Doing a free SEO audit might sound overwhelming, but it’s actually a series of straightforward steps. If you’re trying to figure out why your website isn’t getting much traffic, or you just want to know if you’re missing something obvious, this guide is for you. We’ll walk through the tools you need, what to look for, and how to make sense of the numbers. No fancy words, just real, actionable advice you can use right away.
Starting an SEO audit sounds daunting, but with the right free tools, it’s surprisingly doable. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll want in your toolkit, how each fits into the process, and the differences between them.
If you’re not already set up with Google Analytics (GA) and Google Search Console (GSC), make that your first step. These two tools reveal what’s really happening with your website traffic, page visibility, and search performance.
To see where your site’s gains and losses are, always compare both GSC and GA data month-over-month. Don’t panic at every dip—look for steady trends instead.
Website crawlers scan your site much like Google’s bots, finding issues you might miss by hand. A few user-friendly, free options:
These tools help:
Here’s a quick table showing what some popular free crawlers cover:
| Tool | Scan Limit | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Screaming Frog (Free) | 500 URLs | Broken links, basic on-page SEO |
| Ahrefs Webmaster | Unlimited | Backlink profile, technical audit |
| Sitebulb Lite | Limited | Internal linking, site architecture |
Visitors expect websites to be quick. Slow load times can drive them away—and affect your ranking. Instead of guessing, use these free speed and tech analysis tools:
Focus on the fixes with the biggest impact first, like image size, script minification, and server response time.
Three things you don’t want to ignore:
With these tools, you can start an SEO audit without spending a dime. Each one shows you a different side of your website’s health, so make time to check them all. You’ll be surprised at what they reveal.
Getting a handle on how your organic traffic flows and shifts is just the starting point if you want to figure out what’s working and what’s just burning daylight on your website. Paying attention to these numbers is how you set the stage for steady SEO wins. Let’s look closely at how you can break this down step by step.
Not every page is a winner, and that’s fine. The first thing I do is check Google Analytics and open up the “Pages” report to see which URLs are getting the most attention from organic searches. Here are a few things I look for:
Here’s a quick view of how this info might land in a simple table:
| Page URL | Organic Sessions | Avg. Time on Page | Bounce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| /blog/tools | 3,200 | 2:50 | 37% |
| /about | 1,100 | 1:15 | 55% |
| /product/seo | 2,900 | 3:10 | 34% |
A page with lots of visits and a longer stay means the content’s working. If you notice a few pages performing way above the rest, consider focusing on those topics or expanding related articles next. You can find a more in-depth guide to measuring these metrics in this handy overview of SEO performance tracking.
Even the best sites see traffic wiggle up and down, but obvious drops shouldn’t be ignored. I like to compare month-over-month and year-over-year numbers in Analytics.
A sudden dip in organic visits often points to a technical issue or a recent change by Google. Fixing drops early helps avoid bigger headaches down the line.
If you don’t keep score, it’s tough to know if your SEO tweaks actually matter. That’s why it’s vital to set a few benchmarks. Here’s what I check:
Make a basic spreadsheet and jot your numbers down every month, so you spot patterns—or problems—quickly. I’d recommend tracking those metrics alongside specific SEO changes, so you know what’s moving the needle.
There you have it. A real SEO audit isn’t just about finding what’s broken; it’s about knowing what’s working, what’s lagging, and setting yourself up for smarter strategy moving forward.
When working on an SEO audit, it’s easy to skip over your website’s structure and the on-page stuff—but don’t. How you shape your site and fill in the details can make or break your results in Google.
Start by looking at your meta titles and descriptions. They don’t only tell Google what your pages are about, they show up in search results and can reel in clicks. If you spot titles that look the same or are missing, it’s a problem. Here’s a quick way to organize your findings:
| Page URL | Meta Title | Meta Description |
|---|---|---|
| /about | About Us – Widget Co. | Learn who we are. |
| /services | Widget Services – Widget Co | Our widget solutions. |
| /contact | Get in touch today! |
Even a small fix, like swapping out generic meta text for something specific, can help with visibility.
Now, look at how you connect your pages. Do your high-traffic pages link to other, less-visited but important pages? Is your menu simple to use? Think about it like a grocery store: items are grouped logically, and it’s not hard to find the bread aisle.
Here’s a three-step checklist:
Making your site easier to get around helps both visitors and Googlebot.
People are searching on their phones all the time, so your pages have to look good on small screens. Pop open your site on your own mobile and just scroll—if you have to pinch or can’t press a button, there’s work to do.
At a basic level, focus on:
If you’re not sure, Google Mobile-Friendly Test is an easy way to spot mobile headaches.
Good structure and on-page choices mean users stick around longer—and Google notices. It’s worth the effort every single time.
Checking your site for content issues is really about getting honest with yourself—sometimes, your best-performing blog post isn’t that good. Or maybe you’ve got pages that don’t say much, or worse: pages that say the same thing over and over. Let’s walk through where things go wrong and what you can actually do about it.
