DIY SEO audit: a 60-minute checklist with free tools

Start with your homepage and the service or product pages that matter most. Search for your business name and try a site:example.com search as a quick orientation. Look for outdated titles, unexpected test pages and important pages that do not appear.

A site: search is not a complete inventory. Google explains that the results are not exhaustive. A missing result does not prove that a page is excluded. Use Search Console's URL Inspection for the individual URL and its Page indexing report to investigate the wider pattern. Record the stated reason before changing robots.txt, noindex or canonical settings.

Open the Performance report and choose the last three months. Check which queries and pages receive impressions and clicks. Are your main services represented, or are visitors finding only incidental subjects?

1. Record clicks, impressions and the exact date range.
2. Look for relevant pages around positions 5–15 that already receive impressions.
3. Compare their search queries with what the page actually answers.
4. Read the Page indexing report and inspect important excluded URLs individually.

Some exclusions are intentional: account pages and duplicate filters do not all belong in search. Prioritise missing commercial pages rather than trying to make every URL indexable. The Search Console and GA4 guide explains how search visibility differs from on-site behaviour.

Run PageSpeed Insights for your homepage and one important service page. Read the mobile result, but distinguish the simulated lab test from real-user field data. A new or small website may not have enough field data; that is not a zero score or proof of a failure.

• Can visitors see the main content promptly?
• Do images or banners move the page while it loads?
• Do buttons and forms respond without a long delay?
• On your own phone, can you read, navigate and contact the business without zooming?

Save the result and test conditions. Investigate the actual bottleneck, such as an oversized image or a slow server response, instead of treating every automated suggestion as equally urgent. For a WordPress site, use the five-cause troubleshooting checklist.

Review the homepage and your four most important service or product pages. Each should have a clear purpose, a descriptive title and a main heading that helps a new visitor understand the offer.

• Check that titles describe their own page instead of repeating the same phrase everywhere.
• Answer the questions people ask before contacting you: scope, location, process, limitations and relevant price information.
• Compare the search results for your main query. If people expect a checklist, price explanation or comparison, a vague sales page may not meet that need.
• Make the next step easy to find and test it yourself.

Do not add a town or keyword to every sentence. The test is whether someone unfamiliar with the business can understand the page and make an informed next move.

For a local business, compare the website with its Google Business Profile. Check the business name, address, telephone number, main category, opening hours and holiday exceptions. Add useful, genuine photos and respond to customer feedback without revealing private information.

Review your site's contact details, business identity and references. If you try an AI assistant to see whether it mentions your business, record the question, date and answer. A single answer is a sample, not a reliable visibility score or proof of what every customer sees.

Separate urgent access problems from content opportunities, speed issues and local inconsistencies. Fix one group at a time and measure again.

For each finding, write down the affected URL, the evidence, the person responsible and how you will verify the change. Fix a blocked service page before polishing a description on a page that already works. Keep your baseline so you can compare equivalent periods later.

Marketing Scan can help you collect public website findings and prioritise actions. Start with a marketing scan and website audit, then connect Search Console if you want your actual search queries, clicks and impressions. A public scan cannot prove your sales results. Use the weekly monitoring checklist to follow up instead of treating the first report as the finish line.