seo-audit

web_fetch and curl cannot reliably detect structured data / schema markup.

Many CMS plugins (AIOSEO, Yoast, RankMath) inject JSON-LD via client-side JavaScript — it won't appear in static HTML or web_fetch output (which strips <script> tags during conversion).

To accurately check for schema markup, use one of these methods:

1. Browser tool — render the page and run: document.querySelectorAll('script[type="application/ld+json"]')
2. Google Rich Results Test — https://search.google.com/test/rich-results
3. Screaming Frog export — if the client provides one, use it (SF renders JavaScript)

Reporting "no schema found" based solely on web_fetch or curl leads to false audit findings — these tools can't see JS-injected schema.

1. Crawlability & Indexation (can Google find and index it?)
2. Technical Foundations (is the site fast and functional?)
3. On-Page Optimization (is content optimized?)
4. Content Quality (does it deserve to rank?)
5. Authority & Links (does it have credibility?)

Robots.txt

• Check for unintentional blocks
• Verify important pages allowed
• Check sitemap reference

XML Sitemap

• Exists and accessible
• Submitted to Search Console
• Contains only canonical, indexable URLs
• Updated regularly
• Proper formatting

Site Architecture

• Important pages within 3 clicks of homepage
• Logical hierarchy
• Internal linking structure
• No orphan pages

Crawl Budget Issues (for large sites)

• Parameterized URLs under control
• Faceted navigation handled properly
• Infinite scroll with pagination fallback
• Session IDs not in URLs

Index Status

• site:domain.com check
• Search Console coverage report
• Compare indexed vs. expected

Indexation Issues

• Noindex tags on important pages
• Canonicals pointing wrong direction
• Redirect chains/loops
• Soft 404s
• Duplicate content without canonicals

Canonicalization

• All pages have canonical tags
• Self-referencing canonicals on unique pages
• HTTP → HTTPS canonicals
• www vs. non-www consistency
• Trailing slash consistency

Core Web Vitals

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): < 2.5s
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint): < 200ms
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): < 0.1

Speed Factors

• Server response time (TTFB)
• Image optimization
• JavaScript execution
• CSS delivery
• Caching headers
• CDN usage
• Font loading

Tools

• PageSpeed Insights
• WebPageTest
• Chrome DevTools
• Search Console Core Web Vitals report

• Responsive design (not separate m. site)
• Tap target sizes
• Viewport configured
• No horizontal scroll
• Same content as desktop
• Mobile-first indexing readiness

• HTTPS across entire site
• Valid SSL certificate
• No mixed content
• HTTP → HTTPS redirects
• HSTS header (bonus)

• Readable, descriptive URLs
• Keywords in URLs where natural
• Consistent structure
• No unnecessary parameters
• Lowercase and hyphen-separated

Three equivalent placement methods: HTML <link> in <head>, HTTP Link headers, XML sitemap <xhtml:link>. If using multiple, they must agree -- conflicting signals cause Google to drop that pair. For 10+ locales, prefer sitemap-based (no page weight, no per-request cost).

Check for:

• Self-referencing entry on every page (page must include itself in the hreflang set)
• Reciprocal links (if A points to B, B must point back to A -- or both are ignored)
• Valid codes: ISO 639-1 language + optional ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 region (e.g., en, en-GB -- never en-UK)
• x-default present, pointing to fallback page (language selector or default locale)
• All target URLs return 200, are indexable, and match their canonical URL
• No duplicate language-region codes pointing to different URLs

Common errors: Missing self-referencing entry (all hreflang ignored). No return tag / one-directional (pair dropped). Invalid codes like en-UK (use en-GB). Hreflang target is non-canonical, 404, or blocked (cluster discarded). HTML and sitemap annotations disagree (conflicting pair dropped).

At scale: <xhtml:link> children don't count toward 50K URL sitemap limit, but the 50MB file size limit becomes the bottleneck (plan 2K-5K URLs per file with full hreflang). Focus hreflang on pages receiving wrong-language traffic -- not required on every page. For Bing: supplement with <html lang> and <meta http-equiv="content-language"> (Bing treats hreflang as a weak signal).

• Each locale page must self-canonical (e.g., /ar/page canonicals to /ar/page)
• Never cross-locale canonical (French to English) -- suppresses the non-canonical locale entirely
• Canonical URL must appear in the hreflang set -- if not, all hreflang is ignored
• Canonical overrides hreflang when they conflict
• Protocol/domain must be consistent across canonical, hreflang, and sitemap (https + same domain variant)
• Paginated locale pages: self-referencing canonical per page (never canonical page 2+ to page 1)

Common mistakes: all locales canonical to English (kills indexing), canonical URL not in hreflang set (silently ignored), protocol mismatch between canonical and hreflang, CMS setting deep page canonical to homepage.

Check for:

• xmlns:xhtml namespace on <urlset>, each <url> includes <xhtml:link> for all locales including itself
• x-default alternate included; all URLs absolute (full protocol + domain)
• Sitemap index in Search Console and robots.txt; split by content type, not by locale

Next.js caveat: alternates.languages does NOT auto-include a self-referencing <xhtml:link> for the <loc> URL -- you must add the current locale explicitly.

Recommended: Subdirectories (/en/, /ar/). Acceptable: Subdomains or ccTLDs. Not recommended: URL parameters (?lang=en).

