Why Run an SEO Audit
An audit looks for concrete obstacles to crawling, understanding content and reaching an enquiry. A finding alone does not establish lost rankings or customers; its impact needs evidence.
A professional SEO audit combines several tools: Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, GA4, PageSpeed Insights, and Ahrefs/Semrush.
What Gets Checked
Five areas of the audit
- Technical SEO crawlability, indexation, speed, mobile version
- On-page SEO headings, meta tags, content structure, internal linking
- Content quality, uniqueness, keyword coverage
- Off-page SEO backlinks, domain authority
- User journey where visitors drop off and how they get to an inquiry
Worked example: An audit finding needs evidence
illustrative example
| Field | Specific finding |
|---|---|
| URL | example.com/bicycle-repairs |
| Evidence | <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> |
| Problem | Public service has unintended noindex |
| Recommendation | Fix deployment; recheck HTML |
| Priority | High if the page should be indexed |
Example finding, not an audit or measured impact on a real website.
Five Illustrative Findings
These are model situations, not a documented client report. They demonstrate findings and proposed fixes without claiming measured business results.
1. The heading does not explain the offer
Model finding: "Beyond possibilities" does not explain that the page offers bicycle repairs. Evidence: the visible heading and page content. Proposal: describe the service clearly, for example "Bicycle repairs in Ostrava". H1 is not the only signal and an exact keyword is not required for indexing.
2. A needed answer is missing
Model finding: The service page omits available repairs, location and booking instructions. Proposal: add accurate details. Word count alone does not determine quality; a short contact page need not be a problem.
3. No space is reserved for an image
Model finding: A button moves after an image loads. Evidence to collect: a loading trace and shift source. Proposal: reserve the correct aspect ratio and measure again. No measured CLS improvement is claimed.
4. The description has an outdated price
Model finding: The meta description lists an old price. Proposal: align it with the current offer. Google may choose a different text snippet; the fix does not guarantee higher CTR.
5. Two pages serve the same purpose
Model finding: Two URLs offer the same service without a clear distinction. Evidence to collect: content, queries and destination URLs in Search Console. Proposal: establish distinct intent or assess merging duplicates with a relevant redirect. Similar topics do not automatically cause a penalty.
How to Prioritize
Order for fixing findings
- First compromise, downtime, accidental blocks on important pages and a broken enquiry journey
- Next inaccurate information, important broken links and demonstrated usability obstacles
- By impact missing answers, relevant structured data and title or description changes
Record URL, evidence, impact, effort, owner and deadline for each finding. A missing description need not outrank a serious loading problem. Set review frequency according to site changes rather than a universal schedule.
What an Audit Costs
| Website Size | Audit Price |
|---|---|
| Smaller website | from €400 |
| E-shop or larger website | individual, by scope |
The quoted audit includes findings and recommendations; implementation is priced separately. Before ordering a paid audit, you can get the first findings for free through the free SEO audit.
When to Run an Audit
When to run an audit
- Before a redesign know what to preserve and fix
- After launching a new site verify everything is set up correctly
- When traffic drops find the cause
- Regularly ideally every 6-12 months
What to take away
- An SEO audit looks for concrete obstacles to crawling, understanding content and reaching an enquiry.
- A finding alone does not establish lost rankings or customers; its impact needs evidence.
- For each finding, record the URL, evidence, impact, effort, owner and deadline.
- Deal first with compromise, downtime, accidental blocks on important pages and a broken enquiry journey.
- An audit makes sense before a redesign, after launching a new site, when traffic drops and regularly.
Want to know how your website is doing? I offer a complete SEO audit with specific recommendations. Get in touch and I'll take a look. Find a practical checklist in Technical SEO Checklist. Running an e-shop? Check out 5 SEO Mistakes Specific to E-shops.