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How to Run an Effective SEO Audit in Under 2 Hours

If you’re short on time but want to get a quick and effective snapshot of your website’s SEO health, this guide is for you. Whether you’re a digital marketer juggling multiple projects or a small business owner trying to boost your search visibility, a 2-hour SEO audit can reveal the most critical issues holding your site back – without the jargon overload.

Here’s a streamlined, step-by-step checklist to run a practical SEO audit in under two hours.

1. Check Your Site’s Indexing (10 mins)

Start with the basics: is Google indexing your site properly?

  • Go to Google and type: site:yourdomain.com

  • This will show how many pages are indexed.

  • Compare this number to how many pages your site should have. Big gaps? Something’s off – maybe your robots.txt or noindex tags are blocking key pages.

Tool Tip: Use Google Search Console to see index coverage errors and submitted sitemaps.

2. Run a Technical Crawl (20 mins)

Now let a crawler do the heavy lifting.

Use tools like Screaming Frog (free up to 500 URLs), Sitebulb, or Ahrefs Site Audit

Look for:

  • Broken links (404 errors)
  • Missing or duplicate title tags and meta descriptions
  • Slow-loading pages
  • Redirect chains
  • Pages without H1 tags
  •  

Fixing these technical issues improves crawlability and user experience – two things Google loves.

3. Check Site Speed (10 mins)

A slow website hurts rankings and bounce rates. Run a quick performance check:

Prioritise:

  • Image optimisation
  • Minimising unused JavaScript
  • Enabling browser caching

Pro Tip: Aim for a mobile load speed under 3 seconds.

4. Review On-Page SEO (30 mins)

Now look at individual pages – especially key landing pages and blog content.

Does each page have:

  • A unique title tag with relevant keywords?
  • A meta description that encourages clicks?
  • Proper use of header tags (H1, H2, H3)?
  • Optimised image alt tags?
  • Internal links to other relevant pages?

Use tools like Yoast (if on WordPress) or Semrush’s On-Page SEO Checker to speed this up.

5. Evaluate Mobile-Friendliness (10 mins)

Google is mobile-first – your audit should be too.

A poor mobile experience can tank your rankings – even if your desktop version is solid.

6. Check Keyword Visibility (20 mins)

See how your site is performing for relevant search terms.

Use Google Search ConsolePerformance tab

  • Look at clicks, impressions, average position, and top-performing queries.

For a broader view, try Ubersuggest or Ahrefs to see keyword rankings and gaps.

Look for quick wins – pages ranking on page 2 that could be nudged to page 1 with a few tweaks.

7. Audit Backlinks (10 mins)

A quality backlink profile boosts domain authority.

Use Ahrefs, Moz, or Semrush to:

  • Identify spammy backlinks
  • Spot link opportunities from trusted sites
  • Track referring domains

 

If your link profile is thin, consider digital PR or guest blogging to build it up.

An Audit Shouldn't Take Days!

This SEO audit isn’t exhaustive – but in under 2 hours, it can give you a clear roadmap of what to fix, what to optimise, and what’s already working.

Do it quarterly and track your progress each time. Better yet, make it part of your ongoing marketing rhythm. Because in the world of SEO, it’s not about doing everything – it’s about doing the right things consistently.

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All Blogs, SEO

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