How to do an SEO audit: what we actually check
What a real audit actually checks
Every URL in the sitemap gets crawled for its status code, then checked for a unique, appropriately-sized title tag and meta description, a correct canonical tag, valid robots directives, and no accidental duplication with another page. Structured data gets parsed and validated, not just visually spot-checked. Core Web Vitals get measured with a real tool (we use Lighthouse), not estimated.
Why most 'free SEO audit' tools are misleading
Many automated tools flag hundreds of low-value 'issues,' such as minor image compression suggestions or generic 'improve your score' prompts, without any sense of which ones actually move the needle. A wall of 200 warnings is not an audit. It's noise that makes it hard to see the five fixes that would genuinely help.
What we do with the findings
Issues get fixed in priority order: broken canonicals and missing metadata first, then duplicate or over-length titles, then structural issues like heading order and internal linking, then performance. After fixes, we re-crawl and re-run Lighthouse to confirm the fix actually worked, rather than assuming it did.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a site be audited?
After any major change (redesign, migration, new section), and otherwise roughly every 6-12 months to catch drift like broken links or outdated metadata.
Does a high 'SEO score' from a tool mean the site is fine?
Not necessarily. Scores from generic tools often weight low-impact issues heavily. A prioritized, human-reviewed list is more useful than a single number.
Can an audit find why a specific page isn't ranking?
It can rule out technical causes (noindex, canonical pointing elsewhere, thin content) but ranking also depends on competition and backlinks, which an on-site audit alone can't fully explain.
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