An SEO audit: what should you check first?

1. Which pages matter most?

List the homepage, important service pages and useful content for potential clients. Web design and SEO pages, for example, may need to answer different questions, so review each service page separately. First, check whether these pages are accessible and how Google sees them. Search Console’s URL Inspection tool can help.

2. Are you using the same URL consistently?

The same page may be available over HTTP and HTTPS, with or without www. Choose the preferred address and check that internal links, the sitemap and the canonical tag all use it. If the final address is /service/, for example, the navigation should not point to /service/index.html. A canonical tag tells search engines which version you prefer; it does not redirect the visitor’s browser.

3. Is the exclusion intentional?

“Alternate page with proper canonical tag” and “Page with redirect” do not automatically mean there is a problem. Check that the other page identified is the correct version. A “Redirect error” needs further investigation. If address A redirects to B and B redirects to A, for example, the redirect loops and the content never loads. To find the cause, check the full redirect path. The number of affected pages alone is not enough.

4. Does the page answer potential clients’ questions?

Alongside the service name, explain who it is for, what it includes, how work begins and what you need to prepare a quote. On a web design page, this might cover copywriting, content management and handover. Repeating a keyword will not make up for missing information. Links to relevant guides can give readers more detail where they need it.

5. Is it clear what needs fixing?

“Improve the SEO” is too vague to work from. A clearer task would be: “The navigation link to /service/ uses an intermediate redirect. Change the link to the final URL.” For each task, record the affected page, the change needed, who will make it and how you will check the fix. Start with problems that prevent access, then review the content and usability of important pages. Prioritise the remaining work by considering both its likely benefit and the effort involved.