SEO Audit

SEO Audit

Purpose

Conduct a comprehensive SEO audit of a web property (typically talosix.com or a competitor site) across technical, content, on-page, competitive, and generative AI dimensions. Produce a prioritized action plan with effort/impact scoring relevant to the clinical trial EDC market.

Workflow

Step 1: Site Discovery and Baseline

Parse the input URL or domain. Establish the scope:

• Primary domain and subdomains to audit
• Current indexed page count estimate
• Site technology stack (use WebFetch on the homepage and check response headers, meta tags, script references)

Initial reconnaissance:

• WebFetch the homepage and 3-5 key pages (product, about, blog, pricing, contact)
• WebSearch: site:[domain] to estimate indexed pages
• WebSearch: "[domain]" OR "[brand name]" to assess brand search presence
• WebSearch: [domain] site:ahrefs.com OR site:semrush.com OR site:moz.com for any publicly available SEO data

Step 2: Technical SEO Audit

Analyze the site's technical foundation:

2A: Crawlability and Indexation

Use WebFetch to check:

• [domain]/robots.txt -- Review directives, blocked paths, sitemap references
• [domain]/sitemap.xml -- Verify existence, structure, freshness, page count
• HTTP status codes on key pages (200, 301, 404, 500)
• Canonical tag implementation (check 5-10 pages)
• Meta robots directives (index/noindex, follow/nofollow)

Findings format:

2B: Site Architecture

Analyze from crawled pages:

• URL structure (clean, hierarchical, keyword-informed)
• Internal linking patterns
• Navigation depth (clicks from homepage to deepest content)
• Breadcrumb implementation
• Pagination handling (rel=next/prev, or alternative)
• Faceted navigation issues (if applicable)

2C: Page Speed and Core Web Vitals

Use WebSearch to find:

• site:pagespeed.web.dev "[domain]" or publicly reported scores
• Any Lighthouse or PageSpeed data available

Assess from page source:

• Large unoptimized images
• Render-blocking JavaScript/CSS
• Third-party script bloat
• Lazy loading implementation
• CDN usage indicators

2D: Mobile and Accessibility

From WebFetch responses, check:

• Viewport meta tag
• Responsive design indicators
• Touch target sizing (from source inspection)
• Font size readability
• Mobile-specific navigation

2E: Security and Trust

• HTTPS implementation (redirect from HTTP)
• HSTS header presence
• Content Security Policy
• Trust signals visible on site (certifications, compliance badges)

Step 3: Content SEO Audit

Analyze the site's content strategy and execution:

3A: Clinical Trial Keyword Universe

Evaluate coverage of the core keyword universe for clinical trial EDC:

Tier 1 Keywords (highest intent):

Tier 2 Keywords (informational/awareness):

Tier 3 Keywords (long-tail/niche):

Use WebSearch to check:

• Which keywords the site currently appears for (search each and look for the domain)
• What content exists targeting each keyword cluster
• Gaps where no content exists

3B: Content Quality and E-E-A-T

Evaluate content against Google's E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness):

Experience:

• Does content reflect real-world clinical trial experience?
• Are case studies and examples from actual implementations?
• Author bios with relevant clinical/regulatory background?

Expertise:

• Technical depth appropriate for the audience (clinical ops, data managers)
• Accurate use of regulatory terminology (ICH, GCP, 21 CFR Part 11)
• Detailed enough to be genuinely useful vs. surface-level marketing

Authoritativeness:

• Author credentials and industry recognition
• External citations and backlinks from authoritative sources
• Mentions in industry publications (Applied Clinical Trials, SCDM, DIA)

Trustworthiness:

• Contact information visible
• Privacy policy, terms of service
• Customer testimonials with real names/companies
• Security and compliance certifications displayed

3C: Content Gap Analysis

Identify content that should exist but does not:

• vs. competitor pages: "[competitor] vs Talosix" or alternative comparison pages
• use case pages: By therapeutic area, trial phase, organization type
• resource hub: Guides, templates, calculators, glossaries
• regulatory content: Compliance guides for different regulatory frameworks
• integration content: Pages for each integration partner or system type
• industry trend content: Decentralized trials, AI in clinical data, risk-based monitoring

Step 4: On-Page SEO Audit

For each key page examined via WebFetch, evaluate:

4A: Meta Tags

Title tag rules: 50-60 characters, primary keyword near front, brand at end. Meta description rules: 150-160 characters, includes CTA, unique per page.

4B: Heading Structure

For each key page:

• H1 tag (should be exactly one, contain primary keyword)
• H2-H6 hierarchy (logical nesting, keyword variation)
• Heading content quality (descriptive vs. generic)

4C: Schema / Structured Data

Check for implementation of:

• Organization schema
• Product schema (for EDC product pages)
• Article schema (for blog posts)
• FAQ schema (for FAQ pages or sections)
• BreadcrumbList schema
• Review/Rating schema (if applicable)
• HowTo schema (for process-oriented content)

Use WebFetch to examine page source for JSON-LD, microdata, or RDFa.

