{"id":1887,"date":"2022-09-30T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/09\/30\/a-simple-but-effective-14-step-seo-audit-checklist\/"},"modified":"2022-09-30T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T06:00:00","slug":"a-simple-but-effective-14-step-seo-audit-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/a-simple-but-effective-14-step-seo-audit-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"A Simple (But Effective) 14-Step SEO Audit &#038; Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>An SEO audit is where you find opportunities to improve a site\u2019s search performance. It involves finding technical, on-page, content, and link-related issues to fix or improve.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone\u2019s SEO audit process differs, as there\u2019s no universal approach. But there are a handful of basic issues all site owners should look\u00a0for.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll learn how to check for 14 of them in this\u00a0guide.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>1. Check for manual actions<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Manual actions are when a human reviewer at Google decides that your site doesn\u2019t comply with <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/advanced\/guidelines\/webmaster-guidelines\">their webmaster guidelines<\/a>. The result is that some or all of your site won\u2019t be shown in Google\u2019s search results.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re unlikely to have a manual action unless you\u2019ve done something drastically wrong. But it\u2019s still arguably the best first thing to check because if you have one, you\u2019re dead in the water before you even\u00a0start.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To check for manual actions, go to the <strong>Manual actions<\/strong> report in Google Search Console.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions.png\" alt=\"Manual actions report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions-680x162.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions-768x182.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions-1536x365.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions.png\" alt=\"Manual actions report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions-680x162.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions-768x182.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-manual-actions-1536x365.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If it says anything other than \u201cNo issues detected,\u201d read <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/google-penalties\/\">our Google penalties guide<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Google updates its search algorithms all the time. Many of these updates target specific things like link spam or content quality.<\/p>\n<p>For that reason, it\u2019s important to check for organic traffic drops coinciding with known Google updates, as these may point to specific issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, the core update in August 2018 appeared to largely affect health, fitness, and medical sites that failed to demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness, and trust (E-A-T). In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rustybrick?lang=en\">Barry Schwartz<\/a>, a prominent blogger, dubbed it the \u201cMedic\u201d update.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The update all but destroyed some sites, like this\u00a0one:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1782\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline.png\" alt=\"Google's core update in August 2018 decimated this site's organic traffic&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline.png 1782w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline-680x211.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline-768x239.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline-1536x478.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1782px) 100vw, 1782px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1782\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline.png\" alt=\"Google's core update in August 2018 decimated this site's organic traffic&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline.png 1782w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline-680x211.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline-768x239.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-organic-traffic-decline-1536x478.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1782px) 100vw, 1782px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You can check your organic traffic trend for free in Google Search Console. Just go to the <strong>Search results<\/strong> report and set the period to the past year or\u00a0two.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1119\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console.png\" alt=\"Search results report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console-680x381.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console-768x430.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console-1536x860.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1119\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console.png\" alt=\"Search results report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console-680x381.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console-768x430.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-results-google-search-console-1536x860.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You can also see an estimated traffic graph in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a>, where you can also overlay known Google updates to more easily diagnose issues.<\/p>\n<p>For example, we can see that this site\u2019s traffic drop coincided with a core update:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1226\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-core-update-traffic-drop.png\" alt=\"This site's traffic drop coincides with a Google Core Update&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-core-update-traffic-drop.png 1226w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-core-update-traffic-drop-680x347.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-core-update-traffic-drop-768x392.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1226px) 100vw, 1226px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1226\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-core-update-traffic-drop.png\" alt=\"This site's traffic drop coincides with a Google Core Update&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-core-update-traffic-drop.png 1226w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-core-update-traffic-drop-680x347.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-core-update-traffic-drop-768x392.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1226px) 100vw, 1226px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If you spot a big traffic drop coinciding with a Google update, check <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/google-algorithm-updates\">our Google Algorithm Updates History page<\/a> to see the focus of the update.