1. Website Crawl

  • Initiate a crawl of your website
    • Specify criteria and perform the website crawl
    • Export crawl results into spreadsheet
  • Reference crawl results throughout the audit

2. Webmaster Tools

  • Ensure Google Search Console is verified
    • Ask website owner if they have access to Search Console
    • Log in to Google account for managing Search Console properties
  • Ensure Bing Webmaster Tools is verified
    • Ask website owner if they have access to Bing Webmaster Tools
    • Log in to Microsoft account for managing Bing Webmaster Tools properties

3. Access & Indexation

  • Ensure robots.txt is NOT blocking search engines
    • Perform a "site:example.com" search
    • Use the robots.txt tester in Google Search Console
    • Review your robots.txt file permissions
  • Verify XML sitemap is updated and submitted
    • Visit yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
    • Check in Google Search Console
  • Check status codes to ensure no major errors
    • Identify 4xx and 5x errors
    • Identify soft 404 errors
    • Investigate redirects
    • Identify instances of Flash
  • Check for search engine penalties affecting rankings
    • View messages in Search Console
    • Match traffic patterns in Google Analytics with algorithm updates

4. Metadata

  • Verify title tags are present and well-optimized
    • Identify missing title tags
    • Identify under-optimized title tags
  • Verify meta descriptions are present and well-optimized
    • Identify missing meta descriptions
    • Identify under-optimized meta descriptions
  • Verify image alt text is present and well-optimized
    • Identify missing image alt text
    • Identify under-optimized image alt text
  • Check if structured data is properly utilized
    • View the "Strucutred Data" report in Search Console
    • Spot check pages with Structured Data Sniffer
  • Ensure URLs are short and feature unique content
    • Identify non-descriptive URLs
    • Identify poor URL structure
    • Be aware of duplicate content issues

5. Content

  • Verify the copy is not low-quality
    • Ensure content is not hidden
    • Check that there is at least 300 words per page
    • Check if geographies (if applicable) are mentioned
    • Ensure there is no duplicate content
  • Ensure internal links are properly utilized
    • Identify pages with too few or too many links
    • Spot check important pages
  • Ensure external links appear natural
    • Verify there are no spam links on the website
    • Verify essential local listings are claimed
    • Ensure NAP consistency
  • Verify keywords are targeted on each potential landing page
    • Identify good keywords to target
    • Assess keyword usage on the page(s)

6. Tracking & Reporting

  • Verify website analytics is installed
    • Check for tracking code with Tag Assistant
    • Access Google Analytics
  • Verify website goals are configured
    • Check Google Analytics for goal configurations
    • Test Goals with Tag Assistant
  • Verify Search Console is linked to Google Analytics
    • View "Search Report" in Google Analytics
    • View correct Search Console profile is associated with Google Analytics
  • Ensure IP & spam filters are enabled
    • View referring domains in Google Analytics
    • Check filter settings in Google Analytics
  • Ensure there is no malware on the website

7. Technical Configurations

  • Check page speed to ensure no major issues
    • Test your website on GTmetrix
    • Double-check page speed in a second tool
  • Test mobile-friendliness on multiple devices
    • Verify with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool
    • Resize your desktop browser
    • Visit on mobile device
    • View mobile usability report in Search Console
  • Ensure browser compatibility across website
    • Check browser report in Google Analytics
    • View website in multiple browsers
  • Ensure SSL/HTTPS is working (if applicable)
    • Type the URL into your browser and visit the website
    • View site information in browser address bar