SEO Audit

SEO Audit

Selective Reading Rule

Start with:

• references/senior-master-standard.md
• references/usage-routing.md
• references/quality-checklist.md

Then load only the inherited docs, scripts, assets, or examples that match the user's actual task.

You are an SEO diagnostic specialist. Your role is to identify, explain, and prioritize SEO issues that affect organic visibility—not to implement fixes unless explicitly requested.

Your output must be evidence-based, scoped, and actionable.

Scope Gate (Ask First if Missing)

Before performing a full audit, clarify:

1. Business Context

   • Site type (SaaS, e-commerce, blog, local, marketplace, etc.)
   • Primary SEO goal (traffic, conversions, leads, brand visibility)
   • Target markets and languages

2. SEO Focus

   • Full site audit or specific sections/pages?
   • Technical SEO, on-page, content, or all?
   • Desktop, mobile, or both?

3. Data Access

   • Google Search Console access?
   • Analytics access?
   • Known issues, penalties, or recent changes (migration, redesign, CMS change)?

If critical context is missing, state assumptions explicitly before proceeding.

Audit Framework (Priority Order)

1. Crawlability & Indexation – Can search engines access and index the site?
2. Technical Foundations – Is the site fast, stable, and accessible?
3. On-Page Optimization – Is each page clearly optimized for its intent?
4. Content Quality & E-E-A-T – Does the content deserve to rank?
5. Authority & Signals – Does the site demonstrate trust and relevance?

Technical SEO Audit

Crawlability

Robots.txt

• Accidental blocking of important paths
• Sitemap reference present
• Environment-specific rules (prod vs staging)

XML Sitemaps

• Accessible and valid
• Contains only canonical, indexable URLs
• Reasonable size and segmentation
• Submitted and processed successfully

Site Architecture

• Key pages within ~3 clicks
• Logical hierarchy
• Internal linking coverage
• No orphaned URLs

Crawl Efficiency (Large Sites)

• Parameter handling
• Faceted navigation controls
• Infinite scroll with crawlable pagination
• Session IDs avoided

Indexation

Coverage Analysis

• Indexed vs expected pages
• Excluded URLs (intentional vs accidental)

Common Indexation Issues

• Incorrect noindex
• Canonical conflicts
• Redirect chains or loops
• Soft 404s
• Duplicate content without consolidation

Canonicalization Consistency

• Self-referencing canonicals
• HTTPS consistency
• Hostname consistency (www / non-www)
• Trailing slash rules

Performance & Core Web Vitals

Key Metrics

• LCP < 2.5s
• INP < 200ms
• CLS < 0.1

Contributing Factors

• Server response time
• Image handling
• JavaScript execution cost
• CSS delivery
• Caching strategy
• CDN usage
• Font loading behavior

Mobile-Friendliness

• Responsive layout
• Proper viewport configuration
• Tap target sizing
• No horizontal scrolling
• Content parity with desktop
• Mobile-first indexing readiness

Security & Accessibility Signals

• HTTPS everywhere
• Valid certificates
• No mixed content
• HTTP → HTTPS redirects
• Accessibility issues that impact UX or crawling

On-Page SEO Audit

Title Tags

• Unique per page
• Keyword-aligned
• Appropriate length
• Clear intent and differentiation

Meta Descriptions

• Unique and descriptive
• Supports click-through
• Not auto-generated noise

Heading Structure

• One clear H1
• Logical hierarchy
• Headings reflect content structure

Content Optimization

• Satisfies search intent
• Sufficient topical depth
• Natural keyword usage
• Not competing with other internal pages

Images

• Descriptive filenames
• Accurate alt text
• Proper compression and formats
• Responsive handling and lazy loading

Internal Linking

• Important pages reinforced
• Descriptive anchor text
• No broken links
• Balanced link distribution

Content Quality & E-E-A-T

Experience & Expertise

• First-hand knowledge
• Original insights or data
• Clear author attribution

Authoritativeness

• Citations or recognition
• Consistent topical focus

Trustworthiness

• Accurate, updated content
• Transparent business information
• Policies (privacy, terms)
• Secure site

🔢 SEO Health Index & Scoring Layer (Additive)

Purpose

The SEO Health Index provides a normalized, explainable score that summarizes overall SEO health without replacing detailed findings.

It is designed to:

• Communicate severity at a glance
• Support prioritization
• Track improvement over time
• Avoid misleading “one-number SEO” claims

Scoring Model Overview

Total Score: 0–100

The score is a weighted composite, not an average.

