What an SEO audit should include, and how to judge the one you are given
A competent SEO audit answers one question: what is stopping the right people finding your website, and what should be fixed first? Hold the audit you've been given against the eight headings below. Under each one you'll find what a competent audit covers, what to look for in the one in front of you, and what a thin answer looks like.
You don't need to redo the audit to judge it. You need the audit itself, your own Google Search Console account so that you can check one or two of its claims, and a list of the 10 to 20 searches that matter most to your business, written in the words your customers use. The questions at the end let you record a verdict on each heading.
1. Can search engines find and index your pages?
Google describes search in its guide to how Search works as three stages: crawling, indexing and serving. If your pages fall out at either of the first two, nothing else matters, so a competent audit starts here.
What to look for. Your important pages should be listed with their index status in Google and in Bing, taken from Search Console's URL Inspection tool and Bing Webmaster Tools rather than assumed. The audit should give the reasons Search Console's Pages report offers for pages not being indexed, and pick out the ones affecting pages you care about. It should check the three things that can hide a page: your robots.txt file, which tells search engines which pages they may visit; any "noindex" settings, which tell them to leave a page out; and your sitemap, the list of pages you hand them. And it should look at the Manual actions report, which says whether a Google reviewer has penalised the site by hand.
A thin answer says "indexing looks fine" with no list of pages, or gives a count of excluded pages without saying which of them matter.
If you'd like to check this part yourself, the diagnosis for a website that isn't showing up on Google or Bing works through it step by step.
2. Technical health
What to look for. Findings that name the addresses they affect and say how much each one matters. The audit should cover https and a single version of the domain, and how the site works on a phone, because Google says it uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking. It should also report Core Web Vitals, Google's measures of how quickly a page loads and how steady it feels to use. Google says its ranking systems use them, but also that good scores on their own don't guarantee top rankings.
A thin answer is a tool's list of hundreds of warnings of very different importance, with no judgement about which matter, or a speed score with no pages named.
Much of this needs a crawler and a developer's tools, so those parts are listed below under what your supplier should be doing.
3. Page by page
What to look for. Each important page named, with its title, description and main heading judged against the search it should answer. Google's guidance on title links asks for titles that are descriptive, concise and distinct, and Bing's webmaster guidelines say pages focused on a single topic are more likely to be chosen for its AI answers. Any structured data, the hidden labels in a page's code that tell search engines what's on it, should be checked against what the page actually says. And nothing should rely on a feature Google has retired: it stopped showing FAQ results on 7 May 2026.
A thin answer flags "missing meta descriptions" across the whole site without saying which pages matter, or recommends markup as a ranking fix, which isn't what schema markup does, at least not directly.
4. Content: do you answer what people search for?
This is the part a tool can't do, and the part that matters most.
What to look for. Your main searches mapped to the page that should answer each one, with the gaps named where no page does. Your wording compared with the searches in Search Console's Performance report. A look at what ranks now for those searches, and whether your page is at least as useful, measured against Google's guidance on helpful, people-first content. And the pages with many impressions and few clicks picked out as the quickest wins.
A thin answer is a keyword list with search volumes and no page named against each one, or advice to "add more content" that never says which question the content should answer.
5. Local search
If your customers are nearby, a competent audit checks your Google Business Profile and your Bing Places listing, whether your name, address and phone number match everywhere, how reviews are asked for, and whether the website names the places you serve.
What to look for. What it found on each listing, not just that each one exists.
A thin answer checks only that a Business Profile exists, or recommends adding a town or a service to the business name, which Google's guidelines for representing your business say isn't permitted.
To work through the full list yourself, use our local SEO checklist, and for Bing, the steps to getting your business on Bing.
6. Links and mentions
What to look for. Who links to you now, from Search Console's Links report and Bing Webmaster Tools' Backlinks report. Any bought or artificial links, which Google's spam policies treat as link spam when they're bought for ranking purposes. And a list of the places you should be mentioned and aren't: suppliers, partners, associations, local press and directories.
A thin answer is a single authority score from a third-party tool with no list of actual sites, or a plan to buy links.
