SEO Audit
Framework
IRON LAW: Technical Foundation Before Content Optimization
A site with brilliant content but broken crawlability, slow speed, or
no mobile support will not rank. Fix technical issues FIRST, then optimize
content. A technically sound site with mediocre content outranks a
technically broken site with great content.
Priority: Crawlability → Speed → Mobile → On-Page → Content → Links
Audit Checklist
1. Crawlability & Indexing
| Check |
Tool |
Red Flag |
| robots.txt blocking important pages |
robots.txt tester |
Disallow on key pages |
| Sitemap.xml exists and is valid |
XML sitemap validator |
Missing or has errors |
| Index coverage |
Google Search Console |
Excluded pages growing |
| Canonical tags correct |
Manual check |
Missing or pointing to wrong URL |
| 404 errors |
Screaming Frog / GSC |
> 5% of URLs return 404 |
| Redirect chains |
Screaming Frog |
Chain > 2 hops |
2. Site Speed (Core Web Vitals)
| Metric |
Target |
Tool |
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) |
< 2.5s |
PageSpeed Insights |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) |
< 200ms |
PageSpeed Insights |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) |
< 0.1 |
PageSpeed Insights |
3. Mobile-Friendliness
- Responsive design (passes Google mobile-friendly test)
- Touch targets > 48px
- No horizontal scrolling
- Text readable without zooming
4. On-Page SEO (per page)
| Element |
Best Practice |
| Title tag |
Primary keyword + brand, < 60 chars |
| Meta description |
Compelling, includes keyword, < 155 chars |
| H1 |
One per page, includes primary keyword |
| URL structure |
Short, descriptive, includes keyword |
| Image alt text |
Descriptive, includes keyword naturally |
| Internal linking |
Link to related pages with descriptive anchor text |
5. Content Quality
- Keyword targeting: each important page targets a primary keyword
- Content depth: covers the topic comprehensively (not thin content)
- E-E-A-T signals: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness
- Freshness: key content updated within last 12 months
6. Backlink Profile
- Total referring domains (Ahrefs, Moz)
- Domain authority / domain rating
- Toxic links (spammy, irrelevant)
- Anchor text distribution (natural vs over-optimized)
Output Format
# SEO Audit: {Website}
## Summary
| Category | Score | Priority Issues |
|----------|-------|----------------|
| Crawlability | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |
| Speed | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |
| Mobile | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |
| On-Page | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |
| Content | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |
| Backlinks | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |
## Critical Issues (fix immediately)
1. {issue + impact + fix}
## High Priority (fix within 30 days)
1. {issue + fix}
## Opportunities
1. {keyword/content opportunity}
## Action Plan
| Priority | Action | Impact | Effort | Timeline |
|----------|--------|--------|--------|----------|
| 1 | {action} | H/M/L | H/M/L | {weeks} |
Gotchas
- SEO results take 3-6 months: Don't expect ranking changes within weeks. Measure over quarters, not days.
- Google Search Console is the source of truth: Third-party tools estimate. GSC shows actual Google data (clicks, impressions, index status).
- Core Web Vitals are ranking factors: Since 2021, Google uses page experience (speed, interactivity, visual stability) as ranking signals. Not optional.
- AI-generated content: Google doesn't penalize AI content per se, but penalizes low-quality, unhelpful content regardless of how it was produced. E-E-A-T matters.
- Local SEO for Taiwan: For local businesses, Google 我的商家 (Google Business Profile) is critical. Optimize GBP before worrying about organic rankings.