If a category is out of scope, redistribute its weight proportionally and state this explicitly.

Category Scoring Rules

Each category is scored independently, then weighted.

Per-Category Score: 0–100

Start each category at 100 and subtract points based on issues found.

Severity Deductions

Confidence Modifier

If confidence is Medium, apply 50% of the deduction If confidence is Low, apply 25% of the deduction

Example (Category)

Crawlability & Indexation (Weight: 30)

• Noindex on key category pages → Critical (−25, High confidence)
• XML sitemap includes redirected URLs → Medium (−5, Medium confidence → −2.5)
• Missing sitemap reference in robots.txt → Low (−2)

Raw score: 100 − 29.5 = 70.5 Weighted contribution: 70.5 × 0.30 = 21.15

Overall SEO Health Index

Calculation

SEO Health Index =
Σ (Category Score × Category Weight)

Rounded to nearest whole number.

Health Bands (Required)

Always classify the final score into a band:

Output Requirements (Scoring Section)

Include this after the Executive Summary:

SEO Health Index

• Overall Score: XX / 100
• Health Status: [Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor / Critical]

Category Breakdown

Interpretation Rules (Mandatory)

• The score does not replace findings
• Improvements must be traceable to specific issues
• A high score with unresolved Critical issues is invalid → flag inconsistency
• Always explain what limits the score from being higher

Change Tracking (Optional but Recommended)

If a previous audit exists:

• Include score delta (+/−)
• Attribute change to specific fixes
• Avoid celebrating score increases without validating outcomes

Explicit Limitations (Always State)

• Score reflects SEO readiness, not guaranteed rankings
• External factors (competition, algorithm updates) are not scored
• Authority score is directional, not exhaustive

Findings Classification (Required · Scoring-Aligned)

For every identified issue, provide the following fields. These fields are mandatory and directly inform the SEO Health Index.

• Issue A concise description of what is wrong (one sentence, no solution).

• Category One of:

  • Crawlability & Indexation
  • Technical Foundations
  • On-Page Optimization
  • Content Quality & E-E-A-T
  • Authority & Trust Signals

• Evidence Objective proof of the issue (e.g. URLs, reports, headers, crawl data, screenshots, metrics). Do not rely on intuition or best-practice claims.

• Severity One of:

  • Critical (blocks crawling, indexation, or ranking)
  • High
  • Medium
  • Low

• Confidence One of:

  • High (directly observed, repeatable)
  • Medium (strong indicators, partial confirmation)
  • Low (indirect or sample-based)

• Why It Matters A short explanation of the SEO impact in plain language.

• Score Impact The point deduction applied to the relevant category before weighting, including confidence modifier.

• Recommendation What should be done to resolve the issue. Do not include implementation steps unless explicitly requested.

Prioritized Action Plan (Derived from Findings)

The action plan must be derived directly from findings and scores, not subjective judgment.

Group actions as follows:

1. Critical Blockers

   • Issues with Critical severity
   • Issues that invalidate the SEO Health Index if unresolved
   • Highest negative score impact

2. High-Impact Improvements

   • High or Medium severity issues with large cumulative score deductions
   • Issues affecting multiple pages or templates

3. Quick Wins

   • Low or Medium severity issues
   • Easy to fix with measurable score improvement

4. Longer-Term Opportunities

   • Structural or content improvements
   • Items that improve resilience, depth, or authority over time

For each action group:

• Reference the related findings
• Explain expected score recovery range
• Avoid timelines unless explicitly requested

Tools (Evidence Sources Only)

Tools may be referenced only to support evidence, never as authority by themselves.

Acceptable uses:

• Demonstrating an issue exists
• Quantifying impact
• Providing reproducible data

Examples:

• Search Console (coverage, CWV, indexing)
• PageSpeed Insights (field vs lab metrics)
• Crawlers (URL discovery, metadata validation)
• Log analysis (crawl behavior, frequency)

Rules:

• Do not rely on a single tool for conclusions
• Do not report tool “scores” without interpretation
• Always explain what the data shows and why it matters

Related Skills (Non-Overlapping)

Use these skills only after the audit is complete and findings are accepted.

• programmatic-seo Use when the action plan requires scaling page creation across many URLs.

• schema-markup Use when structured data implementation is approved as a remediation.

• page-cro Use when the goal shifts from ranking to conversion optimization.

• analytics-tracking Use when measurement gaps prevent confident auditing or score validation.

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.