How to run a basic SEO audit with free tools

A basic search engine optimisation audit gives small and medium-sized businesses a clear picture of how Google discovers, understands and ranks their websites. Free tools are enough to assess the foundations: crawlability, indexation, keyword visibility, page experience, content quality and link authority. The goal is a prioritised set of improvements that supports qualified enquiries and sustainable organic growth.

Start with the pages that matter most: the home page, service pages, product or location pages, contact page and high-potential articles. Record the objective for each, such as calls, form submissions or bookings, and note the pages currently receiving impressions. This prevents the audit from becoming a disconnected technical checklist.

Work from a dated baseline rather than a vague impression. Check Google Search Console and analytics over the previous three to six months, save the key figures, and document every change made during that period. Free tools have limits, but they still reveal the highest-impact problems when their findings are compared consistently.

Define the scope and capture a baseline

Define the scope by selecting the pages that influence revenue and recording their current performance. For a service business, this might include one page for each core offer and several location pages. Compare those results with the pages receiving the most impressions to identify gaps between content investment and actual visibility.

Create a simple audit log with columns for the tool used, issue found, evidence, priority and recommended action. Include relevant goals, conversion rates and traffic figures so technical findings can be connected to business outcomes. This baseline becomes the reference point for judging later improvements.

Check crawlability and indexation

Use Google Search Console’s Pages and Indexing reports to identify broken links, submitted URLs that Google has not indexed, and pages excluded by technical directives. Inspect the XML sitemap and robots.txt file, then test important URLs with the URL Inspection tool. A site: search can provide clues, although it does not provide a complete index count.

Run a crawl with Screaming Frog’s free version, which handles up to 500 URLs, or use a similar crawler. Look for redirect chains, server errors, duplicate titles and blocked resources. Confirm that important pages are discoverable through internal links, return successful status codes and do not carry an accidental noindex directive.

Use free tools for search and page checks

Search demand and on-page performance can be assessed with several accessible tools:

For technical and page-level diagnostics, use a second group of free tools:

Treat each result as evidence rather than an automatic instruction to change the site. A perfect tool score may still leave weak content or poor keyword targeting untouched, while a moderate score can point to a commercially important issue that deserves early attention.

Review on-page elements and content quality

Check that every priority page has a descriptive title, one clear main heading, a useful meta description and relevant internal links. Compare the wording with the search intent behind each query. Australian customers may search for phrases such as “same-day quotes”, “send me a price” or “near me”, so natural local language can be more useful than corporate terminology.

Look for thin articles, overlapping service pages and repeated keyword targeting. Search Console can reveal pages with strong impressions but a low click-through rate, while analytics can show whether visitors continue to the next step. Mitora’s digital marketing guidance offers useful context on how organic visibility fits into the wider customer journey.

Test page speed, mobile usability and links

Use PageSpeed Insights to compare real-user mobile performance with results collected in a laboratory test. Address large images, slow server responses, render-blocking resources and unnecessary scripts before making minor aesthetic changes. A useful audit ranks issues by likely effect on customers rather than by pursuit of a perfect performance score.

Review internal and external links through Search Console, Ahrefs Webmaster Tools or the limited free versions of backlink checkers. Free backlink reports may be sampled, so verify important links directly. Seek relevance and credible referring pages, remove broken destinations and strengthen weak internal linking where it helps visitors and crawlers reach priority content.

Improve local visibility and trust signals

Australian businesses commonly use .com.au domains, although .au direct domains are also available. Maintain a complete Google Business Profile with accurate hours, services, service areas and reviews. For a Melbourne bakery or Sydney electrician, suburb and state qualifiers can clarify relevance and improve visibility in the local map pack.

Check that the business name, address and phone number are consistent across the website and trusted local directories. Add an About page, genuine contact details and clear company information. Use Australian spelling and familiar customer language, while ensuring claims remain accurate. Local search phrases such as “open now” or “same-day service” should appear only where they genuinely describe the offer.

Prioritise fixes and schedule the next audit

Group findings into technical errors, indexation problems, content improvements, internal linking and backlink opportunities. Address issues that prevent important pages from being found first, followed by changes likely to increase qualified traffic or conversions. Assign an owner and expected outcome to each task so progress remains visible across the team.

Measure results against the original baseline after four to six weeks, allowing time for Google to recrawl updated pages. Paid search can sometimes bridge a visibility gap while organic work matures, with campaigns measured in Australian dollars. A Mitora guide to reduce PPC cost explains how to protect lead quality during that process. Repeating the same audit then turns the findings into a repeatable growth record.