Website Audit in 30 Minutes: Free Checklist for Non-Developers

You don't need to pay an SEO auditor to know if your website has problems. Here are 7 checks you can run in 30 minutes — that reveal 80% of the issues costing you customers. Grab a notepad, set a timer, and follow this guide.

The 7 checks to run on your site (in order of importance)

A professional website audit costs between £500 and £2,500. Most critical issues, however, are visible in a few clicks with free tools. Here are the 7 checks to perform in order — from highest to lowest impact:

1. Loading speed and Core Web Vitals — directly linked to your Google ranking
2. Indexing and crawl errors — is your site actually visible to Google?
3. Broken links (404 errors) — every dead link hurts UX and SEO
4. Mobile experience — Google prioritises mobile indexing
5. Title tags and meta descriptions — first elements seen in Google results
6. HTTPS and basic security — an HTTP site in 2026 is penalised and distrusted
7. Content: freshness and semantic relevance — substance quality, not just technical form

Estimated time per check: 3 to 5 minutes. Total: 30 minutes flat.

Tool 1: Google PageSpeed Insights (speed + Core Web Vitals)

Go to pagespeed.web.dev. Enter your homepage URL and click "Analyse". Do the same for your contact page and, if you have a flagship service, its dedicated page.

What you're looking for

• Mobile score < 50/100: structural problem, not just a settings tweak. Action required.
• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) > 4 seconds: main content takes too long to display. Likely cause: oversized images or slow hosting.
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) > 0.25: elements are moving during page load. Common cause: images without defined dimensions, late-loading fonts.
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint) > 500 ms: site responds slowly to clicks. Often caused by excessive JavaScript.

Quick actions

PageSpeed Insights gives you a list of "Opportunities" ranked by estimated impact. The top two deserve your immediate attention. If you see "Reduce initial server response time (TTFB)" at the top, your hosting provider is the problem — and no amount of configuration will permanently compensate for that.

Important reminder: always test the mobile version first. Google has used mobile-first indexing since 2019 — the mobile score is what influences your ranking.

Tool 2: Google Search Console (indexing, errors)

If you haven't set up Google Search Console on your site yet, do it today. It's free, essential, and takes 10 minutes to configure. Go to search.google.com/search-console.

"Index Coverage" report — the most critical

This report (Indexing → Pages) shows you exactly which pages Google has indexed, which are excluded, and why. What should raise a red flag:

• Pages with "Excluded by noindex tag" error: if important pages appear here, someone added a noindex tag by mistake — or the site was in maintenance mode and the restriction was never lifted.
• Pages "Blocked by robots.txt": your robots.txt file is preventing Google from crawling certain pages. Check yourdomain.com/robots.txt to confirm you're not accidentally blocking entire directories.
• 404 errors detected: deleted or moved pages without redirects. Each 404 is a dead end for Google and for your visitors.
• Indexed pages vs actual page count: if you have 50 pages and Search Console only shows 12 indexed, something is blocking.

"Performance" report (organic traffic)

This report shows the queries for which you appear in Google, your average position, and click counts. Look for:

• Relevant queries ranked between position 8 and 20: these are your quickest wins (a bit of additional content can often push you to page one).
• Low click-through rate despite a good position: your title or meta description isn't compelling enough.

Tool 3: Check for broken links and 404 errors

A broken link is a door that leads to a wall. For your visitors, it's frustrating. For Google, it signals poor site quality.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free up to 500 URLs)

Download Screaming Frog SEO Spider at screamingfrog.co.uk. Launch it, enter your URL, and wait for it to crawl your site. Once done:

1. Filter by "Response Code" → select "4xx" to see all 404 errors
2. Filter by "Response Code" → select "3xx" to see redirects (verify they make logical sense)
3. Go to the "Page Titles" tab → filter "Missing" and "Duplicate": missing or duplicate title tags directly harm your SEO
4. "Meta Description" tab → same check

Online alternative: Dead Link Checker

If you'd rather not install software, deadlinkchecker.com tests your site's links from your browser. Less comprehensive than Screaming Frog but sufficient for an initial overview.

