Then use them. SEO Audit Checklist as a structured audit framework for technology, crawling, indexing, content, internal linking, performance, structured data, security and Local SEO.
Seitenreport indicates for each test point whether it: Automatic, Heuristic or Manual manuals is evaluated. In the released audit, the findings are prioritized and 68,000+ crawled domains and 92 SEO signals compared.
The SEO checkpoint can be technically checked directly.
There are heuristics or partial examinations, but the final evaluation often needs context.
The point depends on strategy, page type, project context or external data sources.
This technical SEO checklist is deliberately compact and publicly usable. Internally, the audit works more granularly with further special and context checks.
Filter the SEO checkpoints to see if Seitenreport can support them automatically, partially or only manually. The classification is based on the current audit status with 517 test points.
The checklist shows which SEO points are relevant. The Seitenreport benchmark Then shows whether your website is noticeably weak, average or strong in the market comparison.
In this way, raw values become better priorities: an error is more important if it makes the website fall behind comparable domains visibly in its own segment.
crawled domains in the SEO benchmark.
SEO signals for segment and market comparison.
Classify status codes, redirects, indexability and technical errors against comparable websites.
Do not evaluate meta data, headings, internal links and page type patterns in isolation.
Connecting security, structure and trust signals with segment reality.
The basis of every SEO audit checklist: Are pages reachable, indexable and cleanly controllable?
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTP status of the pages correctly | Automatic | – | 2xx/3xx okay, prioritize 4xx/5xx. |
| Keep redirect chains short | Automatic | Optional | Internal links as directly as possible to the target URL. |
| No accidental noindex / nofollow | Automatic | Optional | View meta-robots and X-robots tag together. |
| robots.txt reachable and meaningful | Partial | Yes | Doesn’t block anything important? Does Sitemap contain references? |
| Sitemap accessible and not empty | Partial | Yes | Check host consistency, entries, status codes and completeness. |
| Canonical Existing and Plausible | Automatic | Optional | Absolute URL, self-canonical or consciously consolidated. |
| Parameter strategy defined | Partial | Yes | Clearly treat tracking, sorting, filtering and search. |
| Faceted navigation does not generate an index bloat | Partial | Yes | Particularly important for shops and large category structures. |
| Avoid Soft 404 Risks | Partial | Yes | 200 OK plus “not found” is problematic. |
| Do not unnecessarily index internal search and search results | Partial | Yes | Noindex / Canonical / Blocking depending on the setup. |
| Sitemap submitted to Google Search Console | Manual | Yes | External data source, therefore consciously manual. |
Clean technical signals and head data are central SEO checkpoints for search engines and snippets.
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| www/non-www and http/https consistent | Partial | Optional | Only a canonical host and a preferred scheme. |
| Title present and not implausibly long | Automatic | Optional | Examine unambiguity and readability additionally. |
| Meta Description available and usable | Automatic | Optional | Not every page needs the same template text. |
| Title/Description site-wide not double | Partial | Yes | Especially important for templates and archives. |
| lang attribute and charset correct | Automatic | – | Solid technical basis for language and encoding. |
| Open Graph / Twitter Cards available | Partial | Optional | Especially for sharing and social snippets. |
| OG image sensibly dimensioned | Partial | Yes | Evaluate format, ratio and quality manually. |
| Viewport and HTML basics clean | Automatic | – | Technical hygiene, especially mobile relevant. |
It's not just technology that decides. Structure, intent and trust signals also belong in every technical SEO checklist.
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exactly one H1 or clean H1 logic | Automatic | Optional | Not only number, but also meaningfulness counts. |
| Heading structure logical | Partial | Yes | Especially with complex templates and long-form content. |
| Avoiding thin content | Partial | Yes | The number of words alone is not enough as an evaluation. |
| Near duplicates/template doublets | Partial | Yes | Frequently for categories, tags, filters and archives. |
| Intent Match of the Landing Page | Manual | Yes | Consider SERP patterns and page types. |
| Hub/Spoke structure and topic clusters make sense | Manual | Yes | Important part of modern IA and internal SEO logic. |
| Trust signals such as contact, About us, author, timeliness | Partial | Yes | Particularly important for consulting, YMYL or editorial sites. |
| Use FAQ only if it makes sense in terms of content | Manual | Yes | No artificial FAQ blocks without real utility. |
The internal structure decides which pages seem important and how efficiently search engines find content.
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recognizing Broken Links | Partial | Optional | Consider internal and external goals separately. |
| Internal links do not point to redirects | Partial | Yes | Improve linkjuice and crawl efficiency. |
| Important pages can be reached in 2–3 clicks | Partial | Yes | Check Click Depth and Navigation Logic. |
| Avoid Orphan Pages | Partial | Yes | Particularly relevant with sitemap/URL list comparison. |
| Breadcrumbs present and consistent | Partial | Yes | Helpful for UX, IA and optional scheme. |
| Anchor texts descriptive instead of generic | Partial | Yes | Use “here” / “more” only sparingly. |
| External links identified correctly (noopener, ugc, sponsored) | Partial | Yes | Especially at target=_blank, UGC and Paid Links. |
Media not only affects UX, but also performance, sharing and visibility.
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Images have alt texts | Automatic | Optional | Evaluate the quality of the alt texts separately. |
| width/height or dimensions set | Automatic | – | Helps against layout shifts. |
| Hero image not unnecessarily lazy loaded | Partial | Yes | Especially LCP-relevant. |
| Images compressed and in modern formats | Partial | Yes | AVIF/WebP, responsive variants, no unnecessarily large files. |
| OG image present and usable | Partial | Yes | In addition, check format, size and ratio manually. |
| Video/media landing pages set up sensibly | Manual | Yes | Own landing pages, captions, thumbnails, transcripts. |
Technical performance basics are mandatory, but real CWV evaluation often requires additional data.