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>3. Check for HTTPS-related issues<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>HTTPS is a secure protocol for transferring data to and from visitors. It helps to keep things like passwords and credit card details secure, and it\u2019s been a small Google ranking factor <a href=\"https:\/\/webmasters.googleblog.com\/2014\/08\/https-as-ranking-signal.html\">since 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You can check if your website uses HTTPS by visiting it. If there\u2019s a \u201clock\u201d icon in the address bar, it\u2019s secure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-https-1.png\" alt=\"This site is securely protected&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147497\" width=\"228\" height=\"48\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-https-1.png\" alt=\"This site is securely protected&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147497\" width=\"228\" height=\"48\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>However, some websites face issues where certain pages load securely, but other pages and resources don\u2019t. So we recommend digging a bit deeper to make sure there are no HTTPS-related issues. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Sign up for a free <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools<\/a> account<\/li>\n<li>Crawl your site with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Go to the <strong>Internal pages<\/strong> report<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>From here, check the \u201cProtocols distribution\u201d graph to see whether any pages are using HTTP. Ideally, you want to see an all-green graph.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"926\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-https-issues.png\" alt=\"&quot;Protocols distribution&quot; graph in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-https-issues.png 926w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-https-issues-629x425.png 629w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-https-issues-768x519.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"926\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-https-issues.png\" alt=\"&quot;Protocols distribution&quot; graph in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-https-issues.png 926w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-https-issues-629x425.png 629w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-https-issues-768x519.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"recommendation\">\n<p>Recommendation<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation-content\"> If you see some HTTP URLs, don\u2019t panic. You don\u2019t have an issue as long as they redirect to the HTTPS versions. Here\u2019s how to\u00a0check:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Click on \u201cHTTP\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Sort the report by status code from low to\u00a0high<\/li>\n<li>Add a column for \u201cFinal redirect URL\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If the lowest HTTP status code is \u201c301\u201d and the final redirect URLs all begin with HTTPS, everything is\u00a0fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1844\" height=\"772\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects.jpg\" alt=\"Investigating HTTP status code issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects.jpg 1844w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects-680x285.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects-768x322.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects-1536x643.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1844px) 100vw, 1844px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1844\" height=\"772\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects.jpg\" alt=\"Investigating HTTP status code issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects.jpg 1844w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects-680x285.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects-768x322.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-http-redirects-1536x643.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1844px) 100vw, 1844px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Next, hit the \u201cIssues\u201d tab and look for the \u201cHTTPS\/HTTP mixed content\u201d issue. This indicates that while your initial HTML is loading over a secure HTTPS connection, some resource files like images load over an unsecure one.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-https-http-mixed-content-issues.png\" alt=\"The &quot;HTTPS\/HTTP mixed content&quot; issue in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147503\" width=\"498\" height=\"266\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-https-http-mixed-content-issues.png\" alt=\"The &quot;HTTPS\/HTTP mixed content&quot; issue in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147503\" width=\"498\" height=\"266\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If you see either of these issues, read <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/what-is-https\/\">our HTTPS guide<\/a> to learn more about dealing with\u00a0them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>4. Check that you can only browse one version of your website<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>People should only be able to access one of these four versions of your website:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">http:\/\/domain.com\nhttp:\/\/www.domain.com\nhttps:\/\/domain.com\nhttps:\/\/www.domain.com\n<\/pre>\n<p>The other three variations should redirect to the canonical (master) version.<\/p>\n<p>This is important because Google sees all four of these as separate site versions. Having more than one accessible can cause crawling and indexing issues. In some cases, it can even dilute <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\/link-equity\">link equity<\/a> and, thus, may negatively impact rankings.<\/p>\n<p>To check that everything works as it should, install Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo-toolbar\">SEO Toolbar<\/a>, type each URL version into your browser, then check the HTTP headers to make sure they all redirect to the same \u201cmaster\u201d version.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if we visit <code>http:\/\/ahrefs.com<\/code>, it redirects to the secure version at <code>https:\/\/ahrefs.com<\/code>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1370\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar.png\" alt=\"HTTP headers in Ahrefs' SEO Toolbar&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar.png 1370w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-680x215.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-768x243.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1370px) 100vw, 1370px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1370\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar.png\" alt=\"HTTP headers in Ahrefs' SEO Toolbar&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar.png 1370w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-680x215.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-768x243.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1370px) 100vw, 1370px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>The same happens if we visit the secure www version (<code>https:\/\/www.ahrefs.com<\/code>).\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1370\" height=\"258\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar.png\" alt=\"HTTP headers in Ahrefs' SEO Toolbar&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar.png 1370w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-680x128.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-768x145.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1370px) 100vw, 1370px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1370\" height=\"258\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar.png\" alt=\"HTTP headers in Ahrefs' SEO Toolbar&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar.png 1370w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-680x128.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-headers-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-768x145.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1370px) 100vw, 1370px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If this doesn\u2019t happen, you\u2019ll need to implement redirects.