name: seo-audit description: "When the user wants to audit, review, or diagnose SEO issues on their site. Also use when the user mentions "SEO audit," "technical SEO," "why am I not ranking," "SEO issues," "on-page SEO," "meta tags review," or "SEO health check." For building pages at scale to target keywords, see programmatic-seo. For adding structured data, see schema-markup." mode: subagent imported_from: external
<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT --> <!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025-2026 Marcus Quinn -->SEO Audit
Before auditing: Read .claude/product-marketing-context.md if it exists. Clarify: site type (SaaS, e-commerce, blog), primary goal, priority keywords, known issues, traffic baseline, recent changes/migrations, scope (full site vs. specific pages), Search Console access.
Audit Priority Order
- Crawlability & Indexation — can Google find and index it?
- Technical Foundations — fast and functional?
- On-Page Optimization — content optimized?
- Content Quality — deserves to rank?
- Authority & Links — credible?
Technical SEO Audit
Crawlability
Robots.txt: No unintentional blocks; important pages allowed; sitemap referenced.
XML Sitemap: Exists, accessible, submitted to Search Console; canonical indexable URLs only; updated regularly.
Site Architecture: Important pages ≤3 clicks from homepage; logical hierarchy; no orphan pages; internal linking intact.
Crawl Budget (large sites): Parameterized URLs controlled; faceted nav handled; no session IDs in URLs; infinite scroll has pagination fallback.
Indexation
Index Status: Run site:domain.com; check Search Console coverage; compare indexed vs. expected count.
Indexation Issues: Noindex on important pages; canonicals pointing wrong; redirect chains/loops; soft 404s; duplicate content without canonicals.
Canonicalization: All pages have canonical tags; self-referencing on unique pages; HTTP→HTTPS; www/non-www consistent; trailing slash consistent.
Site Speed & Core Web Vitals
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | < 2.5s |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | < 200ms |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | < 0.1 |
Speed factors: TTFB, image optimization, JS/CSS delivery, caching, CDN, font loading.
Tools: PageSpeed Insights (tools/browser/pagespeed.md), Search Console Core Web Vitals report.
Mobile, Security & URLs
Mobile: Responsive; viewport configured; tap targets sized; same content as desktop (mobile-first indexing).
HTTPS: Valid SSL; no mixed content; HTTP→HTTPS redirects; HSTS header (bonus).
URLs: Readable; keywords where natural; lowercase, hyphen-separated; no unnecessary parameters; consistent structure.
On-Page SEO Audit
Title Tags
- Unique; primary keyword near start; 50–60 chars; compelling; brand at end
- Issues: duplicates, truncation, keyword stuffing, missing
Meta Descriptions
- Unique; 150–160 chars; primary keyword; clear value prop with CTA
- Issues: duplicates, auto-generated, no reason to click
Heading Structure
- One H1 with primary keyword; logical hierarchy (H1→H2→H3); headings describe content
- Issues: multiple H1s, skipped levels, decorative-only headings
Content Optimization
- Keyword in first 100 words; related keywords natural; sufficient depth; satisfies search intent; better than competitors
- Thin content: tag/category pages with no value, doorway pages, near-duplicates
Image Optimization
- Descriptive file names; alt text on all images; compressed; WebP; lazy loading; responsive
Internal Linking
- Important pages well-linked with descriptive anchors; no broken links; no orphans; avoid excessive footer/sidebar links; no over-optimized anchors
Keyword Targeting
- Per page: clear primary target; title, H1, URL aligned; satisfies intent; no cannibalization
- Site-wide: keyword mapping; no gaps; logical topical clusters
Content Quality Assessment
E-E-A-T Signals
| Dimension | Signals |
|---|---|
| Experience | First-hand experience; original insights/data; real examples |
| Expertise | Author credentials visible; accurate, detailed, sourced content |
| Authoritativeness | Recognized in space; cited by others; industry credentials |
| Trustworthiness | Accurate info; transparent business; contact info; privacy policy; HTTPS |
Content Depth & Engagement
- Comprehensive coverage; answers follow-up questions; better than top competitors; current
- Monitor: time on page, bounce rate in context, pages per session, return visits
Common Issues by Site Type
| Site Type | Common Issues |
|---|---|
| SaaS/Product | Thin product/feature pages; blog not integrated; missing comparison pages; no glossary |
| E-commerce | Thin category pages; duplicate product descriptions; missing product schema; faceted nav duplicates; out-of-stock mishandled |
| Content/Blog | Outdated content; keyword cannibalization; no topical clustering; poor internal linking; missing author pages |
| Local Business | Inconsistent NAP; missing local schema; no Google Business Profile; missing location pages |
Output Format
Executive Summary: Overall health; top 3–5 priority issues; quick wins.
Findings (Technical SEO / On-Page / Content — same format):
| Field | Content |
|---|---|
| Issue | What's wrong |
| Impact | High / Medium / Low |
| Evidence | How you found it |
| Fix | Specific recommendation |
| Priority | 1–5 or High/Medium/Low |
Prioritized Action Plan:
- Critical fixes (blocking indexation/ranking)
- High-impact improvements
- Quick wins (easy, immediate benefit)
- Long-term recommendations
References
- AI Writing Detection: Common AI writing patterns to avoid (em dashes, overused phrases, filler words)
- AEO & GEO Patterns: Content patterns optimized for answer engines and AI citation
Tools
Free: Google Search Console (essential), PageSpeed Insights, Bing Webmaster Tools, Rich Results Test, Mobile-Friendly Test, Schema Validator (schema-validator-helper.sh validate <url>)
Paid (if available): Screaming Frog, Ahrefs / Semrush, Sitebulb, ContentKing
Clarifying Questions
- What pages/keywords matter most?
- Search Console access?
- Recent changes or migrations?
- Top organic competitors?
- Current organic traffic baseline?
Related Skills
- programmatic-seo: For building SEO pages at scale
- schema-markup: For implementing structured data
- schema-validator: For validating Schema.org structured data (JSON-LD, Microdata, RDFa)
- mom-test-ux: For UX evaluation and CRO
- analytics-tracking: For measuring SEO performance