How to Audit a Website for SEO: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Here’s the exact process to follow. Go through each step in order technical issues first, since there’s no point polishing content Google can’t even crawl.

Step 1: Run a Technical SEO Audit

Technical SEO is the foundation. If Google can’t crawl or index your site properly, nothing else you do will matter. Start with Google Search Console it’s free, and it’s the same tool Google itself uses to tell you how your site is performing in search.

Check the following:

• Crawlability & indexing: In Search Console, check the “Pages” report to see which pages are indexed and which are excluded, and why.
• txt and XML sitemap: Make sure robots.txt isn’t accidentally blocking important pages, and that your sitemap is submitted and up to date.
• Site speed and Core Web Vitals: Test your key pages and note your Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint, and Cumulative Layout Shift scores (see the PageSpeed note below).
• Mobile-friendliness: Most Nigerian traffic is mobile. Use Search Console’s mobile usability report to catch text that’s too small, buttons too close together, or content wider than the screen.
• HTTPS and security: Confirm your site runs on HTTPS (the padlock icon), not HTTP. This is a confirmed Google ranking signal.
• Broken links and redirects: Crawl your site with a tool like Screaming Frog to find 404 errors, broken internal links, and redirect chains.
• Duplicate content and canonical tags: Check for pages with identical or very similar content, and confirm canonical tags point to the correct version of each page.
• Structured data (schema markup): Use Google’s Rich Results Test to confirm your schema is implemented correctly, especially for products, reviews, articles, or local business info.

For page speed specifically, run your homepage and a couple of key inner pages through PageSpeed Insights and note your Core Web Vitals scores (LCP, INP, and CLS). Anything flagged red or orange should go on your fix list.

Step 2: Audit Your On-Page SEO

Once the technical foundation is solid, move to on-page elements. We wrote a dedicated, practical walkthrough on this read How to Check On-Page SEO for Free in Nigeria for the full method with free tools. For this audit, focus on:

• Title tags: Every page should have a unique, keyword-relevant title tag under roughly 60 characters.
• Meta descriptions: Unique, compelling, under 155–160 characters, and written to earn the click, not just describe the page.
• Header tags (H1–H3): One clear H1 per page, with H2s and H3s that follow a logical structure the same way this article is broken down.
• Keyword usage: Your focus keyword should appear naturally in the title, first paragraph, at least one subheading, and the URL without being forced or repeated unnaturally.
• Content quality and depth: Does the page actually answer the searcher’s question fully, or is it thin and generic?
• Internal linking: Are you linking to other relevant pages on your site, and are your most important pages receiving enough internal links?
• Image alt text: Every image should have descriptive alt text, both for accessibility and for image search visibility.
• URL structure: Short, readable URLs that include the target keyword beat long, auto-generated strings full of numbers and parameters.

Step 3: Check Your Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO tells you how the rest of the internet views your site. Use a free tool like Ubersuggest or Moz’s Link Explorer to check:

• Total backlinks and referring domains how many other sites link to you, and how many unique domains they come from.
• Domain Authority / Domain Rating a general trust score for your site compared to competitors.
• Toxic or spammy backlinks low-quality or irrelevant links that could be dragging your rankings down and may need disavowing.
• Brand mentions is your business being talked about online even without a link back? These are opportunities to request a backlink.

Step 4: Do a Content Audit

List out every page and blog post on your site, then evaluate each one:

• Is the content outdated and in need of a refresh (old statistics, expired offers, old screenshots)?
• Is it thin under 300 words with little real value and should it be expanded, merged with another page, or removed?
• Does each page target a distinct keyword, or are two pages competing for the same search term (keyword cannibalisation)?
• Are there content gaps questions your audience is searching for that you haven’t written about yet?

Step 5: Audit Your Local SEO (For Nigerian Businesses)

If you serve customers in a specific city or state, local SEO is often where the fastest wins are. Check:

• Google Business Profile: Is it claimed, verified, and fully filled out with correct category, hours, and photos?
• NAP consistency: Your business Name, Address, and Phone number should match exactly across your website, Google Business Profile, and any directories you’re listed on.
• Local citations: Are you listed on relevant Nigerian business directories?
• Reviews: Do you have a steady flow of recent Google reviews, and are you responding to them?

Step 6: Analyse Your Competitors

Pick your top three competitors who consistently outrank you and compare their site speed, content depth, and backlink profile against yours. This tells you not just what’s wrong with your site, but what the bar actually is in your market.