If any are in the red (poor), that's your priority.
Part 3: On-Page SEO Basics
Check your homepage title tag and meta description.
Your title tag should be 50-60 characters, include your main keyword, and match what people are searching for. "Home — John's Business" is weak. "SEO Services for Small Businesses — John's Agency" is strong.
Your meta description should be 150-160 characters, include your target keyword naturally, and include a reason to click. It doesn't directly rank you, but it affects click-through rate.
Use SERP Simulator (yoast.com or moz.com) to see exactly how your title and description appear in search results.
Audit your page titles.
Go through 10-15 key pages. Each should have a unique title tag with the main keyword you want to rank for. No two pages should have the same title.
Check for duplicate meta descriptions.
Go through the same pages. Each should have a unique meta description. This is low-priority, but it matters for click-through rate.
Look for thin or duplicate content.
Use Screaming Frog (screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/) free tier. Download and install it. It scans your site and flags pages with duplicate content or very short content (under 100 words).
Short pages rarely rank. If you have pages under 300 words, add more content or delete them.
Check heading structure.
Pages should have one H1 (main headline), then H2s and H3s for subsections. If you have multiple H1s or no H1, fix it. Heading structure helps Google understand page organization.
Part 4: Technical SEO
Check for HTTPS.
Your site should use HTTPS (the "S" matters). If you see a warning in your browser address bar, you need an SSL certificate. Most hosts provide free SSL now.
Check robots.txt and meta robots.
In Search Console, go to Settings > Robots.txt. You should be able to see it. It should allow Googlebot to crawl your site. If it's blocking everything, Google can't see you.
Also check if important pages have "noindex" in their meta robots tag. You can see this in your page's HTML (right-click, View Page Source, search for "robots"). Pages should have "index, follow" unless there's a good reason.
Look for redirect chains.
If page A redirects to B, and B redirects to C, that's a redirect chain. Google has to follow multiple hops to get to your content. Use Screaming Frog to find these and consolidate (A should go straight to C).
Check for broken links.
In Screaming Frog, look for the "Status Codes" report. Any links with status code 404 (not found) are broken. Go back to those pages and fix the links or remove them.
Part 5: Content & Keywords
Check Search Console for your actual keywords.
Go to Search Console > Performance. This shows what search queries are bringing people to your site. Do these match your goals? Are you ranking for the right keywords?
If you're ranking for irrelevant keywords, consider adding content for better keywords.
Use Google Trends to validate your top keywords.
Go to Google Trends (trends.google.com). Search for your main keyword. Is it growing, flat, or declining? Are there seasonal patterns you should know about?
Check your blog strategy.
Are you writing about topics people actually search for? Use AnswerThePublic (answerthepublic.com) to see what questions people ask about your industry. If you haven't answered those questions, you're missing traffic.
Part 6: Backlinks & Authority
Check your backlinks in Ahrefs free tier.
Go to ahrefs.com/website-authority-checker. Enter your domain. You'll see your referring domain count and top backlinks.
Do you have backlinks from relevant, high-authority sites? Or are they from spammy directories?
Check what competitors are linked to.
Enter a competitor's domain in the same tool. Which sites link to them? Can you reach out to those same sites?
Check your internal linking.
Use Screaming Frog again. Pages with few or no internal links get less authority. Your main service pages should have at least 5-10 internal links pointing to them.
Part 7: Schema Markup (Bonus)
Check if you have schema markup.
Right-click on your homepage, select "View Page Source," and search for "schema" or "@context". If you see JSON-LD code, you have schema. If not, you should add it.
Basic business schema (your company name, address, phone, hours) is low-hanging fruit.
Use Google's Rich Results Test.
Go to search.google.com/test/rich-results. Enter your homepage URL. It shows if your schema is correct and whether it's generating rich snippets.
Your Priority List
After this audit, you'll have a long list of issues. Don't try to fix everything at once. Prioritize:
- Crawlability issues: If Google can't find or index pages, fix that first.
- Core Web Vitals in the red: If your site is slow, fix speed next.
- Missing or weak titles/descriptions: Update the top 20 pages with better titles and descriptions.
- Broken links: Fix or remove any broken links.
- Thin content: Expand pages under 300 words or delete them.
- Internal linking: Make sure important pages have internal links pointing to them.
Everything else can wait.
The Reality
You probably just found 10-20 issues. That's normal. Most sites do. The businesses that win are the ones that systematically fix these issues, not the ones waiting for everything to be perfect.
Pick the top 3, fix those, then move to the next 3. Consistency beats perfection.
Questions about your own situation? Talk to us →
Twin Fin Studio does AI automations, SEO & web design. We're a partner to hospitality and local businesses in Lombok, Bali and Belgium.
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