{"id":18466,"date":"2025-11-10T10:22:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T10:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T11:56:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:56:06","slug":"how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Do an SEO Audit: Practical Steps and Reddit Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Introduction_%E2%80%94_based_on_Reddit_discussions\" >Introduction \u2014 based on Reddit discussions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#High-level_consensus_from_Reddit\" >High-level consensus from Reddit<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Where_Redditors_disagreed\" >Where Redditors disagreed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Practical_step-by-step_SEO_audit_process\" >Practical, step-by-step SEO audit process<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#1_Discovery_access_30%E2%80%93120_minutes\" >1. Discovery &amp; access (30\u2013120 minutes)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#2_Crawl_technical_checks_2%E2%80%938_hours\" >2. Crawl &amp; technical checks (2\u20138 hours)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#3_Content_and_on-page_3%E2%80%938_hours_depends_on_site_size\" >3. Content and on-page (3\u20138 hours, depends on site size)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#4_Backlink_and_off-site_review_2%E2%80%936_hours\" >4. Backlink and off-site review (2\u20136 hours)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#5_Analytics_tracking_conversion_checks_1%E2%80%933_hours\" >5. Analytics, tracking &amp; conversion checks (1\u20133 hours)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#6_Prioritization_and_reporting_2%E2%80%936_hours\" >6. Prioritization and reporting (2\u20136 hours)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Specific_tactical_tips_from_Redditors\" >Specific tactical tips from Redditors<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Expert_Insight_How_to_prioritize_fixes_beyond_Reddit\" >Expert Insight: How to prioritize fixes (beyond Reddit)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Expert_Insight_Measuring_ROI_and_running_tests\" >Expert Insight: Measuring ROI and running tests<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Deliverables_Redditors_valued\" >Deliverables Redditors valued<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Common_pitfalls_and_how_to_avoid_them\" >Common pitfalls and how to avoid them<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Quick_checklist_you_can_use_now\" >Quick checklist you can use now<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/how-to-do-an-seo-audit-reddit\/#Final_Takeaway\" >Final Takeaway<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Introduction_%E2%80%94_based_on_Reddit_discussions\"><\/span>Introduction \u2014 based on Reddit discussions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This guide synthesizes a long Reddit thread on <em>how to do an SEO audit<\/em> and turns the crowd-sourced experience into a structured, actionable playbook. Redditors shared what they actually do, what clients expect, recurring pitfalls, and tactical tips. Below you&#8217;ll find the common consensus, where people disagreed, practical step-by-step instructions, and a couple of expert insights that go beyond the thread.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"High-level_consensus_from_Reddit\"><\/span>High-level consensus from Reddit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Across the discussion, most practitioners agreed on a clear structure for an audit. The broad, repeated steps were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Discovery and access (GSC, GA, hosting, CMS)<\/li>\n<li>Technical crawl and indexability checks<\/li>\n<li>On-page\/content analysis<\/li>\n<li>Backlink profile review<\/li>\n<li>Analytics, tracking and conversion checks<\/li>\n<li>Prioritization and a recommended roadmap<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>People emphasized the need to produce an <strong>actionable<\/strong> list, not a 200-page PDF of everything wrong. Common quick wins mentioned were fixing redirect chains, resolving canonical issues, correcting meta titles\/descriptions, and addressing Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_Redditors_disagreed\"><\/span>Where Redditors disagreed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Depth vs speed:<\/strong> Some favored a fast triage (2\u20134 hours) for quick wins; others insisted on a deep audit (several days) including log analysis and competitor benchmarking.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Templates vs bespoke audits:<\/strong> A few recommended strict templates for consistency. Others argued templates miss site specifics and encourage superficial reports.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Backlinks focus:<\/strong> Some professionals prioritized on-site technical fixes first; others said link acquisition and cleanup are often the biggest growth levers for established sites.