7. AI answers
What to look for. Whether your robots.txt file lets the AI search software in. Here the names matter: OpenAI says OAI-SearchBot is the one that puts sites into ChatGPT search, and Perplexity says the same of PerplexityBot. The audit should also look at Bing's AI Performance report for the pages Copilot cites, and check that the business is named the same way everywhere, which Bing's guidelines ask for.
A thin answer sells you extra files or special markup for AI search. Google says there are no additional requirements for its AI answers beyond the ordinary ones: the page has to be on Google's list, and allowed to show a short preview of its text. Which AI software to let in is a separate choice, and blocking AI bots needn't be all or nothing.
8. Measurement
What to look for. Whether your enquiries are counted as key events, which is what Google Analytics calls the actions you've told it to count, and whether anyone has tested that by making a real enquiry. Whether Search Console is linked to Google Analytics. And a note of where clicks, impressions and enquiries from search stand before anything changes, so there's something to compare against later. The set-up itself is a matter of setting up key events and then reading the five GA4 reports you need.
A thin answer reports rankings only, or has no baseline, so nothing can later be shown to have changed.
What your supplier should be doing
Some checks need a site crawler, a developer's tools, or access you may not have. You don't need to run them yourself, but a competent audit reports each one with the addresses it affects:
- old pages that return an error instead of sending the visitor on, and redirects that pass through several steps on the way. Google's site move guidance asks for permanent redirects, which send anyone visiting an old address straight to the new one;
- broken links between your own pages, found by crawling the whole site;
- duplicate and near-identical pages, and which of them is marked as the main version;
- content that only appears once scripts run, which Bing's webmaster guidelines warn may not be indexed;
- images larger than they're shown, and images without alt text;
- structured data errors from Google's Rich Results Test.
If all of that arrives as a tool's raw export, ask which of it matters for your site, and why.
Common findings, and what they mean
Audits of the sites of small and medium businesses turn up the same handful of problems again and again.
| Finding | Why it matters | The usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Important pages not indexed | They can't appear in results at all | Remove the noindex setting or the robots.txt block, add them to the sitemap, link to them, request indexing |
| Several pages with the same title | Search engines and people can't tell them apart | Write a distinct, descriptive title for each one |
| No page for a main service | There's nothing for Google to rank against that search | Write one clear page for each main service |
| Old addresses returning errors | Links and rankings the old pages earned are lost | Redirect each permanently to its closest replacement |
| Poor Core Web Vitals on a phone | A slower page, and Google says its ranking systems use these measures | Resize and compress the images, and remove scripts nothing uses |
| Business details that differ between sites | Search engines and AI assistants can't tell which version is right | Pick one version and update every listing to match |
| Pages with impressions but few clicks | People see the page in results and choose others | Improve the title and description, and make sure the page answers the search better |
| Thin pages on the same topic | They compete with each other and none is strong | Merge them into one better page and redirect the rest |
| Enquiries not counted | Nobody can tell which searches bring work in | Set up key events in Google Analytics and test them with a real enquiry |
What an audit summary should look like
An audit's findings should fit on one page before any of the detail. Here's the shape of it, with invented figures to show the form rather than any real client's results:
- The biggest problem: two of the four service pages aren't indexed because of a leftover noindex setting. Fix that first; it takes minutes.
- The biggest opportunity: the page for the main service appears on the second page for its main search, and gets many impressions but few clicks. Rewrite its title and first section, and add prices and a clear next step.
- Quick fixes: duplicate titles on six pages, eleven old addresses returning errors, and Business Profile hours out of date.
- Longer work: no page exists for two services customers search for, and very few other sites mention the business.
- Measurement: enquiries aren't tracked, so set that up before anything else is judged.
If the audit you've been given can't be summarised like that, ask for a summary.
Putting it in order
An audit that ends in a long list is only half done. Every problem it found should sit in one of four groups:
| Low effort | High effort | |
|---|---|---|
| High impact | Do first | Plan next |
| Low impact | Do when convenient | Probably skip |
Indexing problems on important pages almost always come first, and improving pages that are already close to the first page usually comes next. A lot of what a tool flags, such as small warnings on pages nobody visits, belongs in the bottom right-hand corner.
What a paid audit should give you
If you pay someone for an audit, you should get more than a tool's export:
- A short summary of what's holding the site back, in plain English.