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn more:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/redirects-for-seo\/\"><em>Redirects for SEO: A Simple (But Complete) Guide<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>5. Check for indexability issues<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Google search results come from its index, which is a database of hundreds of billions of webpages. Your pages need to be in this index to stand any chance at ranking.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also important to keep pages that aren\u2019t valuable for searchers out of Google\u2019s index, as this can also cause SEO issues.<\/p>\n<p>Indexing issues can get quite complicated, but you can check for basic issues fairly easily.<\/p>\n<p>First, check the <strong>Indexability<\/strong> report in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a> for \u201cNoindex page\u201d warnings.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-noindex-pages.png\" alt=\"Noindex pages in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147509\" width=\"389\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-noindex-pages.png 648w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-noindex-pages-586x425.png 586w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-noindex-pages.png\" alt=\"Noindex pages in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147509\" width=\"389\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-noindex-pages.png 648w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-noindex-pages-586x425.png 586w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Google can\u2019t index pages with this warning, so it\u2019s worth checking they\u2019re not pages you want indexed. If they are, remove or edit the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/meta-robots\/\">meta robots tag<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Second, check the number of indexable URLs in the same report.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexability-issues.png\" alt=\"Indexable URLs via Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147510\" width=\"453\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexability-issues.png 906w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexability-issues-680x329.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexability-issues-768x371.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 453px) 100vw, 453px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexability-issues.png\" alt=\"Indexable URLs via Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147510\" width=\"453\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexability-issues.png 906w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexability-issues-680x329.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexability-issues-768x371.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 453px) 100vw, 453px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Investigate further if this looks abnormally high.<\/p>\n<p>For example, given that we only have around 500 published blog posts, 2,164 indexable URLs seem high for the Ahrefs blog. But if we click the number, we see that it\u2019s because it includes versions of our blog in other languages.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-multiple-language-blogs.png\" alt=\"Investigating indexable URLs in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147511\" width=\"499\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-multiple-language-blogs.png 832w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-multiple-language-blogs-570x425.png 570w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-multiple-language-blogs-768x572.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-multiple-language-blogs.png\" alt=\"Investigating indexable URLs in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147511\" width=\"499\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-multiple-language-blogs.png 832w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-multiple-language-blogs-570x425.png 570w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-multiple-language-blogs-768x572.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If we exclude those pages, along with author, category, and pagination pages, the number of indexable URLs looks pretty much spot\u00a0on.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-all-filter-results.png\" alt=\"Filtered indexable pages report in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147513\" width=\"257\" height=\"69\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-all-filter-results.png\" alt=\"Filtered indexable pages report in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147513\" width=\"257\" height=\"69\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>6. Check for mobile-friendliness<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mobile-friendliness has been a ranking factor everywhere since Google moved to mobile-first indexing <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/mobile-sites\/mobile-first-indexing\">in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Checking for mobile-friendliness is easily done. Just go to the <strong>Mobile Usability<\/strong> report in Google Search Console. It tells you whether any URLs have errors that affect mobile usability.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-mobile-usability-report.png\" alt=\"Mobile usability report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147515\" width=\"373\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-mobile-usability-report.png 746w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-mobile-usability-report-589x425.png 589w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 373px) 100vw, 373px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-mobile-usability-report.png\" alt=\"Mobile usability report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147515\" width=\"373\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-mobile-usability-report.png 746w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-mobile-usability-report-589x425.png 589w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 373px) 100vw, 373px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If you don\u2019t have access to Google Search Console, plug any page from your website into <a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/test\/mobile-friendly\">Google\u2019s Mobile-Friendly Test tool<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1420\" height=\"784\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-mobile-friendly-tool.png\" alt=\"Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-mobile-friendly-tool.png 1420w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-mobile-friendly-tool-680x375.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-mobile-friendly-tool-768x424.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1420px) 100vw, 1420px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1420\" height=\"784\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-mobile-friendly-tool.png\" alt=\"Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-mobile-friendly-tool.png 1420w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-mobile-friendly-tool-680x375.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-mobile-friendly-tool-768x424.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1420px) 100vw, 1420px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>In general, assuming that other pages on your website use the same design and layout, the result should apply to most, if not all, of your\u00a0pages.