Thin content is that page you whipped up in ten minutes because someone said you needed a landing page, but it’s just 200 words and a stock photo. Duplicate content pops up when your site says the same thing in a few different places—maybe you’ve got similar service pages, or your CMS generated archives without you realizing it.
| Page URL | Word Count | Duplicate Status |
|---|---|---|
| /services/a | 150 | Yes (with /services/b) |
| /about-us | 950 | No |
| /contact | 120 | No |
Before you delete anything, always check if that page appears in your Google Analytics or ranks for any keywords; sometimes a thin page brings surprising traffic!
Nobody likes reading boring, unfocused pages. Content quality can mean the difference between someone signing up or bouncing right off your site.
A quick checklist:
A good piece of content will naturally hit on what people are searching for, but sometimes, you have to give it a nudge. Look for:
How to fix it:
Sometimes it feels a little technical, but honestly, it’s about helping your readers find what they’re looking for. If you fix your thin and duplicate pages, make your content useful, and match what people search for, your site will feel more helpful and rank better, too.
A strong off-page SEO foundation helps your site get picked up by more people—and search engines notice that. The backbone of this is a healthy backlink profile, but how do you actually figure out where you stand? Let’s break it all down, step by step.
It’s pretty simple: not all links help your site. In fact, some can actually hurt it. Here’s how you get started:
A quick chart can make trends clearer:
| Link Type | % of Total Links | Action Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant/Trusted | 70% | Keep |
| Suspicious | 20% | Review Individually |
| Toxic/Spam | 10% | Remove or Disavow |
Many business owners are shocked by how many low-value sites point to them, but it’s all about slow, steady cleanup. You’ll get your site back on track over a few months—not overnight.
Once your toxic links are sorted, think about where new, quality links could come from:
Behind every top search result, there’s probably a link profile working overtime. Here’s one way you can see how you stack up:
| Metric | Your Site | Competitor A | Competitor B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referring Domains | 185 | 330 | 270 |
| Authority Score Avg | 38 | 44 | 41 |
| % Links from Blogs | 55% | 62% | 48% |
The point isn’t to copy everything, but to spot patterns you can apply to your own site. Sometimes, it’s those industry-specific sites or long-term content partnerships that really move the needle.
A technical SEO check is where you get your hands dirty and see what’s going on under the hood. This is less about keywords and more about how search engines and users can actually access and experience your site. If there’s a problem here, it doesn’t matter how good your content is—it won’t show up or work well for visitors.
If Google can’t read your pages, you’re dead in the water. Here’s how to make sure your important pages aren’t blocked or missing:
| Issue | Tool | Quick Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 404 Errors | Search Console | Redirect or restore pages |
| Noindex Tags | Website Crawler | Remove from key pages |
| Missing Sitemaps | Search Console | Submit a sitemap.xml |
Often, you’ll find random old URLs from years ago clogging up your reports—cleaning these out always feels satisfying.
Site speed isn’t just a buzzword, it influences how people use your website. If it’s slow, they bounce. Here’s what you should do:
You can keep track of page speeds with a table:
| Page | Mobile Score | Desktop Score | Actions Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 55 | 82 | Compress hero images |
| Product Category | 72 | 89 | Reduce JS scripts |
| Blog Post | 66 | 78 | Minimize CSS |
Switching to HTTPS isn’t optional anymore—Google treats HTTP sites as less trustworthy. To confirm everything is secure:
Switching everything to HTTPS gives you peace of mind. No more browser warnings popping up for users—just a smoother, more trustworthy experience.
Technical SEO checks aren’t glamorous, but ignoring them is like ignoring a leaking pipe—it gets worse until you fix it. Work through these steps methodically and keep a notebook of any issues so you don’t lose track. It’ll pay off when your rankings start to climb and those stubborn SEO headaches disappear.
Doing an SEO audit might seem like a lot at first, but it’s really just about breaking things down and checking your site step by step. Start with the basics—look at your traffic, crawl your site, and fix any obvious errors. Use tools like Google Search Console, Analytics, and whatever SEO software you can get your hands on, even if it’s just a free trial. Remember, you don’t have to fix everything overnight. Make a list, tackle the biggest problems first, and keep track of what changes you make. SEO is always changing, so regular audits are a good habit to get into. If you stick with it, you’ll start to see improvements in your rankings and traffic. And hey, if you get stuck, there are plenty of guides and tools out there to help you along the way. Good luck!
An SEO audit is a full checkup of your website to see how well it works for search engines like Google. It helps you find problems and areas to improve, so your site can show up higher in search results and get more visitors.
Some great free tools are Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google’s PageSpeed Insights. You can also try free versions of tools like Screaming Frog or Ubersuggest to check for issues and get helpful reports.
It’s smart to do a basic SEO audit every few months, or at least twice a year. If you make big changes to your website, you should do an audit right after to catch any new problems.
Check your website’s traffic, page speed, and how well your pages are doing. Look for broken links, missing meta tags, slow loading times, and make sure your site works well on phones and tablets. Also, check your content for quality and see if you have any bad or spammy backlinks.
First, find pages with very little information or pages that look almost the same. Combine similar pages, add more helpful content, or remove pages that don’t add value. Make sure each page is unique and useful for your visitors.
Doing an SEO audit helps you spot and fix problems, which can lead to better rankings. But there’s no guarantee, since search engines use many factors to decide rankings. Still, regular audits give you a better chance at improving your site’s performance.