Check for:

• Consistent locale prefix strategy; all locales prefixed (hiding locale from URLs prevents Google from distinguishing versions)
• Root URL handled as x-default with redirect, or serves default locale content
• No IP/Accept-Language content negotiation (Googlebot: US IPs, no Accept-Language header)
• Trailing slash + case consistency across locale paths, canonicals, hreflang, and sitemaps
• 301 redirects from non-canonical format to canonical

Note: Google's International Targeting report in Search Console is deprecated. Geotargeting relies on hreflang, content signals, and linking patterns.

Translation quality:

• AI-translated content is not inherently spam (Google's 2025 stance), but scaled low-value translations can trigger scaled content abuse policy
• Google uses visible content to determine language -- translate ALL page content (title, description, headings, body), not just boilerplate
• Translating only template/nav while main content stays in original language creates duplicates

Thin locale pages:

• Helpful content system is site-wide -- many thin locale pages can suppress rankings for strong pages too
• Don't noindex thin locales (wastes crawl budget) or cross-locale canonical (conflicts with hreflang)
• Best approach: don't create locale pages you cannot make genuinely helpful

Check for:

• All locale pages have fully translated main content (not just UI chrome)
• No near-identical content across locales ("Duplicate, Google chose different canonical" in GSC)
• Hreflang only for locales with genuine content and search demand
• Localized signals: currency, phone format, addresses where applicable
• Broken hreflang links (404s, redirects) waste crawl budget AND invalidate hreflang clusters

Check for:

• Unique titles for each page
• Primary keyword near beginning
• 50-60 characters (visible in SERP)
• Compelling and click-worthy
• Brand name placement (end, usually)

Common issues:

• Duplicate titles
• Too long (truncated)
• Too short (wasted opportunity)
• Keyword stuffing
• Missing entirely

Check for:

• Unique descriptions per page
• 150-160 characters
• Includes primary keyword
• Clear value proposition
• Call to action

Common issues:

• Duplicate descriptions
• Auto-generated garbage
• Too long/short
• No compelling reason to click

Check for:

• One H1 per page
• H1 contains primary keyword
• Logical hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
• Headings describe content
• Not just for styling

Common issues:

• Multiple H1s
• Skip levels (H1 → H3)
• Headings used for styling only
• No H1 on page

Primary Page Content

• Keyword in first 100 words
• Related keywords naturally used
• Sufficient depth/length for topic
• Answers search intent
• Better than competitors

Thin Content Issues

• Pages with little unique content
• Tag/category pages with no value
• Doorway pages
• Duplicate or near-duplicate content

Check for:

• Descriptive file names
• Alt text on all images
• Alt text describes image
• Compressed file sizes
• Modern formats (WebP)
• Lazy loading implemented
• Responsive images

Check for:

• Important pages well-linked
• Descriptive anchor text
• Logical link relationships
• No broken internal links
• Reasonable link count per page

Common issues:

• Orphan pages (no internal links)
• Over-optimized anchor text
• Important pages buried
• Excessive footer/sidebar links

Per Page

• Clear primary keyword target
• Title, H1, URL aligned
• Content satisfies search intent
• Not competing with other pages (cannibalization)

Site-Wide

• Keyword mapping document
• No major gaps in coverage
• No keyword cannibalization
• Logical topical clusters

Experience

• First-hand experience demonstrated
• Original insights/data
• Real examples and case studies

Expertise

• Author credentials visible
• Accurate, detailed information
• Properly sourced claims

Authoritativeness

• Recognized in the space
• Cited by others
• Industry credentials

Trustworthiness

• Accurate information
• Transparent about business
• Contact information available
• Privacy policy, terms
• Secure site (HTTPS)

• Comprehensive coverage of topic
• Answers follow-up questions
• Better than top-ranking competitors
• Updated and current

• Time on page
• Bounce rate in context
• Pages per session
• Return visits

• Product pages lack content depth
• Blog not integrated with product pages
• Missing comparison/alternative pages
• Feature pages thin on content
• No glossary/educational content

• Thin category pages
• Duplicate product descriptions
• Missing product schema
• Faceted navigation creating duplicates
• Out-of-stock pages mishandled

• Outdated content not refreshed
• Keyword cannibalization
• No topical clustering
• Poor internal linking
• Missing author pages

• Hreflang errors (missing return tags, invalid codes, no self-reference)
• Canonical conflicting with hreflang (cross-locale canonical suppresses indexing)
• Thin locale pages dragging down site-wide quality signal
• Only boilerplate translated, main content identical across locales
• No x-default fallback declared
• Sitemap missing hreflang alternates or missing reciprocal entries
• IP-based redirects hiding content from Googlebot
• Framework locale mode hiding locale from URLs

• Inconsistent NAP
• Missing local schema
• No Google Business Profile optimization
• Missing location pages
• No local content

Executive Summary

• Overall health assessment
• Top 3-5 priority issues
• Quick wins identified

Technical SEO Findings For each issue:

• Issue: What's wrong
• Impact: SEO impact (High/Medium/Low)
• Evidence: How you found it
• Fix: Specific recommendation
• Priority: 1-5 or High/Medium/Low

On-Page SEO Findings Same format as above

Content Findings Same format as above

Prioritized Action Plan

1. Critical fixes (blocking indexation/ranking)
2. High-impact improvements
3. Quick wins (easy, immediate benefit)
4. Long-term recommendations