Overview

An SEO audit is often the first step in improving a website. It shows what's stopping search engines from crawling, understanding, and ranking the site — and what to fix first.

My audits combine technical checks with an on-page and content review, and end with a prioritized plan rather than a long list of issues.

This case study explains the audit process I follow and the kinds of problems it typically uncovers.

Step 1: Crawling and indexing

First, I check whether search engines can find and index the right pages.

Actions taken

  • Crawl the website to find broken links, redirect chains, and orphan pages.
  • Review the Pages report in Google Search Console for excluded and errored URLs.
  • Check robots.txt, the XML sitemap, and noindex tags for mistakes.
  • Confirm canonical tags point to the correct versions of each page.

Result: A clear picture of which pages search engines can access, and which important pages are missing from the index.

Step 2: Page structure and metadata

Next, I review how each page describes itself to search engines.

Actions taken

  • Check title tags and meta descriptions for missing, duplicate, or overly long values.
  • Review heading hierarchy and make sure each page has one clear H1.
  • Look for pages targeting the same keyword (keyword cannibalization).

Result: A list of metadata and structure fixes, grouped by page template so they can be fixed efficiently.

Step 3: Internal linking and content

Then I look at how pages connect and whether the content matches search intent.

Actions taken

  • Map internal links to see which important pages receive too few links.
  • Identify thin, outdated, or duplicate content.
  • Compare key pages against what currently ranks for their target searches.

Result: Opportunities to strengthen important pages through better linking and more useful content.

Step 4: Performance and Core Web Vitals

Finally, I check whether speed and stability are holding pages back.

Actions taken

  • Review the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console for failing URL groups.
  • Test representative pages with PageSpeed Insights to find the main bottlenecks.
  • Flag large images, render-blocking resources, and layout shift issues.

Result: Performance issues tied to specific templates, with the likely cause of each.

Step 5: Turning findings into a prioritized plan

An audit is only useful if it leads to action.

Actions taken

  • Rank every issue by its likely impact and the effort needed to fix it.
  • Group fixes into quick wins, important improvements, and longer-term work.
  • Explain each recommendation in plain language, with clear next steps.

Result: A practical roadmap that a developer or website owner can start working through straight away.

Pro tip: Start with high-impact, low-effort fixes. Quick wins like fixing broken internal links or duplicate titles often show results sooner than large projects.

Key takeaways

  • Check crawling and indexing before anything else.
  • Fix issues by page template, not one page at a time.
  • Internal linking is one of the most underused SEO levers.
  • Use real-user data from Search Console, not just lab scores.
  • Prioritize fixes by impact and effort.

Pro tip

Run a quick audit every few months, not just once. New pages, plugins, and design changes regularly introduce new SEO issues without anyone noticing.

Conclusion

A good SEO audit doesn't just list problems — it explains which ones matter, why, and what to do next. That's the goal of every audit I run: a clear, prioritized plan that turns findings into real improvements.