Imagine if you’re cleaning the house because guests are expected. Which room do you start in? What supplies should you have on hand? What do you throw out and what do you keep?
SEO is like cleaning your house: you declutter what doesn’t belong, organize what matters, and keep things fresh so visitors (and search engines) feel welcome.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective ways to bring qualified traffic to your website, but only if your site is set up for success. An SEO audit helps you uncover issues, identify opportunities, and build a roadmap to higher rankings and better conversions.
Here are 9 steps to begin your SEO audit, with links to helpful resources along the way.
Don’t just tackle the first room you see. Declutter with purpose. Ask yourself these questions:
What do you want to achieve? Organic growth? Thought leadership authority? Higher conversions? Each of those requires a different approach to SEO auditing.
Now you have to get down to the nitty-gritty, elbow-grease work. Crawl your site and check for orphaned pages, broken links, and duplicate content. Identifying and eliminating these ensure that your site is not unnecessarily slowed down by errant mistakes.
Review your XML sitemap, robots.txt, and canonical tags as well. Your sitemap helps pages get found, robots.txt controls what’s seen, and canonical tags prevent confusion. Together, they make sure search engines crawl efficiently, avoid wasting resources, and credit the right pages.
While you’re cleaning that part of your house, pay attention to the details (like the corners you avoid dusting). These small details are where most sites have issues. Also, consider third-party help with this if you have a lot of assets.
Like a house, a website needs to be clean, organized, and easy to navigate. When search engines and visitors come in, clear labels, logical pathways, and neat rooms ensure they find what they need quickly, which builds trust, boosts visibility, and keeps people coming back.
With the advent of AI and the ability of LLMs to churn out cookie-cutter content in the blink of an eye, it’s more important than ever that your content stands out as authentic, authoritative, and well-written.
One way to identify if your content will compete is to do a site audit of all your content. Find out what content is duplicating or cannibalizing keywords. Eliminate or add to content that is thin or marginally useful. And always – ALWAYS – make sure your content is addressing the needs of your clients or potential customers.
If you’re not finding a pain point and giving a solution to that pain point, then your content will be shelved amid the millions of pages of content already out there. A good content marketer can help, but look to feedback from your sales and customer service teams as well.
If you think your house is in shape, but never considered that someone will look it up on their phone, you may be missing a big chunk of the market. According to StatCounter, 59% of site traffic goes through mobile devices. Is your house ready to show?
An SEO audit requires that you look at all aspects of your site – don’t skimp on mobile.
Mobile testing makes sure the experience holds up on the devices most people use to browse. Reviewing checkout flows, forms, and search functions helps eliminate friction that can frustrate users and drive them away. The solution is to simplify menus, test across multiple devices, and streamline critical interactions so the path from arrival to conversion is smooth and intuitive.
If you’re cleaning house and looking for help, you might need a referral for a good landscaper or housekeeper. Those referrals are called backlinks on your site.
When reputable sites link to you, search engines see your site as more trustworthy and authoritative. But low-quality or spammy links can do the opposite, dragging your rankings down.
To achieve this, use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to analyze inbound links, disavow harmful ones, and benchmark competitor anchor text and referring domains. The goal is to strengthen your site’s reputation by building high-quality, relevant links while cleaning out the toxic ones.
A thorough SEO audit should also consider what happens after you’ve cleaned house. How will you know it’s been effective? What do you tell your boss to prove it’s been done correctly?
Without accurate data, you’re essentially cleaning in the dark - you can’t see what’s working or what needs fixing. Proper setup of Google Analytics, Search Console, and other tools ensures you’re measuring traffic, engagement, and conversions correctly. To do this, verify tracking codes and UTM tracking parameters are installed, confirm key events and triggers are firing, and regularly audit reports for gaps or anomalies so you can make informed decisions that drive growth.
Another facet of a good SEO audit is to consistently review and iterate on competitor rankings and benchmark analysis. This will show you how well you’ve cleaned house, and where the other houses on your block compare to yours.
By seeing which keywords competitors rank for, how fast their sites load, and how well their content and UX perform, you gain insight into what works in your industry and for your readers. Use SEO tools (SEMrush, AHREFS, Google Analytics) to track competitor rankings, audit their content and site performance, and identify gaps you can fill—leveraging their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses to set realistic, winning targets.
An SEO audit isn’t just a one-time spring cleaning. It’s ongoing maintenance to keep your digital house welcoming, functional, and ready for visitors. By following these 9 steps, you’ll not only uncover hidden issues but also build a roadmap toward stronger visibility, more authority, and higher conversions. Like any good cleanup, it’s about being intentional: declutter what doesn’t serve you, polish what matters most, and create a space where both visitors and search engines want to return.
If you’re ready to take your audit further, explore how Briteskies’ Digital Marketing Assessments for eCommerce and Consulting Services can help you prioritize issues, benchmark competitors, and keep your SEO strategy spotless.
Let’s get your SEO audit started today — and keep your digital house ready for every visitor.
Briteskies, an Adobe Commerce Solutions Partner with 15+ years of experience, offers comprehensive eCommerce services. We specialize in Adobe Commerce (Magento) implementations, integrations, and customizations for B2B and B2C businesses. Our expertise extends to digital marketing strategies, SEO optimization, analytics, and technical audits, helping businesses streamline operations, enhance their online presence, and drive revenue growth through tailored eCommerce solutions.
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