When to run an audit
Run a full SEO audit quarterly, after major releases, and within two weeks of any traffic cliff. This checklist is optimized for content-led sites - not ecommerce faceted nightmares.
Phase 1 - Crawl & index (30 min)
- Search Console coverage: errors, excluded, valid
- Spot-check robots.txt - no accidental Disallow on content paths
- Verify XML sitemap submits clean canonical URLs
- Sample crawl with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb (500 - 2,000 URLs)
- Check HTTPS, redirect chains, 404 rate on internal links
Phase 2 - On-page sample (25 min)
Audit top 20 traffic URLs plus 10 newest posts:
- Unique title + meta description
- Single clear H1
- Canonical self-referencing unless syndicated
- Core Web Vitals field data in GSC
- Schema validates (Article, Breadcrumb)
See full on-page SEO checklist for writer-level detail.
Phase 3 - Content & architecture (25 min)
- Orphan URLs without internal inlinks
- Thin or duplicate posts - merge or noindex
- Pillar pages missing links to new spokes
- Keyword cannibalization - two URLs targeting same primary intent
- Cluster gaps vs. your topic map
Phase 4 - Off-page signals (10 min)
- Referring domain trend (quality over count)
- Toxic link spikes - disavow only when clearly necessary
- Brand SERP health - homepage, knowledge panel, review sites
Prioritization matrix
Score findings: impact × effort. Fix indexation blockers before title tag tweaks. Fix cannibalization before net-new content.
Deliverable template
- Executive summary (5 bullets)
- Critical blockers (P0)
- Quick wins this week (P1)
- Quarter roadmap (P2)
- Metrics baseline for next audit comparison
After the audit
Turn gaps into content briefs and schedule refreshes. Audits without a publishing calendar are shelfware.