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn more: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/mobile-first-indexing\/\"><em>Mobile-First Indexing: What You Need to\u00a0Know<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Page speed has been a small ranking factor on desktop <a href=\"https:\/\/webmasters.googleblog.com\/2010\/04\/using-site-speed-in-web-search-ranking.html\">since 2010<\/a> and mobile <a href=\"https:\/\/webmasters.googleblog.com\/2018\/01\/using-page-speed-in-mobile-search.html\">since 2018<\/a>. However, there\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/7HKYsJJrySY?t=32\">no official threshold<\/a> for how fast a page should load, and there are a confusing number of metrics you can use as a\u00a0proxy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, Google\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/pagespeed.web.dev\/\">PageSpeed Insights tool<\/a> shows all kinds of metrics:\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1160\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-pagespeed-insights.png\" alt=\"Checking page speed in Google's PageSpeed Insights tool&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147519\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-pagespeed-insights.png 1160w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-pagespeed-insights-680x299.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-pagespeed-insights-768x338.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1160px) 100vw, 1160px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1160\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-pagespeed-insights.png\" alt=\"Checking page speed in Google's PageSpeed Insights tool&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147519\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-pagespeed-insights.png 1160w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-pagespeed-insights-680x299.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-pagespeed-insights-768x338.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1160px) 100vw, 1160px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>The other downside of this tool is that you can only test one page at a\u00a0time.<\/p>\n<p>For that reason, it\u2019s better to start with a tool that\u2019ll give you speed metrics on all your pages. You can do this in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a>, which you can use for free with an <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools<\/a> account. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Crawl your website with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Go to the <strong>Performance<\/strong> report<\/li>\n<li>Check the \u201cTime to first byte\u201d and \u201cLoad time distribution\u201d graphs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1884\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit.png\" alt=\"Checking page speed in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit.png 1884w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit-680x240.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit-768x271.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit-1536x543.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1884px) 100vw, 1884px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1884\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit.png\" alt=\"Checking page speed in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit.png 1884w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit-680x240.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit-768x271.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-pagespeed-ahrefs-site-audit-1536x543.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1884px) 100vw, 1884px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>As a general rule, the more green you see here, the better. If you see lots of red, you may want to work on improving your page\u00a0speed.<\/p>\n<p>Core Web Vitals are metrics that Google uses to measure user experience. They measure a page\u2019s load time, interactivity, and the stability of the content as it\u00a0loads.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As they\u2019re currently a weak ranking signal, you shouldn\u2019t obsess over them. But it\u2019s still worth taking a quick look at your site\u2019s performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To do this, check the <strong>Core Web Vitals<\/strong> report in Google Search Console.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1898\" height=\"1772\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console.jpg\" alt=\"Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console.jpg 1898w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console-455x425.jpg 455w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console-768x717.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console-1536x1434.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1898px) 100vw, 1898px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1898\" height=\"1772\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console.jpg\" alt=\"Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console.jpg 1898w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console-455x425.jpg 455w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console-768x717.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19-core-web-vitals-search-console-1536x1434.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1898px) 100vw, 1898px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>As this report is based on Chrome User Experience (CrUX) data, there\u2019s a chance you may see a \u201cNot enough data collected\u201d or \u201cNot enough recent usage data\u201d message instead of\u00a0data.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If that happens, head over to the <strong>Performance<\/strong> report in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a> and check the Lighthouse scores. As this is lab data, it doesn\u2019t rely on user experience data from Google.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1085\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs.png\" alt=\"Performance report in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs-680x369.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs-1536x834.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1085\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs.png\" alt=\"Performance report in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs-680x369.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20-core-web-vitals-ahrefs-1536x834.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>9. Check for broken pages<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Having broken pages on your site is never good. If these pages have backlinks, they are effectively wasted because they point to nothing.<\/p>\n<p>To find broken pages on your website, head to the <strong>Internal pages<\/strong> report in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a> and click the number under \u201cBroken.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1822\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages.png\" alt=\"Checking for broken internal pages in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages.png 1822w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages-680x162.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages-768x183.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages-1536x366.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1822px) 100vw, 1822px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1822\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages.png\" alt=\"Checking for broken internal pages in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages.png 1822w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages-680x162.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages-768x183.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/21-broken-pages-1536x366.