/seo-audit

name: seo-audit
version: 1.0.0
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

**Check for product marketing context first:** If `.claude/product-marketing-context.md` exists, read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

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

---

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, deta