SEO Audit

Identify SEO issues and provide actionable recommendations to improve organic search performance.

Initial Assessment

Product context: If .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), read it first and tailor output to it; only ask for what it doesn't cover.

Before auditing, understand:

1. Site Context — site type (SaaS, e-commerce, blog, etc.); primary business goal for SEO; priority keywords/topics
2. Current State — known issues or concerns; current organic traffic level; recent changes or migrations
3. Scope — full site or specific pages; technical + on-page or one focus area; access to Search Console / analytics

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Audit Framework

Schema Markup Detection Limitation

web_fetch and curl cannot reliably detect structured data / schema markup. Many CMS plugins (AIOSEO, Yoast, RankMath) inject JSON-LD via client-side JavaScript — it won't appear in static HTML or web_fetch output (which strips <script> tags during conversion). Reporting "no schema found" based solely on web_fetch or curl produces false audit findings.

To accurately check schema markup, use one of:

1. Browser tool — render the page and run: document.querySelectorAll('script[type="application/ld+json"]')
2. Google Rich Results Test — https://search.google.com/test/rich-results
3. Screaming Frog export — if the client provides one, use it (SF renders JavaScript)

Priority Order

1. Crawlability & Indexation (can Google find and index it?)
2. Technical Foundations (is the site fast and functional?)
3. On-Page Optimization (is content optimized?)
4. Content Quality (does it deserve to rank?)
5. Authority & Links (does it have credibility?)

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Technical SEO Audit

Crawlability

Robots.txt — no unintentional blocks; important pages allowed; sitemap reference present.

XML Sitemap — exists and accessible; submitted to Search Console; contains only canonical, indexable URLs; updated regularly; proper formatting.

Site Architecture — important pages within 3 clicks of homepage; logical hierarchy; internal linking structure; no orphan pages.

Crawl Budget Issues (large sites) — parameterized URLs under control; faceted navigation handled properly; infinite scroll with pagination fallback; no session IDs in URLs.

Indexation

Index Status — site:domain.com check; Search Console coverage report; compare indexed vs. expected.

Indexation Issues — noindex tags on important pages; canonicals pointing wrong direction; redirect chains/loops; soft 404s; duplicate content without canonicals.

Canonicalization — all pages have canonical tags; self-referencing canonicals on unique pages; HTTP → HTTPS canonicals; www vs. non-www consistency; trailing slash consistency.

Site Speed & Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals — LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) < 2.5s; INP (Interaction to Next Paint) < 200ms; CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) < 0.1.

Speed Factors — server response time (TTFB), image optimization, JavaScript execution, CSS delivery, caching headers, CDN usage, font loading.

Tools — PageSpeed Insights, WebPageTest, Chrome DevTools, Search Console Core Web Vitals report.

Mobile-Friendliness

Responsive design (not separate m. site); tap target sizes; viewport configured; no horizontal scroll; same content as desktop; mobile-first indexing readiness.

Security & HTTPS

HTTPS across entire site; valid SSL certificate; no mixed content; HTTP → HTTPS redirects; HSTS header (bonus).

URL Structure

Readable, descriptive URLs; keywords where natural; consistent structure; no unnecessary parameters; lowercase and hyphen-separated.

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On-Page SEO Audit

Title Tags

Check for: unique titles per page; primary keyword near beginning; 50-60 characters (visible in SERP); compelling and click-worthy; brand name placement (end, usually).

Common issues: duplicate titles; too long (truncated); too short (wasted opportunity); keyword stuffing; missing entirely.

Meta Descriptions

Check for: unique descriptions per page; 150-160 characters; includes primary keyword; clear value proposition; call to action.

Common issues: duplicate descriptions; auto-generated garbage; too long/short; no compelling reason to click.

Heading Structure

Check for: one H1 per page; H1 contains primary keyword; logical hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3); headings describe content, not just styling.

Common issues: multiple H1s; skipped levels (H1 → H3); headings used for styling only; no H1.

