If you own an online business, you’ll know that it’s not just about having a great-looking website – it’s about making sure that site performs at its best in search results.
But how do you really know if your website is working as hard as it should be? That’s where an SEO audit comes in. An audit is like a full health check for your website, uncovering the technical issues, content gaps, and optimisation opportunities that could be holding you back from ranking
While the process can be time consuming, it’s the foundation of any strong SEO strategy. Here’s how to do it yourself – step by step
Ps. If you’d rather save yourself some time, you can request a free audit from us here, and we’ll do all the work for you. No strings attached, we just want to help!
1. Technical SEO Audit
The best place to start is to check that your website is technically healthy and running smoothly.
Begin by running a full audit using tools such as Screaming Frog, SEMrush or Ahrefs Site Audit. These tools mimic how search engines move through your website and can uncover a range of hidden issues, including:
– Broken links – these are broken or misdirected links that can harm user experience.
– Duplicate content – when multiple pages contain the same or very similar content, Google can struggle to decide which version to rank.
– Missing or duplicated title tags and meta descriptions – these are essential for helping search engines and users understand what each page is about.
– Slow loading times – page speed and overall site performance are now key ranking factors, particularly on mobile. These can be particularly influenced by image size.
2. Review Your On-Page SEO
Once your website is technically healthy, it’s time to turn your attention to the on-page elements, which are the components that tell search engines exactly what each page is about.
Getting these details right helps search engines understand your content and ensures your pages are relevant to the terms your audience is searching for.
You’ll want to review the following key areas for example:
– Optimised title tags and meta descriptions – Metadata is the first thing users see in the search results, so they should accurately describe the page content while incorporating your primary keywords. Keep titles concise (under 60 characters) and meta descriptions engaging, ideally between 150–160 characters.
– Proper use of H1 and H2 headings – Each page should have one clear H1 that reflects the main topic, with H2s and H3s breaking down subtopics logically. This helps both users and search engines navigate your content more easily.
Again you can use tools like SEMrush to highlight any on-page issues.
3. Evaluate Your Content Quality
This one’s a biggie – content. Content remains at the very heart of SEO. You can have the most technically optimised, beautifully designed website in the world, but if your content doesn’t inform, engage, or answer your audience’s questions, your rankings will suffer.
When auditing your content, take a close look at:
– Alignment with user intent – Ask yourself: what is the user trying to achieve when they search for this keyword? Are they looking to learn something, compare options, or make a purchase? Tailoring your content to match that intent is key to earning both clicks and conversions.
– Pages with high impressions but low clicks – Use Google Search Console to identify pages that appear often in search results but aren’t getting many clicks. For example, you might find that these pages need stronger, more enticing title tags and meta descriptions, or better alignment with the search intent behind the query.
– Outdated or underperforming content – Naturally, overtime, information becomes stale, links break, and search trends evolve. Refresh older blog posts or landing pages by updating data, improving readability, and adding new insights or visuals.
4. Analyse your User-Experience
Google increasingly values user experience. A site that’s slow, confusing, or cluttered won’t perform well – no matter how good the content is.
During your SEO audit, it’s vital to assess how users interact with your website and whether the experience encourages them to stay, explore, and convert.
Metrics like bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rate in Google Analytics can reveal where users may be getting frustrated or dropping off.
Learn more about how to conduct a UX audit in our blog.
How We Can Help
We hope that this post on how to conduct a website SEO audit has been helpful.
If you’d like to leave it to the professionals, our experts at Lumen SEO can do the audit for you, free of charge. Our SEO audits include an in-depth analysis of your website and provide you with a number of easy to understand actionable tips to help your website grow on organic search.
Fill in a few details and request your free SEO audit here.