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1822px) 100vw, 1822px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If you want to see the number of backlinks to each of these pages, add the \u201cNo. of referring domains\u201d column to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1890\" height=\"722\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks.png\" alt=\"Broken internal pages in Ahrefs' Site Audit sorted by referring domains&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks.png 1890w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks-680x260.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks-768x293.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks-1536x587.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1890px) 100vw, 1890px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1890\" height=\"722\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks.png\" alt=\"Broken internal pages in Ahrefs' Site Audit sorted by referring domains&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks.png 1890w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks-680x260.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks-768x293.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/22-404s-with-backlinks-1536x587.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1890px) 100vw, 1890px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You can also find broken URLs with backlinks in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a>. Just plug in your domain, go to the <strong>Best by links<\/strong> report, add a \u201c404 not found\u201d filter, then sort the report by referring domains from high to\u00a0low.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1400\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/23-404s-with-backlinks-site-explorer.png\" alt=\"Broken internal pages in Ahrefs' Site Explorer sorted by referring domains&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147529\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/23-404s-with-backlinks-site-explorer.png 1400w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/23-404s-with-backlinks-site-explorer-680x364.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/23-404s-with-backlinks-site-explorer-768x411.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1400\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/23-404s-with-backlinks-site-explorer.png\" alt=\"Broken internal pages in Ahrefs' Site Explorer sorted by referring domains&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147529\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/23-404s-with-backlinks-site-explorer.png 1400w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/23-404s-with-backlinks-site-explorer-680x364.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/23-404s-with-backlinks-site-explorer-768x411.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>The benefit of using <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a> is that it shows URLs that people linked to accidentally.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, we have links from three referring domains to this\u00a0URL:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1378\" height=\"104\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/24-404-with-links.png\" alt=\"Example of a dead page with backlinks&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/24-404-with-links.png 1378w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/24-404-with-links-680x51.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/24-404-with-links-768x58.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1378px) 100vw, 1378px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1378\" height=\"104\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/24-404-with-links.png\" alt=\"Example of a dead page with backlinks&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/24-404-with-links.png 1378w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/24-404-with-links-680x51.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/24-404-with-links-768x58.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1378px) 100vw, 1378px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This page never existed. The linkers just linked to the wrong URL. It should have an \u201cs\u201d at the\u00a0end.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s our recommended process for dealing with broken links:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1475\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links.png\" alt=\"How to deal with broken links&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links.png 1475w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links-392x425.png 392w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links-768x833.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links-1416x1536.png 1416w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1475px) 100vw, 1475px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1475\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links.png\" alt=\"How to deal with broken links&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links.png 1475w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links-392x425.png 392w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links-768x833.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/25-how-to-deal-with-broken-links-1416x1536.png 1416w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1475px) 100vw, 1475px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>10. Check for sitemap issues<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A sitemap lists the pages that you want search engines to index. It shouldn\u2019t list things like redirects, non-canonicals, or dead pages because those send mixed signals to Google.<\/p>\n<p>To check for sitemap issues, head to the <strong>All issues<\/strong> report in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a> and scroll to the \u201cOther\u201d section.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26-sitemap-issues.png\" alt=\"Sitemap issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147533\" width=\"596\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26-sitemap-issues.png 794w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26-sitemap-issues-680x252.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26-sitemap-issues-768x284.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26-sitemap-issues.png\" alt=\"Sitemap issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147533\" width=\"596\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26-sitemap-issues.png 794w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26-sitemap-issues-680x252.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26-sitemap-issues-768x284.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ll see any issues here relating to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dead or inaccessible pages in the sitemap.<\/li>\n<li>Noindexed pages in the sitemap.<\/li>\n<li>Non-canonical pages in the sitemap.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you have any of these issues, hit the caret and follow the advice on fixing them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>11. Check basic on-page elements<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Every indexable page on your site should have a title tag, meta description, and H1 tag. These basic on-page elements help Google understand your content and help you to win more clicks from your rankings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To check for issues, head to the \u201cIssues\u201d tab in the <strong>Content<\/strong> report in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/27-on-page-issues.png\" alt=\"Basic on-page issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147534\" width=\"484\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/27-on-page-issues.png 806w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/27-on-page-issues-505x425.png 505w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/27-on-page-issues-768x646.