audit

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from review. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: audit
description: >
  Run a comprehensive SEO audit on a website covering technical health, on-page
  optimization, content quality, and backlink profile. Use when the user asks for
  an SEO audit, site review, SEO health check, "what's wrong with my SEO",
  website analysis, or a full diagnostic of their site's search performance.
  For speed-specific issues, see audit-speed. For technical crawl/index issues
  only, see diagnose-seo.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
---

# SEO Audit

Run a comprehensive SEO audit covering technical foundations, on-page
optimization, content quality, link profile, and competitive positioning.

## Before You Start

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. **Domain.** What site are we auditing?
2. **Goals.** What are you trying to achieve? (More traffic, better rankings, fix a drop, pre-launch check)
3. **Known issues.** Anything you already suspect is wrong?
4. **Access.** Do you have Google Search Console and Google Analytics data? (Improves the audit significantly)
5. **Scope.** Full audit or focused on a specific area? (If unsure, run the full audit)

## Audit Framework

A complete SEO audit covers five layers. Work through them in order — problems
in earlier layers undermine everything that follows.

```
Layer 1: Technical Foundation     ← Can Google crawl and index the site?
Layer 2: On-Page Optimization     ← Are pages optimized for target keywords?
Layer 3: Content Quality          ← Is the content worth ranking?
Layer 4: Link Profile             ← Does the site have authority?
Layer 5: Competitive Position     ← How does the site compare to competitors?
```

## Layer 1: Technical Foundation

Check whether search engines can properly access, crawl, render, and index the site.

### Crawlability
- [ ] `robots.txt` — fetch and review. No critical paths blocked? Sitemap directive present?
- [ ] XML sitemap — exists, valid XML, lists all important pages, excludes noindex/redirected pages?
- [ ] Site architecture — important pages reachable within 3 clicks from homepage?
- [ ] Orphan pages — any pages with zero internal links pointing to them?
- [ ] Redirect chains — any paths with 2+ redirects in sequence?
- [ ] HTTP status — all important pages return 200? No unexpected 301s, 404s, or soft 404s?

### Indexability
- [ ] `noindex` tags — any important pages accidentally noindexed?
- [ ] Canonical tags — self-referencing on all pages? No conflicting canonicals?
- [ ] Duplicate content — same content accessible at multiple URLs (www/non-www, HTTP/HTTPS, trailing slash)?
- [ ] Search Console index coverage — how many pages submitted vs indexed? Any excluded pages that should be indexed?

### Performance
- [ ] Core Web Vitals — LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200ms?
- [ ] TTFB — < 800ms from major regions?
- [ ] Mobile-friendly — passes Google's mobile usability tests?
- [ ] HTTPS — enforced across the entire site? Valid certificate?

### Rendering
- [ ] JavaScript-dependent content — is critical content in the initial HTML or loaded via JS?
- [ ] Content visibility — can search engines see the full page content?

## Layer 2: On-Page Optimization

Check whether individual pages are properly optimized for their target keywords.

### Title Tags
- [ ] Every page has a unique `<title>`
- [ ] Titles include the primary target keyword
- [ ] Titles are under 60 characters (avoid truncation)
- [ ] Titles are descriptive and click-worthy (not keyword-stuffed)

### Meta Descriptions
- [ ] Every important page has a unique meta description
- [ ] Descriptions are 150-160 characters
- [ ] Descriptions include a value proposition and call to action

### Heading Structure
- [ ] One H1 per page containing the primary keyword
- [ ] Logical heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3, no level skipping)
- [ ] Headings describe section content accurately

### URL Structure
- [ ] URLs are clean, readable, and descriptive
- [ ] URLs use hyphens (not underscores)
- [ ] No excessive URL parameters or session IDs in indexed