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTFB and rough charging time inconspicuous | Automatic | Optional | Quick first note, no complete CWV replacement measurement. |
| Cache control / asset caching available | Partial | Optional | Static assets clean caching. |
| Compression active | Partial | Yes | Validate Brotli/Gzip depending on the server setup. |
| Render-blocking CSS/JS reduced | Partial | Yes | Head scripts, Critical CSS, defer/async. |
| Fonts and third-party scripts under control | Partial | Yes | Preload, font-display, tag load check. |
| CWV tested with lab and field data | Manual | Yes | CrUX/PageSpeed belong in the final audit context. |
Scheme and headers are strong technical quality signals, but not every point is purely binary.
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| JSON-LD is available and parseable | Automatic | Optional | Check syntax errors and @type. |
| Appropriate schema types per page type | Partial | Yes | Breadcrumb, Organization, Product, Article, FAQ etc. |
| Schema data consistent with visible content | Manual | Yes | Especially important in product, review, organization. |
| HTTPS active | Automatic | – | Mandatory signal, especially technical and safety-relevant. |
| Important security headers are available | Partial | Optional | HSTS, CSP, X-frame options, nosniff, referrer policy. |
| Avoid Mixed Content | Partial | Yes | Especially after relaunch or CDN/asset changes. |
| Login/Admin areas protected | Manual | Yes | Technical and organizational testing. |
For SMEs, practices, law firms, craftsmen, hotels, restaurants and other local providers, Seitenreport checks whether the website provides clear location, contact and trust signals.
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address / NAP visible and consistent | Partial | Yes | Name, address and phone number are checked for website signals; external directories remain contextual. |
| Phone number as a clickable tel:-Link | Automatic | Optional | Important for mobile users and direct request paths. |
| Contact side and imprint accessible | Automatic | Optional | Basic signal for trust, legal certainty and local allocation. |
| Opening hours visible | Automatic | Optional | Especially relevant in practice, shop, restaurant, hotel or appointment operation. |
| Approach, map or maps link available | Automatic | Optional | Helps with visit-relevant locations and local conversion. |
| Local Business or Organization scheme available | Automatic | Optional | JSON-LD is technically recognized; professional fit remains a contextual topic. |
| PostalAddress excellent in the scheme | Automatic | Optional | Strengthens machine readable location and address signals. |
| Identifiable location or local performance side | Partial | Yes | URL, title, H1 and content provide hints; real quality needs industry context. |
| Local text reference naturally included | Partial | Yes | Region, catchment area and services should be visible, without place name stuffing. |
| Google Business Profiles and external NAP data matches | Manual | Yes | External platforms are deliberately not issued as a website crawl result. |
These points are not equally relevant for every website, but belong in many real SEO audits.
| Test point | Seitenreport | Manual | Note: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redirect mapping completely at relaunch | Manual | Yes | Old → New clean document and test. |
| JavaScript frontend delivers essential content in the initial HTML | Partial | Yes | SSR/SSG/Prerendering against JS-only. |
| Important links are real crawlable links | Partial | Yes | No pure JS click logic without href. |
| hreflang clean and mutually set | Partial | Yes | Only relevant for international websites. |
| E-Commerce: Variants, filters, category texts and product scheme clean | Partial | Yes | Shops usually need additional audit logic. |
| Evaluation of multi-location strategy and branch logic | Manual | Yes | Complements the automatic local SEO signal check with strategy, catchment area and location roles. |
| Consent logic and tracking before consent | Partial | Yes | Consider technical and legal assessment together. |
| Intent and cannibalization issues in the page portfolio | Manual | Yes | Needs SERP context and strategic classification. |
Thus, the scope of the SEO Audit Checklist does not remain abstract, Seitenreport communicates the current status consciously transparently: The audit currently includes 517 checkpoints. Of which: 350+ automated: 238 URL checks and 126 website-wide checks. Other 153 Test points concern manual, heuristic or contextual assessments.
The public checklist is therefore not only a loose list of individual SEO tasks, but also a Structured scope: It shows which topics technically measurable are where: Heuristics Helping and where to help Project context, page type, information architecture, content quality or relaunch risks must be evaluated manually.
The SEO benchmark This scope is complemented by the market comparison: technical SEO, content, structure, security and indexing are considered not only absolutely, but against similar domains and segments.
Checkpoints on core areas, special modules and project-specific audit topics.
238 URL checks plus 126 website-wide checks for measurable technical, content and structure signals.
Patterns such as thin content indicators, soft 404 suspicions, internal link poverty, or render risks.
Classification of IA, Intent, Relaunch, Facets, Internationalization, E-E-A-T, Tracking and Special Cases.
SEO signals for market comparison, segment classification and better prioritization.
Users should realize at a glance that it is not a mini-checklist with ten standard points. The analysis covers both Classical technical SEO exams as well as Page type, structure and quality issues ab. The following overview makes the scope more tangible and supplements the tables above with typical topic blocks and example questions.
The checklist answers what should be checked. The benchmark answers how striking the result is in comparison.
The checklist provides the audit framework. The benchmark ranks the results with 68,000+ crawled domains and 92 SEO signals, so that technical anomalies, content signals, structure, security and indexing are not only evaluated absolutely.
No. The checklist shows which points are checked. The benchmark complements the prioritization and shows where your website looks unusually weak or strong compared to similar domains.
These SEO Audit Checklist helps with the structured audit work. You can see which topics the audit covers in total in the overview of SEO audit checks. For local websites, the Local SEO Guide the checklist for practical examples of location pages, NAP and regional visibility. In the audit, the results are added with the SEO benchmark Compared to 68,000+ domains.
