# Site SEO Audit Checklist

Use this template before starting SEO work on any site. Copy this file and fill it in for the specific site.

## Site Information

- **Site URL:**
- **cPanel Account:**
- **Cache path:** `/var/cache/ea-nginx/proxy/<account>/`
- **CMS:** WordPress / Static HTML / Other
- **SEO Plugin:** SmartCrawl Free / SmartCrawl Pro / Other / None
- **Date of Audit:**
- **Auditor:**

---

## 1. Current State Assessment

### Indexing

- [ ] Site is indexed in Google (`site:example.com` returns results)
- [ ] Approximate number of indexed pages: ____
- [ ] Google Search Console connected and verified
- [ ] Any manual actions or security issues in Search Console? ____

### Existing SEO Setup

- [ ] SEO plugin installed? Which one? ____
- [ ] Title tags customized or default? ____
- [ ] Meta descriptions set? How many pages? ____
- [ ] Schema markup present? Type(s)? ____
- [ ] XML sitemap exists? URL: ____
- [ ] Sitemap submitted to Search Console?
- [ ] Robots.txt exists and is correct?
- [ ] Open Graph tags present?
- [ ] Any existing redirects?

---

## 2. Technical SEO

### Performance

- [ ] Page load time (GTmetrix or PageSpeed Insights): ____ seconds
- [ ] LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): ____
- [ ] INP (Interaction to Next Paint): ____
- [ ] CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): ____
- [ ] Mobile-friendly test: Pass / Fail

### Security & Protocol

- [ ] HTTPS enabled (no mixed content)
- [ ] HTTP → HTTPS redirect working
- [ ] www / non-www preference set with redirect
- [ ] Trailing slash consistency

### Crawlability

- [ ] Robots.txt reviewed (not blocking CSS/JS/important content)
- [ ] No accidental `noindex` on important pages
- [ ] No orphan pages (pages with zero internal links)
- [ ] No broken internal links (404s)
- [ ] Canonical tags present and correct

---

## 3. On-Page SEO

### Title Tags

- [ ] Homepage has custom title tag
- [ ] Service pages have custom title tags
- [ ] Blog posts have title tags (template or custom)
- [ ] Any duplicate title tags? List: ____
- [ ] Title tag length (50-60 chars)? ____

### Meta Descriptions

- [ ] Homepage has hand-crafted meta description
- [ ] Service pages have meta descriptions
- [ ] Any pages missing descriptions? Count: ____
- [ ] Description length (150-160 chars)? ____

### Content

- [ ] Every page has exactly one H1
- [ ] Header hierarchy is correct (no skipped levels)
- [ ] Images have alt text
- [ ] Internal linking structure exists
- [ ] Content quality assessment (thin pages? duplicate content?)

### URLs

- [ ] URLs are clean (no ?p=123 or parameter junk)
- [ ] URLs include keywords where appropriate
- [ ] Hyphens used (not underscores)
- [ ] Reasonable length

---

## 4. Local SEO (If Applicable)

- [ ] Google Business Profile exists and is verified
- [ ] GBP information is complete and accurate
- [ ] NAP is consistent across website, GBP, and directories
- [ ] LocalBusiness schema on website
- [ ] Google Map embedded on contact page
- [ ] Reviews: count ____, average rating ____
- [ ] Listed in relevant local directories

---

## 5. Content Inventory

List the key pages and their current SEO status:

| Page | URL | Title Tag | Meta Desc | H1 | Focus KW | Status |
|------|-----|-----------|-----------|-----|----------|--------|
| Homepage | / | | | | | |
| About | /about/ | | | | | |
| Contact | /contact/ | | | | | |
| Service 1 | | | | | | |
| Service 2 | | | | | | |
| Blog (if any) | /blog/ | | | | | |

Status options: Good / Needs Work / Missing / N/A

---

## 6. Search Console Quick Wins

After connecting Search Console, check:

- [ ] Top queries by impressions (what Google shows the site for)
- [ ] Striking distance keywords (positions 8-20)
- [ ] Pages with high impressions but low CTR (title/description issue)
- [ ] Any crawl errors or indexing issues

### Striking Distance Keywords Found

| Keyword | Current Position | Page | Action Needed |
|---------|-----------------|------|---------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

---

## 7. Priority Actions

Based on the audit, list the top actions in priority order:

### Immediate (Do First)

1.
2.
3.

### Soon (This Week)

1.
2.
3.

### Ongoing (Monthly)

1.
2.
3.

---

## Notes

_Additional observations, competitor insights, or client-specific considerations:_