What to do with 404s found? If the page was moved, set up a 301 redirect to the new URL. If it was permanently deleted, redirect to the parent page or homepage. Never leave a 404 on a page that was receiving traffic.

Tool 4: Test your site on mobile

Google indexes your site on mobile first. A site that displays poorly on smartphone loses positions — even if the desktop version is perfect.

Quick test with Chrome DevTools

On your computer, open Chrome, navigate to your site, press F12, then click the smartphone icon in the top left of the developer tools. You're immediately simulating mobile display. Check:

• Is the text readable without zooming?
• Are buttons large enough to tap with a thumb? (minimum 44x44 pixels)
• Do any elements overflow horizontally?
• Is the contact form usable on mobile?
• Is the navigation menu accessible and functional?

Google's official tool: Mobile-Friendly Test

Go to search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly. Enter your URL. Google tells you whether your page is "Mobile-Friendly" and lists any issues. This tool uses the same criteria as the Googlebot crawler.

Also test with real navigation

Open your site on your actual smartphone — not a simulation. Browse the 5 most important pages. Note anything that irritates or blocks you. If it annoys you, it annoys your customers.

Content audit: the questions to ask

Your site's content is as important as its technical setup. Here are 6 questions to ask yourself about each important page:

1. Does each page have a unique and descriptive title tag?

The title tag (visible in the browser tab and in Google results) must precisely describe the page's content. "Home | My Site" is not a title tag. "Emergency Plumber in Manchester — 24/7 Response | Dupont Plumbing" is. Ideally 50–60 characters.

2. Do your meta descriptions make people want to click?

The meta description isn't a direct ranking factor, but it influences click-through rate. A meta description that clearly states what the visitor will find, with a concrete promise, generates more clicks than a generic description. Maximum 155 characters.

3. Are your H1 tags unique and do they contain your primary keyword?

Each page should have exactly one H1 — the main visible heading. This H1 should contain the keyword you want to rank for on that page. Use Screaming Frog to verify no page has a missing or duplicate H1.

4. Does your content match search intent?

Search your target keyword on Google. Look at the top 5 results. Are they the same type as your page (blog post, service page, comparison...)? If Google returns comparison articles and you have a sales page, you're not matching search intent — and you won't rank regardless of technical optimisation.

5. Do your images have descriptive alt attributes?

Every image needs an alt attribute describing what it shows. This isn't just SEO filler — it's primarily accessibility for visually impaired users, and then a signal for Google Images. Screaming Frog lists all images without alt text under the "Images" tab → "Missing Alt Text" filter.

6. Does each page have a clear call to action?

What should your visitor do after reading? Call? Fill in a form? Download something? If your page doesn't guide the visitor towards an action, you're losing qualified leads. Every service page should have at minimum a link or button to your contact page.

FAQ — Website Audit

Is a free SEO audit reliable?

Free tools like PageSpeed Insights, Google Search Console, and Screaming Frog (limited to 500 URLs) reveal 70–80% of a site's critical issues. For deeper analysis — link architecture, full semantic analysis, competitor position tracking — a professional audit adds real value. But to know whether your site has blocking issues, free tools are more than sufficient.

How often should you audit your website?

A quick monthly check (PageSpeed + Search Console) is recommended. A full audit every 6 months is sufficient for most SMB websites. After any major update — new theme, hosting migration, content overhaul — an immediate audit is essential to catch regressions before they affect your traffic.

My site performs well technically but gets little traffic — what's wrong?

Good technical scores don't guarantee traffic. If your pages aren't indexed, your keywords are too generic or competitive, or you have no inbound links, Google has no reason to rank you. Content audit (unique title tags, semantic depth, search intent alignment) matters as much as technical audit.

Is Screaming Frog really free?

The free version of Screaming Frog crawls up to 500 URLs, covering the majority of SMB and brochure websites. The paid version (£249/year) removes this limit and adds advanced features. For a one-off audit of a site under 500 pages, the free version is entirely sufficient.