4D: Internal Linking

• Do key pages receive sufficient internal links?
• Is anchor text descriptive and keyword-relevant?
• Are there orphaned pages (no internal links pointing to them)?
• Is the blog linking to product/conversion pages?

4E: Image Optimization

• Alt text presence and quality
• File naming conventions
• Format optimization (WebP, AVIF)
• Responsive image implementation

Step 5: Competitive SEO Analysis

Compare the target site against 3-5 competitors:

5A: Keyword Overlap and Gaps

For each major keyword cluster, determine which competitors rank and where gaps exist:

Use WebSearch for each Tier 1 keyword and record which competitors appear in results.

5B: Content Strategy Comparison

5C: Backlink Profile Indicators

Use WebSearch to find:

• Sites linking to competitors but not to the target
• Industry directories and listings presence
• Analyst report mentions
• Conference/event page links
• Educational institution links

Step 6: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Evaluate readiness for AI-generated search results (Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, Perplexity, ChatGPT search):

6A: AI Overview Presence

Test with WebSearch:

• Search key queries and note if the site appears in AI-generated summaries
• what is the best EDC for clinical trials
• electronic data capture comparison
• clinical trial software for biotech
• 21 CFR Part 11 compliant EDC systems
• EDC system selection criteria

6B: GEO Optimization Factors

Evaluate content against factors that influence AI citation:

6C: AI Discoverability Strategy

Recommendations for increasing presence in AI-generated results:

• Create "definitive guide" content for key topics
• Structure content with clear Q&A sections
• Include data tables and structured comparisons
• Publish original research and benchmarks
• Build topical authority through comprehensive content clusters
• Ensure factual accuracy and cite authoritative sources

Step 7: Prioritized Action Plan

Score every finding on two dimensions:

Impact: How much will fixing this improve SEO performance?

• 5 = Transformative (can significantly improve rankings/traffic)
• 4 = High (meaningful improvement expected)
• 3 = Medium (moderate improvement)
• 2 = Low (incremental improvement)
• 1 = Minimal (nice-to-have, best practice)

Effort: How much work is required to implement?

• 1 = Quick win (< 1 day, no dev resources)
• 2 = Easy (1-3 days, minimal dev)
• 3 = Medium (1-2 weeks, some dev)
• 4 = Significant (2-4 weeks, dev + content)
• 5 = Major project (1+ months, cross-functional)

Step 8: Output Format

# SEO Audit Report: [Domain]

**Date**: [Date]
**Auditor**: Talosix SEO Audit Skill
**Pages Analyzed**: [count]
**Overall SEO Health Score**: [X/100]

## Executive Summary
[5-7 sentences summarizing the most important findings and top 3 priorities]

## Health Scorecard

| Category | Score | Grade | Key Issue |
|----------|-------|-------|-----------|
| Technical SEO | /25 | [A-F] | |
| Content SEO | /25 | [A-F] | |
| On-Page SEO | /25 | [A-F] | |
| Competitive Position | /15 | [A-F] | |
| GEO Readiness | /10 | [A-F] | |
| **Total** | **/100** | | |

## Technical SEO Findings
[Detailed findings organized by subcategory]

## Content SEO Findings
[Keyword coverage, E-E-A-T assessment, content gaps]

## On-Page SEO Findings
[Meta tags, headings, schema, internal linking]

## Competitive Analysis
[Positioning vs. competitors with keyword overlap]

## GEO Assessment
[AI overview presence, optimization recommendations]

## Prioritized Action Plan

### Quick Wins (High Impact, Low Effort)
| # | Action | Impact | Effort | Details |
|---|--------|--------|--------|---------|
| 1 | | 5 | 1 | |

### Strategic Priorities (High Impact, Medium-High Effort)
| # | Action | Impact | Effort | Details |
|---|--------|--------|--------|---------|
| 1 | | 5 | 3 | |

### Foundation Work (Medium Impact, Builds Over Time)
| # | Action | Impact | Effort | Details |
|---|--------|--------|--------|---------|
| 1 | | 3 | 3 | |

### Backlog (Lower Priority)
| # | Action | Impact | Effort | Details |
|---|--------|--------|--------|---------|
| 1 | | 2 | 2 | |

## 90-Day SEO Roadmap
### Month 1: Foundation
[Priority actions for immediate implementation]

### Month 2: Content
[Content creation and optimization priorities]

### Month 3: Authority
[Link building, PR, and authority development]

## Sources and Methodology
[How the audit was conducted, tools used, limitations]

Audit Standards

• Base recommendations on observable evidence, not assumptions.
• Distinguish between critical issues (blocking SEO performance), important issues (limiting performance), and nice-to-haves.
• Tailor recommendations to the clinical trial EDC market context -- generic SEO advice is less valuable than industry-specific guidance.
• Be honest about limitations: this audit uses publicly available data and does not have access to Google Search Console, analytics, or server logs.
• Check the local workspace for any prior SEO work or content strategy documents before starting.