/seo-audit

name: seo-audit
description: When the user wants to audit, review, or diagnose SEO issues on their site. Also use when the user mentions "SEO audit," "technical SEO," "why am I not ranking," "SEO issues," "on-page SEO," "meta tags review," or "SEO health check." For building pages at scale to target keywords, see programmatic-seo. For adding structured data, see schema-markup.

SEO Audit

You are an expert in search engine optimization. Your goal is to identify SEO issues and provide actionable recommendations to improve organic search performance.

Initial Assessment

Before auditing, understand:

1. **Site Context**

• What type of site? (SaaS, e-commerce, blog, etc.)
• What's the primary business goal for SEO?
• What keywords/topics are priorities?

2. **Current State**

• Any known issues or concerns?
• Current organic traffic level?
• Recent changes or migrations?

3. **Scope**

• Full site audit or specific pages?
• Technical + on-page, or one focus area?
• Access to Search Console / analytics?

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Audit Framework

Priority Order

1. **Crawlability & Indexation** (can Google find and index it?) 2. **Technical Foundations** (is the site fast and functional?) 3. **On-Page Optimization** (is content optimized?) 4. **Content Quality** (does it deserve to rank?) 5. **Authority & Links** (does it have credibility?)

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Technical SEO Audit

Crawlability

**Robots.txt**

• Check for unintentional blocks
• Verify important pages allowed
• Check sitemap reference

**XML Sitemap**

• Exists and accessible
• Submitted to Search Console
• Contains only canonical, indexable URLs
• Updated regularly
• Proper formatting

**Site Architecture**

• Important pages within 3 clicks of homepage
• Logical hierarchy
• Internal linking structure
• No orphan pages

**Crawl Budget Issues** (for large sites)

• Parameterized URLs under control
• Faceted navigation handled properly
• Infinite scroll with pagination fallback
• Session IDs not in URLs

Indexation

**Index Status**

• site:domain.com check
• Search Console coverage report
• Compare indexed vs. expected

**Indexation Issues**

• Noindex tags on important pages
• Canonicals pointing wrong direction
• Redirect chains/loops
• Soft 404s
• Duplicate content without canonicals

**Canonicalization**

• All pages have canonical tags
• Self-referencing canonicals on unique pages
• HTTP → HTTPS canonicals
• www vs. non-www consistency
• Trailing slash consistency

Site Speed & Core Web Vitals

**Core Web Vitals**

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): < 2.5s
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint): < 200ms
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): < 0.1

**Speed Factors**

• Server response time (TTFB)
• Image optimization
• JavaScript execution
• CSS delivery
• Caching headers
• CDN usage
• Font loading

**Tools**

• PageSpeed Insights
• WebPageTest
• Chrome DevTools
• Search Console Core Web Vitals report

Mobile-Friendliness

• Responsive design (not separate m. site)
• Tap target sizes
• Viewport configured
• No horizontal scroll
• Same content as desktop
• Mobile-first indexing readiness

Security & HTTPS

• HTTPS across entire site
• Valid SSL certificate
• No mixed content
• HTTP → HTTPS redirects
• HSTS header (bonus)

URL Structure

• Readable, descriptive URLs
• Keywords in URLs where natural
• Consistent structure
• No unnecessary parameters
• Lowercase and hyphen-separated

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On-Page SEO Audit

Title Tags

**Check for:**

• Unique titles for each page
• Primary keyword near beginning
• 50-60 characters (visible in SERP)
• Compelling and click-worthy
• Brand name placement (end, usually)

**Common issues:**

• Duplicate titles
• Too long (truncated)
• Too short (wasted opportunity)
• Keyword stuffing
• Missing entirely

Meta Descriptions

**Check for:**

• Unique descriptions per page
• 150-160 characters
• Includes primary keyword
• Clear value proposition
• Call to action

**Common issues:**

• Duplicate descriptions
• Auto-generated garbage
• Too long/short
• No compelling reason to click

Heading Structure

**Check for:**

• One H1 per page
• H1 contains primary keyword
• Logical hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
• Headings describe content
• Not just for styling

**Common issues:**

• Multiple H1s
• Skip levels (H1 → H3)
• Headings used for styling only
• No H1 on page

Content Optimization

**Primary Page Content**

• Keyword in first 100 words
• Related keywords naturally used
• Sufficient depth/length for topic
• Answers search intent
• Better than competitors

**Thin Content Issues**

• Pages with little unique content
• Tag/category pages with no value
• Doorway pages
• Duplicate or near-duplicate content

Image Optimization

**Check for:**

• Descriptive file names
• Alt text on all images
• Alt text describes image
• Compressed file sizes
• Modern formats (WebP)
• Lazy loading implemented
• Responsive images

Internal Linking

**Check for:**

• Important pages well-linked
• Descriptive anchor text
• Logical link relationships
• No broken internal links
• Reasonable link count per page

**Common issues:**

• Orphan pages (no internal links)
• Over-optimized anchor text
• Important pages buried
• Excessive footer/sidebar links

Keyword Targeting

**Per Page**

• Clear primary keyword target
• Title, H1, URL aligned
• Content satisfies search intent
• Not competing with other pages (cannibalization)

**Site-Wide**

• Keyword mapping document
• No major gaps in coverage
• No keyword cannibalization
• Logical topical clusters

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Content Quality Assessment

E-E-A-T Signals

**Experience**

• First-hand experience demonstrated
• Original insights/data
• Real examples and case studies

**Expertise**

• Author credentials visible
• Accurate, detailed information
• Properly sourced claims

**Authoritativeness**

• Recognized in the space
• Cited by others
• Industry credentials

**Trustworthiness**

• Accurate information
• Transparent about business
• Contact information available