An SEO audit should answer a simple question: why isn’t my website ranking better on Google, and what should I fix first? Yet too many audits boil down to a forty-page automated report full of unranked warnings. Here is what a good SEO audit includes, and how to use it to get results.
1. Technical analysis: can Google read your website?
- Indexing: which pages Google knows, which it ignores and why (Search Console reports,
noindextags,robots.txtfile, XML sitemap). - Errors and redirects: 404 pages, redirect chains, old URLs lost during a redesign.
- Duplicates: www and non-www versions, HTTP and HTTPS, pages reachable at several URLs, canonical tags.
- Speed and mobile: Core Web Vitals, image weight, display on phones.
- Structured data: organisation, products, FAQ, breadcrumbs, and whether they are valid.
2. Content and tag analysis
Every important page is reviewed: title tag and meta description, headings, quality and depth of the text, internal linking (the links between your pages), image alt text. The audit flags thin pages, pages competing for the same query, and pages that are simply missing: a service without its own page has little chance of ranking well.
3. Keywords and competitors
A good audit starts from what your customers actually type into Google, not from what you imagine. It lists the relevant queries and your current positions, then compares your site with a few well-ranked competitors: structure, content, speed, authority. That comparison often reveals the gap most worth closing. If you work in both France and Algeria, the analysis should be done for each country: queries, language and competitors are not the same in Lyon and in Algiers.
4. Authority and local presence
Links from other websites and, for a local business, your Google Business Profile and reviews all weigh on rankings. The audit takes stock: quality or dubious links, complete profile or not, contact details consistent from one site to another.
5. The action plan: the part that really matters
This is what separates a useful audit from a mere diagnosis. Each recommendation should state the problem, its likely impact, the effort required and who can handle it. A clear plan breaks down like this:
- Blockers: anything preventing pages from being indexed or seriously harming the experience, to be fixed right away.
- Quick wins: titles and descriptions, internal links, oversized images. Low effort, real effect.
- Long-term work: new service pages, rewritten content, a restructured site.
Be wary of audits that promise a specific ranking or guaranteed traffic: nobody controls Google’s algorithm. Be wary too of lists of two hundred warnings with no priorities, which discourage more than they help.
How to use your SEO audit
- Start with the blockers, even if they look technical: nothing else has an effect unless Google can read your pages properly.
- Share out the tasks: some are within your reach in WordPress (titles, text, images), others need a developer.
- Note the date of every fix so you can link a change in results to a specific action.
- Measure in Google Search Console: impressions, clicks and positions, over several weeks. SEO effects rarely show within a few days.
- Review progress a few months later to see what has improved and adjust priorities.
My SEO audit covers technical aspects, content, keywords and three competitors, with a prioritised action plan and a jargon-free report: €290 excl. VAT in France, 30,000 DZD in Algeria. If you then hand me the fixes, its price is deducted from the SEO optimisation offer.