Insights · Get found · SEO audit
How to do an SEO audit of your website in an afternoon
By Stacey G, Senior SEO and Account Manager
Published · 3 minute read
The short answer
You can run a useful SEO audit in an afternoon with free tools. Check in Google Search Console that your pages are indexed, test speed with PageSpeed Insights, make sure each service has its own page with a clear title and description, check your Google Business Profile, look at which sites link to you, and ask ChatGPT what it knows about your business.
You do not need expensive software to find the biggest SEO problems on a service business website. These are the checks I start with on every new client, using free tools.
1. Is Google indexing your pages?
Set up Google Search Console if you have not already. Open the Pages report and look for pages that are "not indexed". Then search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk to see roughly what Google has. If important service pages are missing, nothing else matters until that is fixed.
2. How fast is it on a phone?
Run your homepage and your top service page through PageSpeed Insights. Look at the mobile result and the Core Web Vitals. Large images and heavy page builders are the usual culprits.
3. Does every service have its own page?
List the services you want to win. Each one needs its own page, built around what people search for. One page listing everything will not rank for any of them.
4. Are your titles and descriptions doing their job?
| Check | Good looks like |
|---|---|
| Page title | Under 60 characters, main phrase first, brand last |
| Meta description | About 140 to 160 characters, saying who you help and the next step |
| H1 heading | One per page, describing the page |
| Duplicates | No two pages with the same title |
5. What is Search Console telling you?
In the Performance report, sort queries by impressions. Searches where you appear often but rarely get clicked are quick wins: improve the title and description, or the page itself.
6. Is your local presence right?
- Your Google Business Profile is verified, complete and has the right category.
- Your name, address and phone match everywhere.
- You have recent reviews, with replies.
7. Who links to you?
Search Console's Links report shows which sites link to yours. Links from relevant local and industry sites help. If you have very few, that is a long-term job worth starting.
8. What does AI say about you?
Ask ChatGPT and Gemini what they know about your business and who they recommend for your services. Wrong or missing facts are your to-do list for AI search.
About the author
Stacey G, Senior SEO and Account Manager. Stacey leads organic growth: SEO, local SEO, AEO and GEO. She gets clients found and chosen on Google, in Google Maps and in AI answers from ChatGPT and Google.
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