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deliverable style:<\/strong> Debate over a long written report vs a prioritized spreadsheet with playbook steps and time estimates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Practical_step-by-step_SEO_audit_process\"><\/span>Practical, step-by-step SEO audit process<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Below is a consolidated workflow combining the most recommended actions from the thread with standard SEO best practices.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Discovery_access_30%E2%80%93120_minutes\"><\/span>1. Discovery &amp; access (30\u2013120 minutes)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Collect logins: Google Search Console, Google Analytics \/ GA4, CMS, hosting, CDN, and backlink tools (Ahrefs\/SEMrush).<\/li>\n<li>Confirm domain preference (www vs non-www, HTTPS). Check domain settings in GSC.<\/li>\n<li>Ask client about recent migrations, penalties, major site changes, and business priorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Crawl_technical_checks_2%E2%80%938_hours\"><\/span>2. Crawl &amp; technical checks (2\u20138 hours)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Run a full crawl with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to detect 4xx\/5xx errors, duplicate titles, missing metadata, and indexability issues.<\/li>\n<li>Check robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and test important pages with live fetch in GSC.<\/li>\n<li>Audit redirects: find redirect chains and loops. Aim to keep redirects to a minimum and point old URLs directly to final destinations.<\/li>\n<li>Check canonical tags, hreflang (if international), pagination rels, and noindex\/nofollow flags.<\/li>\n<li>Use Lighthouse\/PageSpeed Insights to evaluate Core Web Vitals and critical render-blocking resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Content_and_on-page_3%E2%80%938_hours_depends_on_site_size\"><\/span>3. Content and on-page (3\u20138 hours, depends on site size)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify thin and duplicate content. Prioritize high-traffic\/transactional pages first.<\/li>\n<li>Review title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and on-page keyword targeting. Look for cannibalization.<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate internal linking: are priority pages linked from homepage or high-authority pages? Are breadcrumb and navigation structures logical?<\/li>\n<li>Check structured data: schema for product, article, FAQ, breadcrumbs, and review markup where applicable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Backlink_and_off-site_review_2%E2%80%936_hours\"><\/span>4. Backlink and off-site review (2\u20136 hours)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Use Ahrefs\/SEMrush\/Majestic to analyze backlink profile quality, recent lost links, and toxic links.<\/li>\n<li>Look for unnatural link spikes or decline. Identify high-value linking opportunities and citation issues for local businesses.<\/li>\n<li>Recommend outreach or disavow only after careful analysis \u2014 many Redditors warned against premature disavowals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Analytics_tracking_conversion_checks_1%E2%80%933_hours\"><\/span>5. Analytics, tracking &amp; conversion checks (1\u20133 hours)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Ensure GA \/ GA4 and GSC are properly configured and linked. Verify goals, events, and ecommerce tracking.<\/li>\n<li>Validate that important landing pages have UTM tagging for campaigns and that Search Console impressions\/clicks match GA sessions reasonably.<\/li>\n<li>Set baseline KPIs: organic sessions, clicks, impressions, CTR, conversions, and revenue per channel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Prioritization_and_reporting_2%E2%80%936_hours\"><\/span>6. Prioritization and reporting (2\u20136 hours)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Create a prioritized list using an <strong>Impact vs Effort<\/strong> matrix. Label items as Quick Wins, Medium, or Long-term projects.<\/li>\n<li>Include clear owners, time estimates, and expected outcomes. Reddit users repeatedly stressed the need for clear next steps.<\/li>\n<li>Provide before\/after measurement plan and recommend A\/B testing when proposing significant UX\/content changes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Specific_tactical_tips_from_Redditors\"><\/span>Specific tactical tips from Redditors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Do a log file analysis to see how crawlers traverse the site \u2014 prioritize pages crawled the most that have issues.<\/li>\n<li>In GSC, use Performance + Pages + Compare to isolate pages with impressions but low CTR \u2014 experiment with titles and meta descriptions.