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/27-on-page-issues.png\" alt=\"Basic on-page issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147534\" width=\"484\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/27-on-page-issues.png 806w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/27-on-page-issues-505x425.png 505w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/27-on-page-issues-768x646.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>For example, the website above has 724 pages with a missing or empty title tag. This isn\u2019t ideal because Google shows them in the search results, so the site could be missing out on clicks as a result.<\/p>\n<p>It also has the same number of pages with an empty or missing meta description, and thousands with a missing or empty H1\u00a0tag.<\/p>\n<p>Google often shows meta descriptions in the search results, so you should try to write an enticing one for every important page. Missing H1 tags, on the other hand, usually point to bigger issues like an improperly coded\u00a0theme.<\/p>\n<p>You can see which URLs are affected by clicking an issue and hitting \u201cView affected URLs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/28-title-tag-issues.png\" alt=\"Title tag issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147535\" width=\"499\" height=\"385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/28-title-tag-issues.png 998w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/28-title-tag-issues-551x425.png 551w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/28-title-tag-issues-768x593.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/28-title-tag-issues.png\" alt=\"Title tag issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147535\" width=\"499\" height=\"385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/28-title-tag-issues.png 998w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/28-title-tag-issues-551x425.png 551w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/28-title-tag-issues-768x593.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If you want to prioritize fixes, sort the report by estimated organic traffic from high to\u00a0low.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/29-prioritizing-fixes.png\" alt=\"Prioritizing fixes by organic traffic in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147537\" width=\"511\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/29-prioritizing-fixes.png 1022w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/29-prioritizing-fixes-575x425.png 575w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/29-prioritizing-fixes-768x568.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/29-prioritizing-fixes.png\" alt=\"Prioritizing fixes by organic traffic in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147537\" width=\"511\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/29-prioritizing-fixes.png 1022w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/29-prioritizing-fixes-575x425.png 575w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/29-prioritizing-fixes-768x568.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>12. Check for declining content<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rankings rarely last forever. As content becomes outdated, its search traffic will often start to drop off. But you can often solve this by refreshing and republishing the content.<\/p>\n<p>For example, our list of <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/top-google-searches\/\">top Google searches<\/a> declined massively in\u00a02021.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1714\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic.png\" alt=\"Estimated organic search traffic to our list of top Google searches\" class=\"wp-image-147539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic.png 1714w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic-680x213.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic-768x240.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic-1536x480.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1714px) 100vw, 1714px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1714\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic.png\" alt=\"Estimated organic search traffic to our list of top Google searches\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic.png 1714w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic-680x213.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic-768x240.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/30-top-google-searches-traffic-1536x480.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1714px) 100vw, 1714px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This is because we didn\u2019t update the post for over a year, so the content became outdated. The recent spike in traffic is a result of us updating and republishing the\u00a0piece.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an easy way to find declining content in Google Search Console:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to the <strong>Search results<\/strong> report<\/li>\n<li>Set the date filter to compare mode<\/li>\n<li>Choose \u201cCompare last 6 months to previous period\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Click the \u201cPages\u201d tab<\/li>\n<li>Sort the table by \u201cClicks Difference\u201d from low to\u00a0high<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>For example, this shows us that <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/most-visited-websites\/\">our list of the most visited websites<\/a> has declined massively over the last six months. So this is probably ripe for an update.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1746\" height=\"228\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline.png\" alt=\"Decline in traffic to our list of the most visited websites in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline.png 1746w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline-680x89.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline-768x100.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline-1536x201.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1746px) 100vw, 1746px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1746\" height=\"228\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline.png\" alt=\"Decline in traffic to our list of the most visited websites in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline.png 1746w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline-680x89.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline-768x100.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/31-most-visited-websites-traffic-decline-1536x201.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1746px) 100vw, 1746px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If you\u2019re a WordPress user, you can automate this process with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/wordpress-seo-plugin\">our free SEO plugin<\/a>. It monitors for pages that no longer perform well and gives recommendations on how to fix\u00a0them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, it\u2019s suggesting that we rewrite our list of the best keyword tools because it used to rank in the top three for its target keyword but now doesn\u2019t even rank in the top\u00a0100.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"203\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites.png\" alt=\"No longer well-performing pages via Ahrefs' SEO WordPress plugin&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites-680x69.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites-768x78.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites-1536x156.