Content Optimization

Primary Page Content — keyword in first 100 words; related keywords naturally used; sufficient depth/length for topic; answers search intent; better than competitors.

Thin Content Issues — pages with little unique content; tag/category pages with no value; doorway pages; duplicate or near-duplicate content.

Image Optimization

Descriptive file names; alt text on all images that describes the image; compressed file sizes; modern formats (WebP); lazy loading; responsive images.

Internal Linking

Check for: important pages well-linked; descriptive anchor text; logical link relationships; no broken internal links; reasonable link count per page.

Common issues: orphan pages (no internal links); over-optimized anchor text; important pages buried; excessive footer/sidebar links.

Keyword Targeting

Per Page — clear primary keyword target; title, H1, URL aligned; content satisfies search intent; not competing with other pages (cannibalization).

Site-Wide — keyword mapping document; no major gaps in coverage; no keyword cannibalization; logical topical clusters.

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Content Quality Assessment

E-E-A-T Signals

Experience — first-hand experience demonstrated; original insights/data; real examples and case studies.

Expertise — author credentials visible; accurate, detailed information; properly sourced claims.

Authoritativeness — recognized in the space; cited by others; industry credentials.

Trustworthiness — accurate information; transparent about business; contact information available; privacy policy, terms; secure site (HTTPS).

Content Depth

Comprehensive coverage; answers follow-up questions; better than top-ranking competitors; updated and current.

User Engagement Signals

Time on page; bounce rate in context; pages per session; return visits.

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Common Issues by Site Type

SaaS/Product Sites

Product pages lack content depth; blog not integrated with product pages; missing comparison/alternative pages; thin feature pages; no glossary/educational content.

E-commerce

Thin category pages; duplicate product descriptions; missing product schema; faceted navigation creating duplicates; mishandled out-of-stock pages.

Content/Blog Sites

Outdated content not refreshed; keyword cannibalization; no topical clustering; poor internal linking; missing author pages.

Local Business

Inconsistent NAP; missing local schema; no Google Business Profile optimization; missing location pages; no local content.

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Output Format

Audit Report Structure

Executive Summary — overall health assessment; top 3-5 priority issues; quick wins identified.

Technical SEO Findings — for each issue: Issue (what's wrong), Impact (SEO impact, High/Medium/Low), Evidence (how you found it), Fix (specific recommendation), Priority (1-5 or High/Medium/Low).

On-Page SEO Findings and Content Findings — same format.

Prioritized Action Plan

1. Critical fixes (blocking indexation/ranking)
2. High-impact improvements
3. Quick wins (easy, immediate benefit)
4. Long-term recommendations

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References

• AI Writing Detection: Common AI writing patterns to avoid (em dashes, overused phrases, filler words)
• For AI search optimization (AEO, GEO, LLMO, AI Overviews), see the ai-seo skill

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Tools Referenced

Free — Google Search Console (essential); Google PageSpeed Insights; Bing Webmaster Tools; Rich Results Test (use this for schema validation — it renders JavaScript); Mobile-Friendly Test; Schema Validator.

Paid (if available) — Screaming Frog; Ahrefs / Semrush; Sitebulb; ContentKing.

Schema detection: web_fetch/curl can't see JS-injected schema — use the browser tool, Rich Results Test, or Screaming Frog (they render JavaScript). See Schema Markup Detection Limitation above.

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Task-Specific Questions

1. What pages/keywords matter most?
2. Do you have Search Console access?
3. Any recent changes or migrations?
4. Who are your top organic competitors?
5. What's your current organic traffic baseline?

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Related Skills

• ai-seo: For optimizing content for AI search engines (AEO, GEO, LLMO)
• programmatic-seo: For building SEO pages at scale
• site-architecture: For page hierarchy, navigation design, and URL structure
• schema-markup: For implementing structured data
• page-cro: For optimizing pages for conversion (not just ranking)
• analytics-tracking: For measuring SEO performance