OOver the years, we’ve conducted hundreds of search engine optimization audits. And in the process, we’ve found that the vast majority of websites have several problems preventing them from ranking well in search engines. So, I thought it would be helpful to provide a list of several of the factors we review when auditing client websites.

Below, I’m going to walk through 17 factors that need to be part of your on-page SEO audit checklist (e.g. optimizing your website for search engines).

SEO audit checklist

 1. Title Tags

Your title tags tell Google what your pages are about, and they are one of the most important SEO factors.

Here’s what we check for when reviewing title tags:

  • Are your title tags unique on all pages?
  • Do your title tags include well-researched keywords?
  • Are your title tags well-written (e.g. not over-optimized)?
  • Are your title tags the appropriate length? (We aim for 50-65 characters)

2. Meta Descriptions

Your meta description is the text that shows up below your title tag in Google’s search results. Meta descriptions don’t directly influence your Google rankings, but a well-written meta description can help generate more clicks from your Google rankings.

Here are some things we check for when reviewing meta descriptions:

  • Do you have unique meta descriptions on all pages?
  • Do your meta descriptions contain relevant, engaging copy?
  • Are your meta descriptions the appropriate length? (We aim for 100-155 characters)

For more on both of these, see our guide on how to write title tags and meta descriptions for higher click-through rates.

3. Header Tags (H1, H2, H3)

Headers are the visible headlines on the page. It’s important to include relevant keywords, but most importantly, write headers for conversion since they are highly visible to website visitors.

Here are some questions we ask when reviewing header tags:

  • Do you have headers on your website pages? (Many websites we review are missing them)
  • Do your headers include relevant keywords, without being over-optimized?

For a deeper look at how header tags work, check out our article on what an H1 tag is and how to optimize it.

4. Website Copy

It’s critical to make sure that your webpage content will satisfy the intent of the searcher. In many cases, this means having a sufficient amount of website copy on your pages. You want to incorporate your keywords, but you also don’t want to force too many keywords into your website copy. It’s important to write for humans, not search engines.

Here are a few of the questions we ask when reviewing website copy:

  • Does your website copy incorporate relevant keywords into the body text?
  • Do you have a sufficient amount of text on pages you want to rank in Google? We recommend a minimum of 500 words of text for priority SEO pages.
  • Does your website copy satisfy the searcher’s intent?
  • Is your website content unique? (We recommend avoiding duplicate content both across your own web pages, as well as between your website’s pages and other webpages on the Internet)

5. Website Structure

By “website structure,” I mean having dedicated pages for each core keyword/topic you want to rank for in Google. Google wants to show the most relevant webpage for any given keyword. So if you have a focused webpage for each of your core keywords, you’ll have an easier time ranking in Google.

Here are some questions we ask when reviewing website structure:

  • Do you have pages for each major product/service/topic you want to promote via SEO?
  • Are your key SEO landing pages well-integrated into your website’s internal linking architecture?

For a step-by-step approach, see our guide on how to create an SEO-friendly website structure.

6. Canonicalization and HTTPS

Canonicalization is a big, fancy word. The concept here is that it’s important to make sure that each of your pages only loads with one URL format. You don’t want your website to load at both www.website.com and website.com without one version automatically forwarding to the other. The reason you don’t want that to happen is that Google actually considers those 2 different websites, and it’s better to focus your efforts on establishing the authority and reputation of 1 website in Google’s eyes.

In addition, it’s also important to make sure you tell Google which page you want to rank if there are multiple URL versions of the same page (this is especially important for e-commerce websites). Use the rel=”canonical” tag to specify the canonical URL you want to rank in Google.

Here are some things we check for with canonicalization:

  • Does your website load with both “www” and without “www” (bad), or does one version automatically forward to the other (good)?
  • Does your homepage load at just 1 URL location (good) or does it also load at /index.html or /index.php, etc. (bad)?
  • Is your site running on HTTPS? Google has used HTTPS as a ranking signal for years now, and most browsers will flag non-HTTPS sites as “not secure.” If you haven’t made the switch yet, this should be a top priority.
  • If you run an e-commerce website, do you have rel=”canonical” tags in place?