- The fixes made, or written clearly enough for your developer to make them.
- The searches worth going after, and which page should answer each.
- A baseline, so you can see what changed afterwards.
Be wary of an "audit" that's a long automated report with a logo on the front, and of anyone who promises rankings: Google's own guidance on hiring an SEO says no one can guarantee a number one ranking.
Judge the audit you were given
Answer each question for the audit in front of you. If it covers all eight, it covers the ground. If it misses any, ask for them before you pay for fixes, and if it misses more than half, it is closer to a tool's export than an audit. The answers are saved in this browser.
It lists your important pages with their index status in Google and Bing, and says why any are missing.
How to tell
There is a list of named pages, each marked as indexed or not in both search engines, with the reason for any that are missing taken from Search Console's Pages report.
Its technical findings name the pages affected and say which ones matter.
How to tell
Each technical finding names the addresses it affects and says how much it matters, so you could hand the list to a developer. Hundreds of unranked warnings is a no.
It judges your important pages one by one: title, description, heading and topic.
How to tell
Your homepage and main service pages each appear by name, with a comment on the title, description and main heading and whether the page keeps to one topic.
It maps your main searches to the page that should answer each, and names the gaps.
How to tell
Your main searches appear alongside the page meant to answer each, with a note where no page does and what should be written.
If your customers are local, it reports what it found on your Business Profile and other listings.
How to tell
The audit says what it found on each listing, such as wrong hours, a mismatched phone number or a missing category, not just that the listings exist. If your customers are not local, set this one aside.
It says who links to you and where you should be mentioned, and recommends no bought links.
How to tell
There is a list of sites that link to you, a list of places you should be mentioned and are not, and no plan to buy links.
It checks whether AI search crawlers can reach your site, and sells nothing extra for AI answers.
How to tell
The audit confirms robots.txt lets the search crawlers in, and it recommends no special files or markup for AI search.
It confirms enquiries are tracked and sets a baseline before anything changes.
How to tell
The audit confirms a test enquiry was recorded as a key event and records clicks, impressions and enquiries from search as they stood before any fix.
What it costs
Our SEO audit and first fixes makes the fixes that matter most, maps the searches worth going after to the pages that should answer them, and sets up your Business Profile properly. It's a fixed £2,500 over about four weeks, with larger sites higher in our £2,500 to £8,000 band, and if you're comparing it with other quotes, it helps to know how much SEO costs more generally, and what else you might pay for.
Questions people ask
What should an SEO audit include?
At the very least: whether search engines can find and list your pages, technical health such as speed, how the site works on a phone and whether old addresses redirect properly, your page titles, descriptions and headings, whether your content answers what customers actually search for, your local listings, the links and mentions pointing at you, and how results will be measured. A good audit ends with the fixes in order of importance, not just a list of problems.
How much does an SEO audit cost?
It varies with the size and state of the site, and with whether the fixes are included. Our own SEO audit and first fixes is a fixed £2,500, with the most important fixes actually made, and our published band runs from £2,500 to £8,000 for larger or more complicated sites.
Can I do an SEO audit myself?
A basic one, yes. Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, PageSpeed Insights and Google's Rich Results Test are all free, and our local SEO checklist and our guide to why a website isn't showing up cover what an owner can check alone. Some checks need a site crawler and a developer's tools, and the harder part is deciding what matters most and then making the fixes.
What is the difference between an SEO audit and an automated SEO report?
An automated report lists everything a tool can detect, which is often hundreds of items of wildly different importance. An audit judges which of them matter for your business and your searches, adds what a tool can't see, such as whether your content answers the right questions, and puts the fixes in order.
How often should I audit my website?
A full audit once a year, and again after any big change, such as a redesign, a new platform or a new domain. In between, a monthly look at Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools catches most problems early.
I founded oXo Creatives, an independent marketing agency and consultancy, in 2013 and run it full-time. Until 2026 I ran it alongside senior in-house marketing roles at Google, PlayStation and King, partner management at Meta, and digital product at NatWest.
Want help with SEO?
Help customers find you on Google, and in AI search, when they look for what you do. A few weeks for the audit and first fixes, then ongoing as content and links build.
