Site Audit Guide
Learn how to run comprehensive site audits and interpret the results to improve your website's SEO performance.
What is a Site Audit?
A site audit is a comprehensive health check for your website that examines every aspect of your site's technical foundation, content quality, and user experience. Our automated audit tool simulates how search engines see and interact with your website, identifying issues that could prevent proper indexing, ranking, or user satisfaction.
Discovery
Crawls your entire website to discover pages, analyze structure, and map your content.
Analysis
Evaluates technical SEO, performance, security, and accessibility against best practices.
Insights
Provides prioritized recommendations with impact scores and implementation guidance.
What We Analyze:
- Technical SEO elements
- Page speed & Core Web Vitals
- Mobile optimization
- Security & HTTPS setup
- Content quality & structure
- Internal linking
- User experience factors
- Accessibility compliance
Business Impact:
- Higher search rankings
- Better user experience
- Increased organic traffic
- Higher conversion rates
- Improved crawlability
- Enhanced security
- Better accessibility
- Competitive advantage
How Site Audits Work
Website Crawling
Our audit tool starts by crawling your website, just like search engines do. It follows internal links to discover all pages, analyzes your site structure, and identifies potential crawlability issues.
What we check: Robots.txt, sitemap.xml, internal linking structure, URL structure, duplicate content, orphaned pages, and crawl depth.
Technical Analysis
Each discovered page undergoes comprehensive technical analysis. We examine HTML structure, meta tags, headers, schema markup, and technical SEO elements that affect search engine understanding.
Analysis includes: Title tags, meta descriptions, heading hierarchy, structured data, canonical tags, hreflang tags, and technical markup validation.
Performance Testing
We measure your website's loading speed, analyze Core Web Vitals, and identify performance bottlenecks that could affect user experience and search rankings.
Metrics tracked: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP, from real Chrome visitors when Google has enough data), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), First Contentful Paint (FCP), Total Blocking Time (TBT), and the Lighthouse performance score.
Security & Accessibility Scan
Finally, we perform security checks and accessibility audits to ensure your site is safe for users and compliant with modern web standards.
Security checks: HTTPS implementation, SSL certificates, security headers, malware scanning. Accessibility: WCAG compliance, color contrast, keyboard navigation.
Types of Site Audits
Comprehensive Audit
- • Full website crawl and analysis
- • Deep technical SEO examination
- • Performance benchmarking
- • Security vulnerability scan
- • Accessibility compliance check
- • Content quality assessment
Quick Audit
- • Critical issues scan
- • Basic technical checks
- • Performance overview
- • Security basics
- • High-impact problems only
- • Fast results for urgent fixes
When to Use Each Type:
- • New website launches
- • Major redesigns
- • Quarterly health checks
- • Pre-SEO campaign audits
- • Weekly monitoring
- • Post-major changes
- • Urgent issue identification
- • Performance regression checks
How to Run a Site Audit
Select Your Project
Choose the project containing the website you want to audit. If you haven't created a project yet, you'll need to set one up first.
Start the Audit
Click "Run Site Audit" from your project dashboard. You can choose between a comprehensive audit (detailed analysis).
Wait for Completion
The audit typically takes 5-15 minutes depending on your website size and the audit type. You'll receive a notification when it's complete.
Review Results
Analyze the audit report, prioritize issues by severity, and implement the recommended fixes.
Detailed Audit Categories
Technical SEO
On-Page Elements
- • Title tag optimization and length
- • Meta description quality and uniqueness
- • Header hierarchy (H1-H6 structure)
- • Internal linking patterns
- • URL structure and readability
Technical Infrastructure
- • Robots.txt accessibility and directives
- • XML sitemap presence and accuracy
- • Canonical tag implementation
- • Schema markup validation
- • Hreflang for international sites
Performance & Speed
Core Web Vitals
- • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- • Interaction to Next Paint (INP)
- • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
- • First Contentful Paint (FCP)
- • Speed Index metrics
Optimization Checks
- • Image compression and formats
- • CSS and JavaScript minification
- • Browser caching headers
- • CDN usage and configuration
- • Resource loading priorities
Security & HTTPS
SSL/TLS Configuration
- • HTTPS implementation (all pages)
- • SSL certificate validity and chain
- • Mixed content warnings
- • HSTS header presence
- • Certificate transparency
Security Headers
- • Content Security Policy (CSP)
- • X-Frame-Options protection
- • X-Content-Type-Options
- • Referrer-Policy settings
- • Feature-Policy controls
Mobile & Accessibility
Mobile Optimization
- • Mobile-friendly design
- • Touch target sizes
- • Viewport configuration
- • Mobile page speed
- • AMP page validation
Accessibility (WCAG)
- • Alt text for images
- • Color contrast ratios
- • Keyboard navigation
- • Screen reader compatibility
- • Form accessibility
WordPress Analysis
WordPress-Specific SEO
Pair this with the WordPress integration guide.
- • WordPress version and security updates
- • Theme SEO optimization and child themes
- • Plugin conflicts and SEO plugin analysis
- • Permalink structure optimization
- • XML sitemap generation and submission
WordPress Performance
- • Caching plugin detection and optimization
- • Image optimization and compression
- • Database cleanup and optimization
- • WordPress-specific performance plugins
- • WordPress hosting optimization
Common Site Audit Issues
Critical Issues
Missing HTTPS
Website not served over secure HTTPS protocol, affecting trust and rankings.
