free seo audit melbourne
Practical, step-by-step checks you can run today — no cost, no jargon.
Learn how to audit your website for technical issues, on-page SEO, content gaps, and links using free tools. Includes a prioritized checklist and quick fixes you can do yourself or hand off to a developer.
Cost to run audit
Minutes for a basic check
High-impact quick fixes
Hours to implement critical fixes
Free SEO Audit: Quick 10‑point checklist
Run these five-minute checks first — they reveal the biggest problems and fastest wins.
Indexing & visibility
- Search your site on Google: site:yourdomain.com — are your important pages listed?
- Check robots.txt: yourdomain.com/robots.txt — is anything blocked accidentally?
- Confirm canonical tags on pages to avoid duplicate content.
Mobile friendliness
- Open a key page on your phone — is text readable and buttons tappable?
- Run Google Mobile‑Friendly Test for instant feedback.
Speed snapshot
- Run PageSpeed Insights for a page; note Core Web Vitals and opportunities.
- If Time to First Byte (TTFB) > 600ms, hosting or caching needs review.
Broken links
- Click key navigation and footer links — any 404s?
- Use a free crawler (Screaming Frog free for 500 URLs) to find 4xx and 5xx pages.
Meta tags check
- Open pages and inspect title tags and meta descriptions — are they unique and descriptive?
- Titles: 50–60 characters; descriptions: 120–160 characters (aim for clarity and call to action).
Content health
- Does each page have a clear purpose and one primary keyword target?
- Look for thin pages (<300 words) and prioritize rewriting or merging them.
Free tools to run your audit
These free tools cover discovery, technical, speed, content, and backlinks.
Google Search Console
Indexing, coverage issues, top queries, and mobile usability reports.
Google Analytics (GA4)
Understand traffic sources, top landing pages and conversion paths.
PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse
Core Web Vitals, opportunities and diagnostics for speed improvements.
Mobile‑Friendly Test
Quick check to ensure pages render and scale properly on phones.
Screaming Frog (free)
Crawl up to 500 URLs to find broken links, duplicate titles and redirects.
Backlink checkers
Use Ahrefs’ free backlink checker, Moz Link Explorer free queries, or Ubersuggest to inspect referring domains.
Technical SEO Audit — Step-by-step
Technical SEO issues block search engines and users. Work through these checks in order.
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1. Ensure pages are indexable
Open the page and check for a noindex meta tag: meta name="robots" content="noindex". In GSC, check Coverage > Excluded to see pages intentionally or accidentally blocked.
Fix: remove noindex on public pages; add canonical tags where duplicates exist. -
2. Review robots.txt
Visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Look for Disallow rules that might block essential folders (e.g., /wp-admin/ is normal; / should not be disallowed).
Fix: edit robots.txt or remove blocking plugin settings in CMS. -
3. Check canonicalization and HTTP status
Use Screaming Frog or curl to verify canonical tags and that important pages return 200, not 302/404/500. Also ensure the canonical points to the preferred (https://) URL.
Fix: set 301 redirects for removed pages and correct canonical tags to avoid split signals. -
4. Confirm secure HTTPS and certificate health
Visit the site in a browser and check for the padlock. Use SSL Labs or browser devtools to verify certificate chain and expiry.
Fix: renew certificate or update server config (often managed by host). -
5. Sitemap.xml presence and submission
Ensure yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml exists and is listed in robots.txt. Submit it in Google Search Console under Sitemaps.
Fix: generate sitemap via CMS plugin or tool and submit to GSC and Bing Webmaster Tools. -
6. Structured data and schema
Check for schema.org markup (Organization, BreadcrumbList, Product, FAQ). Use Google’s Rich Results Test to validate.
Fix: add simple schema for business name, logo, contact info, and breadcrumbs to improve SERP appearance.
On‑page & Content Audit
Focus here on intent, relevance, and clarity. Content drives organic traffic — make sure it’s aligned with what people search for.
Title tags & meta descriptions
- Each page should have a unique title that matches the page’s primary keyword (50–60 characters).
- Meta description should describe the page and include a call-to-action (120–160 characters).
Heading structure (H1 → H2 → H3)
Ensure each page has a single H1 matching the title and organized subheadings (H2/H3) to improve scannability and keyword relevance.
Content depth & keyword intent
Map pages to search intent (informational, commercial, transactional). For commercial pages, include clear service descriptions, pricing or range, and a lead form or phone number.
Internal linking
Link from higher-authority pages to priority pages to pass link equity. Use descriptive anchor text rather than "click here".
Image SEO
Compress images (WebP where possible), add descriptive filenames and alt text that describe the image and include the page’s keyword naturally.
Page Speed & Core Web Vitals
Optimise for speed — Google uses Core Web Vitals in ranking. Target these metrics:
Practical fixes
- Enable browser caching and set long cache lifetimes for static assets.
- Use a CDN to serve assets closer to users.
- Defer non-critical JavaScript and remove render-blocking scripts.
- Compress and serve images in modern formats (WebP/AVIF).
- Preload fonts and critical images to improve LCP.
Backlinks & Off‑page Audit
Backlinks remain a top ranking factor. Use free backlink checkers to get an overview.
1. Get a backlink snapshot
Use Ahrefs’ free backlink checker or Moz Link Explorer to list top referring domains. Identify low-quality or spammy domains linking in.
2. Disavow harmful links only as a last resort
Try outreach first to remove bad links. Use Google’s Disavow tool only after careful review and where removal isn't possible.
3. Build quality local and niche links
Earn links via resource pages, trade associations, supplier pages, and relevant local directories. Aim for relevance and editorial value, not quantity.
Prioritise fixes — a simple matrix
Not all fixes are equal. Use this rule of thumb to triage work:
- Fix broken CTAs and contact details
- Compress images and enable caching
- Improve title tags and meta descriptions
- Migrate to faster hosting or implement full CDN
- Full content rewrite for priority pages
- Minor copy tweaks
- Adding alt tags to a few images
How to implement common fixes (quick examples)
A. Fixing a slow hero image
- Export image at correct dimensions (do not upload a 4000px image if it displays at 1200px).
- Compress using online tools (Squoosh or TinyPNG) and serve WebP.
- Add loading="lazy" for images below the fold; preload the hero image with <link rel="preload" as="image" href="…">.
B. Making title tags more clickable
Structure: [Primary keyword] — [Benefit or differentiator]. Example: Plumbing Repairs — Same‑day Service & Fixed Prices
C. Quick schema for FAQ
Add simple FAQ schema to pages with common questions. Use Google’s Rich Results Test to validate. This can add rich snippets and increase click-through rates.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a free SEO audit take?
Are paid tools necessary?
What's the quickest way to see SEO improvements?
Should I hire someone to do the audit?
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