Is Your Site Hiding These Costly SEO Mistakes?

In this guide, we’ll walk through a step-by-step process to run your own audit. To make it practical, we’ll also mention whether tools are free or paid, and give example domains you can test for screenshots. 

Step 1: Check Website Speed and Core Web Vitals 

Tool: Google PageSpeed Insights (Free, no login required) → www.pagespeed.web.dev 

Enter your URL and analyze results for both mobile and desktop. 

What to look at: 

• Page Load Time 
• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) 
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) 
• Total Blocking Time 

Step 2: Run a Crawl to Find Technical SEO Issues 

Tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free for up to 500 URLs, Paid for unlimited) → www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider 

Run a crawl to see how search engines view your site. 

Key issues to check: 

• Broken links (404 errors) 

• Redirect chains 

• Missing or duplicate title tags and meta descriptions 

Step 3: Analyze On-Page SEO Elements 

Tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free/Paid) 

Make sure every page has proper on-page SEO. 

Look for: 

• Unique, keyword-focused title tags 

• Clear meta descriptions 

• Proper use of H1, H2, H3 headings 

• Image alt text 

• Clean URL structures 

Step 4: Review Mobile Friendliness 

Tool: Google Mobile-Friendly Test (Free) → www.search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly 

Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing, so your site must pass this test. 

Check for: 

• Text too small to read 

• Elements too close together 

• Content wider than the screen 

Step 5: Evaluate Site Architecture and Internal Linking 

Tool: Screaming Frog (Free/Paid) or Sitebulb (Paid, free trial) → www.sitebulb.com 

Good site structure makes it easier for both users and search engines to navigate. 

Check if: 

• Important pages are accessible within 3 clicks 

• Navigation menus are simple 

• Internal links connect related content 

Step 6: Assess Content Quality 

Tool: Manual check (Free) 

Search engines reward valuable, original, and updated content. 

Ask yourself: 

• Does this page answer user intent? 

• Is it long enough to compete with top-ranking pages? 

• Is it updated and accurate? 

Step 7: Audit Backlinks and Domain Authority 

Tools: 

• Ahrefs (Paid, free trial) → www.ahrefs.com 

• SEMrush (Paid, free trial) → www.semrush.com 

• Ubersuggest (Freemium) → www.neilpatel.com/ubersuggest 

Backlinks are like votes of trust. Check: 

• Number of backlinks 

• Referring domains 

• Domain authority score 

• Spammy links 

Step 8: Check for Security and HTTPS 

Tool: Browser (Free) 

Security is critical for both SEO and user trust. 

Verify that: 

• Your site uses HTTPS 

• SSL certificate is valid 

• No mixed content errors 

Step 9: Generate a Report and Prioritize Fixes 

Tools: 

• SEMrush Site Audit (Paid, free trial) → www.semrush.com 

• Ahrefs Site Audit (Paid, free trial) → www.ahrefs.com 

• Ubersuggest Site Audit (Freemium) → www.neilpatel.com/ubersuggest 

Once you’ve collected all data, organize fixes into: 

• Critical issues (broken links, missing SSL, slow speed) 

• Important fixes (duplicate content, weak meta tags) 

• Nice-to-have improvements (content expansion, backlink opportunities) 

Website Audit Checklist (Quick Reference) 

Audit Insights in Action 

A website audit may feel overwhelming at first, but with the right tools it’s much easier to spot what’s hurting your SEO and performance. Start with free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Screaming Frog, then move on to more advanced paid tools if needed. 

Fix the critical issues first, then tackle content and backlinks. Over time, regular audits will keep your site healthy, competitive, and ready to climb search rankings.