Broken Internal Links
Links pointing to non-existent pages, creating poor user experience.
Missing Title Tags
Pages without title tags, severely impacting search visibility.
Warning Issues
Slow Page Speed
Pages loading slower than 3 seconds, affecting user experience and rankings.
Missing Alt Text
Images without descriptive alt text, hurting accessibility and SEO.
Duplicate Content
Similar content across multiple pages, potentially diluting ranking power.
Impact Assessment
Each audit issue is assigned an impact score based on its potential effect on search rankings and user experience:
Mobile SEO Auditing
Mobile-First Indexing
Google primarily uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking. Mobile audits ensure your site performs well on mobile devices.
Mobile-Specific Issues
Common problems that affect mobile users and search rankings specifically on mobile devices.
International & Multilingual SEO
Hreflang Implementation
For websites targeting multiple countries or languages, proper hreflang tags help search engines serve the correct language version to users.
Language & Locale Setup
Proper language declarations and locale-specific optimizations ensure international users get relevant, localized content.
Content Quality & Structure
Content Depth
- • Word count analysis
- • Topic coverage
- • Content uniqueness
- • Reading level assessment
User Experience
- • Content formatting
- • Readability scores
- • Internal linking
- • Multimedia integration
SEO Optimization
- • Keyword optimization
- • Semantic HTML
- • Content structure
- • Topic clustering
Understanding Audit Results
Passed Checks (Green)
These elements meet current SEO best practices and industry standards. Continue maintaining these high standards.
Action: Monitor regularly to ensure continued compliance.
Warnings (Yellow)
Issues that should be addressed but won't severely impact rankings immediately. These are optimization opportunities.
Action: Prioritize based on impact and implementation difficulty.
Critical Issues (Red)
Problems that can significantly hurt search rankings, user experience, or site functionality. These require immediate attention.
Action: Address immediately to prevent ranking drops and user experience issues.
Audit Scoring System
Overall Score Calculation
- • Technical SEO: 40% weight
- • Performance: 30% weight
- • Content Quality: 20% weight
- • Security/Accessibility: 10% weight
Score Ranges
- • 90-100: Excellent (maintain)
- • 70-89: Good (optimize)
- • 50-69: Needs improvement
- • 0-49: Critical issues present
Advanced Audit Features
Crawl Configuration
Custom Crawl Depth
Control how deep the crawler goes into your site structure.
Scheduled Audits
Set up automatic audits to run regularly and monitor changes.
Multi-domain Support
Audit multiple domains or subdomains in a single report.
Integration Features
Google Analytics Integration
Connect GA4 data for deeper insights into user behavior.
Search Console Data
Import GSC data for enhanced indexing and ranking analysis.
Custom Reporting
Generate branded reports for clients or stakeholders.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Audit Fails to Start
- Check URL: Ensure the website URL is accessible and returns HTTP 200
- Robots.txt: Verify robots.txt doesn't block crawling
- Server Response: Check for server errors or timeouts
- SSL Issues: Ensure SSL certificates are valid if using HTTPS
Incomplete Audit Results
- Crawl Limits: Large sites may hit crawl depth limits
- Dynamic Content: JavaScript-heavy sites may need longer crawl times
- Rate Limiting: Server rate limits can interrupt crawling
- Broken Links: Too many 404 errors can halt the audit process
Inaccurate Performance Scores
- Caching: Browser caching can skew speed test results
- CDN Issues: CDN configuration problems affect global performance
- Server Location: Test location affects perceived speed
- Dynamic Content: Real-time content loading affects metrics
Best Practices for Site Audits
Audit Frequency Strategy
Different types of websites require different audit frequencies based on their content update patterns and business importance.
Weekly quick audits, monthly comprehensive
Bi-weekly quick audits, monthly comprehensive
Monthly comprehensive audits
Issue Prioritization Framework
Use this framework to prioritize fixes based on impact and effort:
Post-Audit Implementation
Follow this systematic approach to implement audit recommendations:
- Document Changes: Create a detailed implementation plan with timelines
- Backup First: Always backup before making technical changes
- Test Locally: Verify changes work in a staging environment
- Implement Gradually: Roll out changes in phases to monitor impact
- Monitor Results: Track rankings, traffic, and Core Web Vitals
- Re-audit: Run follow-up audits to verify improvements
Continuous Monitoring
SEO is not a one-time activity. Regular monitoring helps maintain and improve your search performance over time.
Weekly Checks:
- • Index coverage reports
- • Core Web Vitals
- • Manual penalty alerts
- • Competitor ranking changes
Monthly Reviews:
- • Comprehensive site audits
- • Backlink profile analysis
- • Keyword ranking reports
- • Technical SEO health checks
Next Steps
AI Visibility
See mention and citation gaps, then pick pages to fix.
Fix issues in Cursor
Pull open audit issues and patch matching files in your repo.
Keyword Research
Analyze Trends, volume on Starter+, and on-page keywords from your site.
Domain Analysis
Learn how to analyze your domain authority and backlink profile.
WordPress
Connect WordPress, run audits, and use the findings on your site.
