The Complete SEO Audit Checklist: 30 Things to Check in 2027

A useful SEO audit is a short, focused list of the things that move rankings, written so you can act on it straight away.

Below is the 30-point checklist I use with every new client, split into 4 sections.

Work through it in order and fix the quick wins before moving to the bigger jobs.

Technical SEO (10 checks)

Technical checks are the foundation, and getting them right lets everything you do on-page and off-site build on itself.

• 1. The site loads over HTTPS with a valid certificate and no mixed content warnings.
• 2. There’s a single canonical version of the domain (choose https://www.yourdomain.com.au or the non-www version, and 301 redirect the other).
• 3. An XML sitemap is live at /sitemap.xml and submitted in Search Console.
• 4. The robots.txt file lets Google crawl every important section of the site.
• 5. Core Web Vitals meet Google’s targets on mobile.
• 6. Every internal link resolves (crawl the site with Screaming Frog or a similar tool and fix each 404).
• 7. Every image has a descriptive file name and alt text.
• 8. JSON-LD schema describes what each page shows, with LocalBusiness sitewide plus page-specific types.
• 9. The layout is mobile responsive, with no horizontal scroll at common screen sizes.
• 10. Hosting is in Australia or behind a CDN, so pages respond quickly for Australian visitors.

For check 5, Google’s guide Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google search results, as I read it in October 2026, asks site owners to “strive to have LCP occur within the first 2.5 seconds of the page starting to load”.

The same guide sets the targets as “an INP of less than 200 milliseconds” and “a CLS score of less than 0.1”.

For the image items, my image SEO guide walks through compression, naming and alt text in detail.

On-page SEO (10 checks)

On-page work is where I usually find the quickest gains for small business sites.

• 11. Every indexable page has a unique, concise title tag with the main keyword near the front.
• 12. Every page has a unique meta description, written to earn the click.
• 13. Each page has a single H1 that matches search intent.
• 14. H2 and H3 headings follow a logical hierarchy that reflects the content.
• 15. The main keyword appears naturally in the opening paragraph.
• 16. The content covers everything a searcher needs to make a decision.
• 17. Internal links use descriptive anchor text such as “emergency plumber Unley”, in place of “click here” or bare URLs.
• 18. Key service pages carry an FAQ section that answers real customer questions.
• 19. A clear call to action sits above the fold and repeats down the page.
• 20. Every page has at least 1 internal link pointing to it, so Google and your visitors can reach it.

On titles, Google’s title link documentation explains that the title link “is truncated in Google Search results as needed, typically to fit the device width”, so I keep titles concise.

On length, Google’s guide to creating helpful, reliable, people-first content asks writers whether they’re aiming for a particular word count, and answers that Google has no preferred word count.

If you want a structured way to run this part of the audit, the free Loudachris SEO audit tool checks most of these automatically.

Off-site SEO (5 checks)

Off-site SEO covers your reputation and how your business appears across the wider web.

These checks review what’s already out there, with Search Console as the main tool.

• 21. The Links report in Search Console shows which sites already link to you, and those sites make sense for your business.
• 22. The anchor text on those existing links reads naturally, with mostly your brand, your URL or topical phrases.
• 23. Any links bought in the past are reviewed against Google’s spam policies, which list “Buying or selling links for ranking purposes” as link spam.
• 24. A search for your business name shows your website, your Business Profile and your reviews at the top.
• 25. Your social profiles show your current website, phone number and services.

Local SEO (5 checks)

If you serve customers in a specific suburb, city or region, these 5 checks shape how you show up in Google Maps.

• 26. Your Google Business Profile is fully complete, with categories, services, products, hours and attributes.
• 27. Genuine Google reviews keep arriving, and every review gets a reply.
• 28. Business Profile posts go up regularly, along with fresh photos of recent work.
• 29. Each major area you serve has a dedicated location page, with content written for that area.
• 30. Your name, address and phone number are identical on your website and your Business Profile.

My local SEO service puts these checks to work for Australian businesses, starting with a one-off Google Business Profile optimisation at $750+GST.

How to work through the list

Work through the list in stages, so each fix gets your full attention and you keep momentum.

• Spend week 1 on diagnosis, marking each item as done or to do before you change anything.
• In week 2, tackle the technical items, because they support everything else.
• In weeks 3 and 4, work through the on-page items.
• In month 2, move to the local and off-site items.

Do it yourself or hire help?

If you’re technical, comfortable in Search Console and have 5 spare hours a week, you can run this audit yourself.

Many business owners get more from spending those hours quoting jobs and serving customers, and handing the audit to someone who runs audits every week.

For context on what professional audits and ongoing SEO should cost in Australia, see our SEO cost page and the main SEO service page.

The checks that pay off first

When I audit Australian small business sites, a handful of items come up again and again.

If you’re short on time, start here:

• Unique location pages. A Unley plumber with pages for Unley, Parkside, Fullarton and Malvern gets the most from each page when it covers that suburb’s own jobs, streets and questions.
• Service area links that help the reader. Link your main service areas from pages where they add context, with each link leading to a page worth reading.
• Current opening hours. Keep your hours up to date on your Business Profile and in your LocalBusiness schema, so customers searching for a business that’s open now can see you’re available.
• Organization schema with sameAs. List your Google Business Profile URL and your LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram profiles as sameAs values in your sitewide schema.
• Descriptive hero image alt text. Describe what the image shows, such as “plumber repairing a hot water system in Unley”, in place of “logo” or “image1”.

Run the audit yourself first

I suggest every small business owner runs the technical and on-page parts of this audit at least once, because you get to know your own site in a way that makes every later decision easier.

After that, handing the ongoing work to someone else becomes a clear, informed decision.

If you do hand it over, look for someone who walks you through the findings in plain English and turns them into a ranked list of fixes.

Turn the checklist into momentum

An audit earns its keep when it becomes a prioritised action list, with the 10 fixes that matter most ranked in order and 1 to start on today.

Aim to match or beat the top 5 results for your target searches on each item, then move to the next item on the list.

If a competitor’s CLS is 0.09 and yours is 0.08, that item is done, and your time goes further on the next fix.

Would you like me to run this 30-point audit on your site and hand you the prioritised action list? Book a free strategy call or call me on 0403 454 199, and I’ll walk you through it.