What an audit is for
An audit answers one question: what is holding this site back from bringing enquiries? A report that lists two hundred small issues does not answer it. A good one names the few fixes that matter, shows the evidence and says what to do first.
We also say plainly when the website is not the problem. If the real problem is a page that does not convert, or a site that needs a rebuild, the report says so.
Before we start: access
We ask for your website address and read-only access to Google Search Console and, ideally, Google Analytics. Search Console shows what people searched and which pages showed up. It is your own data, so the audit does not rest on a tool's guess. A short call covers your goals.
The twelve checks, in the order we run them
We run them in four groups. Each group depends on the one before it. There is no point polishing a title on a page Google cannot reach.
| # | Check | What we look for | What you receive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crawling and indexing | Pages Google cannot reach or skips | Blocked pages and fixes |
| 2 | Mobile speed | Core Web Vitals, which are Google's speed and stability checks | Slowest templates and causes |
| 3 | Mobile experience | Missing content, tap targets, covering pop-ups | Phone screenshots |
| 4 | Site structure | Page depth, internal links, orphan pages (pages nothing links to) | A link map |
| 5 | Titles and headings | Missing or duplicate titles, descriptions and H1s | Rewritten priority titles |
| 6 | Content and intent | Whether key pages answer their search | Pages to improve, merge or create |
| 7 | Duplication and cannibalisation | Thin, near-duplicate and competing pages | Which page owns which search |
| 8 | Structured data | Schema present, valid and matched to the page | Errors and needed schema |
| 9 | Local presence | Business Profile, listings, reviews | Fixes and a review plan |
| 10 | Backlinks | Authority, risky links, competitor gaps | Links worth earning |
| 11 | Competitor gap | Searches competitors win and you do not | Searches to chase first |
| 12 | AI search readiness | Answer-first structure, FAQ and company markup, AI crawler access | What stops AI tools quoting you |
Group 1: Can Google reach the site? (checks 1, 2 and 4)
We start with crawling and indexing, because a page Google cannot reach cannot rank. We open the Search Console indexing report first and look for pages that are blocked, skipped or left out. Then we look at speed and at how pages link to each other. Slow templates and orphan pages are found here.
Group 2: How does it work on a phone? (checks 2 and 3)
Many visits come from phones, so we test on a mid-range Android phone over 4G, as a buyer would see it. We look at what loads, what is missing, and what covers the page.
We also test the enquiry path at phone width. We fill in the form and check that it reaches you. We tap the call button. We tap the WhatsApp link and check that it opens with the right number. Some checklists skip this step, yet it is where a visit becomes an enquiry. We test before any change and again after.
Group 3: What do the pages say? (checks 5, 6, 7 and 8)
Now the pages themselves. We read titles and headings, then ask whether each key page answers the search it should win. We look for pages that compete with each other, and for thin or repeated pages. We check that structured data, which is code that tells Google what a page is about, matches what a visitor can see.
When two pages compete, we do not delete or hide one as a first fix. We make the right page stronger and link to it.
Group 4: Who sees and trusts you? (checks 9 to 12)
Last come local presence, backlinks, competitors and AI search. These take longer to fix, so they come after the quick wins. We compare your searches with the ones competitors win, and check that AI tools can read your answers.
How we rank what we find
Each finding gets two labels. Severity says how much it hurts: critical, important or nice to have. Effort says how hard it is to fix: quick win, medium or strategic. A critical quick win goes to the top of the list. A nice-to-have strategic job goes to the bottom.
| Quick win | Medium | Strategic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | Do this week | Plan this month | Start with a plan |
| Important | Do soon | Plan next | Schedule |
| Nice to have | Do if time allows | Leave for later | Leave for later |
What changes by industry
The twelve checks stay the same. What we look at first changes. For an industrial company, we start with specification pages. For a real estate developer, we start with project and location pages. For a diagnostic chain, we start with location and service pages.
The report and the walk-through
The report is in plain language, with evidence and a fix list your developers can use. We confirm the delivery date when you share access. An optional 30-minute call goes through what we would do first in your position.
What we stop doing
- We do not hand over a tool's score as the audit. A score is a starting point.
- We do not list every small issue. We list the ones that matter.
- We do not audit only on a laptop.
- We do not recommend deleting or hiding pages as a first fix.
- We do not promise rankings. An audit finds problems. It does not guarantee a result.
Slips we watch for
- An audit with no Search Console data. Fix: get read-only access before starting.
- A fix list with no owner. Fix: name who does each fix and by when.
- Fixes shipped without a before-and-after check. Fix: test the form, call and WhatsApp before and after.
- A redesign planned with no audit. Fix: audit first, so the rebuild does not lose pages that already bring visits.
- A report so long that nobody reads it. Fix: put the first fix on page one.
These are slips we plan against. They come from our own framing, not from a named company.
What we measure after the fixes
- Clicks, impressions and average position for the key pages in Search Console. These are the search numbers you can trust.
- Enquiries reaching your own record, counted as people, not as page events.
- Pages that were skipped and are now in Google.
Search changes slowly. We read these numbers over months, not days.
When to call us
Call us when traffic has fallen with no clear reason, when you plan a redesign, when your pages sit on page two, or when proposals from agencies all look the same and you want a second opinion. The 12-point audit is free for projects we think we can help, and we take on a limited number. Get a growth plan or see the SEO audit page. If the audit shows the site needs a rebuild, see our website design and development service.
