How to Do a Basic SEO Audit (Without the Jargon)

Before pouring effort into SEO, it's worth knowing where you actually stand. An audit finds the gaps so you fix the things that matter most first. Here's a jargon-free walkthrough you can do yourself to spot the biggest issues. (For the bigger picture, see SEO for local businesses.)

1. Are your pages even indexed?

Search site:yourdomain.com in Google to see roughly which pages are indexed. Missing important pages? They can't rank. Far too many junk pages? That's a problem too. This is the first thing to check — if a page isn't indexed, nothing else about it matters. See why your business isn't showing up.

2. Speed & mobile health

Open your site on your phone — is it fast, easy to read, and easy to tap? Run it through a free speed test for Core Web Vitals. Slow, clunky mobile experiences quietly cost rankings and customers, and they're often the highest-impact fix. (More in technical SEO.)

3. On-page basics

Does every key page have a unique, keyword-relevant title tag?
One clear H1 and logical headings?
Content that actually matches what searchers want?
Sensible internal links (no orphan pages)?

Run through the on-page SEO checklist for each important page.

4. Google Business Profile & local

For a local business, your Google Business Profile is half the battle. Is it claimed, complete, correctly categorized, and gathering reviews? Are your name, address, and phone consistent everywhere? Gaps here directly cost you Map Pack visibility.

Tip: for local businesses, the Profile and reviews are often the fastest wins in any audit.

5. Content & competitors

Do you have a page for each service and city you want to rank for? Compare against the competitors outranking you — what topics or pages do they have that you don't? Content gaps are opportunities. This is where a silo strategy and keyword research turn an audit into a plan.

Turn findings into priorities

You'll likely find more issues than you can fix at once — so prioritize by impact and effort. Indexing and mobile/speed problems usually come first, then Profile and on-page fixes, then content and links. If you'd rather have a professional audit that hands you a prioritized plan, that's exactly how we start in our SEO service.

Frequently asked questions

How do I do an SEO audit myself?

Check the essentials in order: confirm your pages are indexed (search site:yourdomain.com), test speed and mobile-friendliness, review on-page basics (titles, headings, content, internal links), make sure your Google Business Profile is complete and gathering reviews, and look for content gaps versus competitors. Then prioritize fixes by impact and effort.

What tools do I need for an SEO audit?

For the basics, very little — Google search (site: queries), a free page-speed/Core Web Vitals test, and your own phone to check mobile experience cover a lot. Paid tools add depth for crawling, keywords, and backlinks, but you can identify the biggest issues for a local business without them.

What's the most common problem an SEO audit finds?

For local businesses, it's usually a combination of an incomplete or under-optimized Google Business Profile, thin or missing service/city pages, slow mobile performance, and few recent reviews. These are also among the highest-impact fixes, which is why the Profile and on-page basics are often the fastest wins.

How often should I audit my SEO?

A thorough audit once or twice a year is sensible for most local businesses, with lighter checks (rankings, reviews, indexing, speed) more regularly. Also audit after a website redesign, a Google algorithm update that affects you, or a noticeable drop in traffic or rankings.

Should I pay for a professional SEO audit?

A basic self-audit catches the obvious issues, but a professional audit goes deeper into technical health, competitor gaps, and backlink profile, and hands you a prioritized action plan. If SEO is important to your revenue and you want to fix the right things first, a professional audit is usually worth it.