7. URL Structure

We recommend making URLs brief and descriptive and integrating keywords into the URL when possible. We recommend avoiding lots of parameters in URLs.

Here are some questions we ask:

  • Are your URLs short and simple?
  • Do your URLs contain relevant keywords?

8. Image Optimization

We also recommend optimizing images for search engines.

Here are some things we check for:

  • Do you have relevant, descriptive keywords in the alt tag?
  • Do you have relevant, descriptive keywords in the image file name?
  • Are your image files compressed so they don’t slow down page load times?

9. Website Load Speed and Core Web Vitals

Website speed is a major ranking factor with Google. Plus, people hate slow-loading websites. Google uses a set of metrics called Core Web Vitals to measure the real-world user experience on your pages, including how fast your main content loads, how quickly the page responds to interaction, and how stable the layout is while loading.

Here’s a free tool provided by Google to check your site speed and Core Web Vitals:
https://pagespeed.web.dev/

Another tool we use and recommend is GTMetrix:
https://gtmetrix.com/

10. Structured Data

Structured data refers to code added to your pages to help search engines better understand your content. You may also hear this called “schema markup.”

If you are targeting a local area, the most important schema we check for is LocalBusiness schema with your business category and Name, Address, and Phone number.

Here’s a tool to validate the structured data on your web pages:
https://validator.schema.org/

For a full walkthrough, see our guide to structured data and schema markup.

11. Contact Information

For local search engine optimization, in particular, it’s very important to have complete and accurate contact information on your website. We recommend putting the full business Name, Address, and Phone contact information in the footer of each page on your site.

12. Sitemap

A sitemap helps Google identify all of the pages on your website. It’s important to have an XML sitemap in place and to submit the sitemap to Google Search Console.

13. Blog

A blog is the easiest way to add new content to your website, and more pages of content will provide you with more opportunities to get found in Google. Also, for many topics, Google tends to favor websites with fresh content. In addition, prospects may want to read articles on your blog to gain confidence that you are a knowledgeable, expert provider.

Here are some things we look for when reviewing blogs:

  • Is your blog located in a directory of your website (e.g. website.com/blog) or on a subdomain (e.g. blog.website.com) or on another website? We recommend locating your blog in a sub-directory of your own website.
  • Have you been consistently publishing blog posts?
  • Are your blog posts informative and engaging (not solely promotional)?

14. Mobile Optimization

Google now uses the mobile version of your site as its primary version for indexing and ranking. If your site doesn’t work well on a phone, it’s going to struggle in search results regardless of how good the desktop version looks.

You can check your mobile performance using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. It will flag mobile-specific issues alongside your speed and Core Web Vitals scores:
https://pagespeed.web.dev/

15. Social Media Profiles

We recommend getting set up on the social media platforms that are relevant to your business and making sure your profiles are complete and consistent with the information on your website. Your social profiles can show up in search results for your brand name, and having consistent Name, Address, and Phone information across your social profiles supports your local SEO efforts.

Here are some things we look for:

  • Have you claimed and completed your profiles on the platforms relevant to your business?
  • Is your business information (name, address, phone, website URL) consistent across all profiles?

16. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a critical tool for tracking the results of your digital marketing. But you’d be surprised how often we find that Google Analytics is either not installed or not installed properly.

Here are some things we look for:

  • Is Google Analytics 4 (GA4) installed and collecting data?
  • Are there any errors?
  • Is conversion tracking set up?
  • Is Google Search Console linked with Google Analytics?

For more on getting started with Google Analytics, see our guide on Google Analytics for small businesses.

17. Website Design and Usability

Website design and usability are also critical factors for SEO, not only in terms of gaining rankings and traffic but for generating conversions from your traffic.

Here are some things we look for:

  • Is your website design inspiring confidence in your business?
  • Is the website easy to use and navigate?
  • Are there any broken links or other usability issues that could hurt SEO rankings or website performance?
  • Is it clear what actions you want people to take on the website?

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