Who it is for
An audit is the right starting point for most businesses, and it is often all a business needs. It suits owners who suspect the site could do more, firms about to redesign, businesses that have lost traffic, and companies taking over a site from another agency or developer. We also audit for in-house marketing teams who want an independent view.
What we check
| Area | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Technical | Crawling, indexing, redirects, canonical tags, speed, mobile usability, structured data, security |
| Content | Thin, duplicate or overlapping pages, gaps compared with competitors, search intent match |
| On-page | Titles, meta descriptions, headings, internal links, image alt text |
| Local search | Google Business Profile, citations, reviews, location pages |
| Links | Strength and relevance of linking sites, risky links, gaps against competitors |
| Analytics | Tracking accuracy, conversion set-up, Search Console data |
How the audit works, step by step
1Kick-off. A short call to understand your goals, customers, the areas you serve and what has changed recently.
2Access. Read-only access to Google Search Console and Analytics, and your Business Profile if relevant.
3Data gathering. A full crawl, Search Console and analytics review, rank checks and competitor comparison.
4Manual review. We read key pages ourselves, as a customer would, rather than relying only on tools.
5Prioritisation. Each finding is rated for likely impact and effort.
6Report. A short summary for decision makers and a detailed action list for whoever does the work.
7Walk-through. A call to go through the findings and answer questions.
What you get
The output is designed to be used, not filed. You get a one-page summary of the main issues and opportunities, a prioritised action list with clear instructions, and supporting detail for your developer. We avoid long reports padded with tool screenshots.
How long it takes
A typical small-business audit takes one to two weeks from access to walk-through. Larger sites, particularly shops, take two to four weeks.
What drives the cost
- Size and complexity of the site
- Whether local search is included
- Depth of competitor analysis
- Whether you want implementation support afterwards
We quote a fixed price before starting. There is no obligation to continue with us afterwards; many clients take the action list to their own developer.
When to get an audit
- Before a redesign, to protect existing rankings and fix problems in the new build
- After a traffic drop, to diagnose the cause
- When changing agencies, to see what has really been done
- Once a year, as a health check
Common mistakes with audits
- Relying on an automated tool score, which flags hundreds of minor issues without context
- Fixing low-impact issues first because they are easy
- Commissioning an audit and never acting on it
- Auditing without access to Search Console, which hides the most important data
How we measure it
An audit's value shows in what happens after it. We set baselines for indexing, rankings, organic traffic and enquiries, so you can measure the effect of each fix as it goes live.
Sample findings from typical audits
Every site is different, but these are the kinds of findings that come up regularly on Northamptonshire business websites:
- A redesign left the old site live on a subdomain, so Google sees two copies
- The most valuable service page has no internal links from the homepage
- Three blog posts target the same search and compete with each other
- The Business Profile links to a page that no longer exists
- Contact form submissions are not tracked as conversions, so nobody knows what works
- Image files of several megabytes slow every page on mobile
Each of these is quick to fix once found. The value of the audit is finding them, and putting them in the right order.
Who does the work afterwards
You can take the action list to your own developer or marketing team, ask us to do some of it, or ask us to do all of it. We are happy with any of these. If your team implements the fixes, we can check them afterwards so you know they were done correctly.
Audit versus ongoing SEO
An audit is a snapshot. Ongoing SEO is the monthly work of fixing, writing, building links and reporting. Some businesses need only the snapshot and a few days of follow-up; others benefit from regular work over a longer period. The audit helps you decide which applies to you.
If you are unsure whether you need an audit, send us your website address and we will tell you honestly whether one is worth doing.
Related services and reading
After an audit, most work falls under technical SEO, local SEO or SEO content writing. If you are comparing providers, read choosing an SEO agency in Northampton. We audit sites across the county, from Northampton to Corby.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an SEO audit cost?
It depends on the size of the site and what is included. We quote a fixed price after a short call.
Do I have to sign up for ongoing work?
No. Many clients take the action list to their own developer or team.
What access do you need?
Read-only access to Search Console and Analytics, and your Business Profile if local search is included.
How long does it take?
One to two weeks for most small-business sites; longer for large shops.
Will the report be full of jargon?
No. The summary is written for business owners; the detail is written for developers.