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Resource Checklist Beginner

SEO Audit Checklist for Small Businesses

A comprehensive SEO audit checklist covering technical SEO, on-page optimization, content quality, backlinks, and local SEO. Perfect for small business owners who want to identify and fix issues hurting their search rankings.

Use this checklist to perform a thorough SEO audit of your small business website. Work through each section methodically and check off items as you complete them. Revisit this audit quarterly to stay on top of your search performance.

Pro tip: Use a tool like Semrush to automate many of these checks and get detailed reports on your site's SEO health.

Technical SEO

  • Site loads in under 3 seconds on mobile (test with Google PageSpeed Insights)
  • Site is mobile-friendly (test with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test)
  • SSL certificate is installed and all pages load via HTTPS
  • No mixed content warnings (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages)
  • XML sitemap exists and is submitted to Google Search Console
  • robots.txt file is present and not blocking important pages
  • No broken links or 404 errors (crawl your site to check)
  • Canonical tags are set correctly on all pages
  • Site has a clean URL structure (no unnecessary parameters or IDs)
  • Core Web Vitals pass (LCP, FID/INP, CLS all in green)

On-Page SEO

  • Every page has a unique, descriptive title tag (50-60 characters)
  • Every page has a unique meta description (150-160 characters)
  • Each page targets one primary keyword
  • H1 tag is present on every page and includes the target keyword
  • Header hierarchy is logical (H1 > H2 > H3, no skipped levels)
  • Images have descriptive alt text
  • Images are compressed and served in modern formats (WebP)
  • Internal links connect related content naturally

Content

  • All pages have at least 300 words of substantive content
  • Content is original (not duplicated from other sites or pages)
  • No thin or doorway pages exist on the site
  • Blog content is published on a consistent schedule
  • Older content has been reviewed and updated in the last 6 months
  • Content answers real questions your customers are asking
  • You have identified your current backlink profile (use Google Search Console or a backlink tool)
  • No toxic or spammy backlinks pointing to your site
  • Disavow file submitted if toxic links are present
  • You have a plan for earning new quality backlinks (guest posts, local directories, partnerships)

Local SEO

  • Google Business Profile is claimed and verified
  • Business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all listings
  • Google Business Profile has complete information (hours, categories, description, photos)
  • You are listed in relevant local directories (Yelp, industry-specific sites)
  • You are actively responding to customer reviews
  • Local schema markup is added to your website

Next Steps

Once you have completed this audit, prioritize fixes by impact. Technical issues that prevent Google from crawling your site should be addressed first. On-page SEO fixes are usually quick wins. Content improvements and backlink building are ongoing efforts that compound over time.

Track your progress by keeping a copy of this checklist and dating it each time you run through it. Consistent small improvements add up to significant ranking gains.

If you need help managing your leads and customer follow-ups as your traffic grows, consider a CRM built for small businesses like SMBcrm to make sure no opportunity slips through the cracks.