References
- For keyword research methodology, see
references/keyword-research.md
- For content optimization guidelines, see
references/content-seo.md
1---2name: mkt-seo-audit3description: "Conduct technical and on-page SEO audits covering crawlability, site speed, mobile-friendliness, and content optimization. Use this skill when the user needs to improve search rankings, diagnose traffic drops, audit a website for SEO issues, or plan an SEO strategy — even if they say 'why is our traffic dropping', 'audit our SEO', 'how do we rank higher on Google', or 'our site is slow'.".4---56# SEO Audit78## Framework910```11IRON LAW: Technical Foundation Before Content Optimization1213A site with brilliant content but broken crawlability, slow speed, or14no mobile support will not rank. Fix technical issues FIRST, then optimize15content. A technically sound site with mediocre content outranks a16technically broken site with great content.1718Priority: Crawlability → Speed → Mobile → On-Page → Content → Links19```2021### Audit Checklist2223**1. Crawlability & Indexing**24| Check | Tool | Red Flag |25|-------|------|----------|26| robots.txt blocking important pages | robots.txt tester | Disallow on key pages |27| Sitemap.xml exists and is valid | XML sitemap validator | Missing or has errors |28| Index coverage | Google Search Console | Excluded pages growing |29| Canonical tags correct | Manual check | Missing or pointing to wrong URL |30| 404 errors | Screaming Frog / GSC | > 5% of URLs return 404 |31| Redirect chains | Screaming Frog | Chain > 2 hops |3233**2. Site Speed (Core Web Vitals)**34| Metric | Target | Tool |35|--------|--------|------|36| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | < 2.5s | PageSpeed Insights |37| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | < 200ms | PageSpeed Insights |38| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | < 0.1 | PageSpeed Insights |3940**3. Mobile-Friendliness**41- Responsive design (passes Google mobile-friendly test)42- Touch targets > 48px43- No horizontal scrolling44- Text readable without zooming4546**4. On-Page SEO (per page)**47| Element | Best Practice |48|---------|-------------|49| Title tag | Primary keyword + brand, < 60 chars |50| Meta description | Compelling, includes keyword, < 155 chars |51| H1 | One per page, includes primary keyword |52| URL structure | Short, descriptive, includes keyword |53| Image alt text | Descriptive, includes keyword naturally |54| Internal linking | Link to related pages with descriptive anchor text |5556**5. Content Quality**57- Keyword targeting: each important page targets a primary keyword58- Content depth: covers the topic comprehensively (not thin content)59- E-E-A-T signals: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness60- Freshness: key content updated within last 12 months6162**6. Backlink Profile**63- Total referring domains (Ahrefs, Moz)64- Domain authority / domain rating65- Toxic links (spammy, irrelevant)66- Anchor text distribution (natural vs over-optimized)6768## Output Format6970```markdown71# SEO Audit: {Website}7273## Summary74| Category | Score | Priority Issues |75|----------|-------|----------------|76| Crawlability | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |77| Speed | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |78| Mobile | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |79| On-Page | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |80| Content | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |81| Backlinks | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {top issue} |8283## Critical Issues (fix immediately)841. {issue + impact + fix}8586## High Priority (fix within 30 days)871. {issue + fix}8889## Opportunities901. {keyword/content opportunity}9192## Action Plan93| Priority | Action | Impact | Effort | Timeline |94|----------|--------|--------|--------|----------|95| 1 | {action} | H/M/L | H/M/L | {weeks} |96```9798## Gotchas99100- **SEO results take 3-6 months**: Don't expect ranking changes within weeks. Measure over quarters, not days.101- **Google Search Console is the source of truth**: Third-party tools estimate. GSC shows actual Google data (clicks, impressions, index status).102- **Core Web Vitals are ranking factors**: Since 2021, Google uses page experience (speed, interactivity, visual stability) as ranking signals. Not optional.103- **AI-generated content**: Google doesn't penalize AI content per se, but penalizes low-quality, unhelpful content regardless of how it was produced. E-E-A-T matters.104- **Local SEO for Taiwan**: For local businesses, Google 我的商家 (Google Business Profile) is critical. Optimize GBP before worrying about organic rankings.105106## References107108- For keyword research methodology, see `references/keyword-research.md`109- For content optimization guidelines, see `references/content-seo.md`
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