<\/li>\n<li>Focus on top landing pages for wins rather than chasing keywords for low-traffic pages.<\/li>\n<li>Check for hidden canonical or meta robots tags inserted by plugins during migrations.<\/li>\n<li>Audit image sizes and lazy loading; several users said resizing and serving WebP can yield major speed improvements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Expert_Insight_How_to_prioritize_fixes_beyond_Reddit\"><\/span>Expert Insight: How to prioritize fixes (beyond Reddit)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Convert your findings into a RICE-style prioritization quickly: Rank items by Reach (how many pages\/users affected), Impact (expected uplift), Confidence (how sure you are about outcome), and Effort (engineering hours). Multiply Reach x Impact x Confidence and divide by Effort to score tasks. This creates an objective prioritized roadmap that clients and stakeholders can agree on.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Expert_Insight_Measuring_ROI_and_running_tests\"><\/span>Expert Insight: Measuring ROI and running tests<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Don&#8217;t assume that improved rankings automatically prove success. Tackle the highest-impact fixes first, then monitor these KPIs: organic sessions, goal completions, conversion rate, revenue per user, and page-level bounce\/engagement metrics. Use A\/B tests for content or CTAs where possible. For technical fixes (like speed), run a time-based comparison with annotations in Google Analytics and track % change over 28\/90 days to account for ranking lag.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Deliverables_Redditors_valued\"><\/span>Deliverables Redditors valued<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>From the thread, the deliverables that earned the most trust were concise and practical:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A prioritized spreadsheet with URL, issue, impact, effort, owner, and status.<\/li>\n<li>Short executive summary highlighting 3\u20135 high-impact wins and estimated uplift.<\/li>\n<li>Technical appendix with crawls, screenshots, and raw exports for engineers.<\/li>\n<li>A 30\/60\/90-day implementation roadmap and measurable KPIs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Common_pitfalls_and_how_to_avoid_them\"><\/span>Common pitfalls and how to avoid them<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Overloading the client with low-priority items \u2014 keep the audit actionable and prioritized.<\/li>\n<li>Ignoring analytics setup \u2014 without proper tracking, you can&#8217;t measure success.<\/li>\n<li>Recommending excessive disavows \u2014 audit link intent and timeframes first.<\/li>\n<li>Not coordinating with dev\/IT \u2014 some fixes require releases; include realistic timelines and QA steps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Quick_checklist_you_can_use_now\"><\/span>Quick checklist you can use now<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Confirm GSC &amp; GA access<\/li>\n<li>Run Screaming Frog crawl<\/li>\n<li>Check robots.txt and sitemap.xml<\/li>\n<li>Identify top 10 landing pages and run PageSpeed Insights<\/li>\n<li>Review title\/meta for top pages and CTR opportunities<\/li>\n<li>Scan backlink profile for toxic links and major lost referring domains<\/li>\n<li>Create a prioritized action spreadsheet with owners and deadlines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Takeaway\"><\/span>Final Takeaway<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Doing an SEO audit is less about creating a massive report and more about diagnosing the root causes that prevent a site from performing and creating a prioritized plan that delivers measurable results. Redditors converged on a practical, iterative approach: triage for quick wins, run deeper technical and content analyses, prioritize via impact vs. effort, and always measure outcomes. Use the checklist and expert prioritization methods above to turn audit findings into revenue-driving actions.<\/p>\n<p><em>Read the full Reddit discussion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/SEO\/comments\/j9omc4\/seo_audit_literally_what_happens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction \u2014 based on Reddit discussions This guide synthesizes a long Reddit thread on how to do an SEO audit and turns the crowd-sourced experience into a structured, actionable playbook. Redditors shared what they actually do, what clients expect, recurring pitfalls, and tactical tips. Below you&#8217;ll find the common consensus, where people disagreed, practical step-by-step [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seo"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18466"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18537,"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18466\/revisions\/18537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rankz.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}