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"203\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites.png\" alt=\"No longer well-performing pages via Ahrefs' SEO WordPress plugin&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites-680x69.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites-768x78.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/32-ahrefs-seo-toolbar-rewrites-1536x156.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>13. Check for content gaps<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Content gaps occur when you miss important subtopics in your content. The result is that you don\u2019t rank for as many <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/long-tail-keywords\/\">long-tail keywords<\/a> and potentially not as high as you could for your main target keyword.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an easy way to find content gaps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Paste one of your page\u2019s URLs into <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Go to the <strong>Content Gap <\/strong>report<\/li>\n<li>Paste in the URLs of a few similar pages outranking you<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1270\" height=\"892\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/33-content-gap-tool.png\" alt=\"Content Gap report in Ahrefs' Site Explorer&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/33-content-gap-tool.png 1270w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/33-content-gap-tool-605x425.png 605w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/33-content-gap-tool-768x539.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1270px) 100vw, 1270px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1270\" height=\"892\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/33-content-gap-tool.png\" alt=\"Content Gap report in Ahrefs' Site Explorer&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/33-content-gap-tool.png 1270w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/33-content-gap-tool-605x425.png 605w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/33-content-gap-tool-768x539.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1270px) 100vw, 1270px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Hit \u201cShow keywords.\u201d You\u2019ll see all of the keywords that these pages rank for where yours don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many of these will just be different ways of searching for the same thing, but some may represent subtopics you\u2019ve missed.<\/p>\n<p>For example, when we do this for our page about \u201cwhat is seo,\u201d we see that competing pages are ranking for quite a few keywords relating to what SEO stands for.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1560\" height=\"1036\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results.png\" alt=\"Results of a content gap analysis in Ahrefs' Site Explorer&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results.png 1560w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results-640x425.png 640w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results-768x510.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results-1536x1020.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1560\" height=\"1036\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results.png\" alt=\"Results of a content gap analysis in Ahrefs' Site Explorer&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results.png 1560w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results-640x425.png 640w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results-768x510.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/34-content-gap-results-1536x1020.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This is an interesting case because we kind of covered this in our definition on the\u00a0page:\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1470\" height=\"234\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/35-seo-definition.png\" alt=\"One of the top-ranking pages' definition of SEO&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/35-seo-definition.png 1470w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/35-seo-definition-680x108.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/35-seo-definition-768x122.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1470px) 100vw, 1470px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1470\" height=\"234\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/35-seo-definition.png\" alt=\"One of the top-ranking pages' definition of SEO&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/35-seo-definition.png 1470w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/35-seo-definition-680x108.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/35-seo-definition-768x122.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1470px) 100vw, 1470px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>However, we didn\u2019t explicitly state that this is what SEO stands for. Many of our competitors did.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1120\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36-seo-definition-2.png\" alt=\"One of the top-ranking pages' definition of SEO&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36-seo-definition-2.png 1120w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36-seo-definition-2-680x270.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36-seo-definition-2-768x304.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1120px) 100vw, 1120px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1120\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36-seo-definition-2.png\" alt=\"One of the top-ranking pages' definition of SEO&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36-seo-definition-2.png 1120w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36-seo-definition-2-680x270.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36-seo-definition-2-768x304.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1120px) 100vw, 1120px\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1422\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/37-seo-definition-3.png\" alt=\"One of the top-ranking pages' definition of SEO&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/37-seo-definition-3.png 1422w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/37-seo-definition-3-680x135.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/37-seo-definition-3-768x152.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1422px) 100vw, 1422px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1422\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/37-seo-definition-3.png\" alt=\"One of the top-ranking pages' definition of SEO&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/37-seo-definition-3.png 1422w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/37-seo-definition-3-680x135.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/37-seo-definition-3-768x152.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1422px) 100vw, 1422px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>For that reason, it may be worth us stating this in a more explicit way.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>14. Check for other technical issues<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Many other technical issues can hinder your rankings. That\u2019s why it\u2019s always worth crawling your site with a tool like Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a> to check for other SEO issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, if we do this for Ahrefs\u2019 blog, we find a redirect loop:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/38-redirect-loops.png\" alt=\"Redirect loop issues via Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147552\" width=\"471\" height=\"102\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/38-redirect-loops.png\" alt=\"Redirect loop issues via Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147552\" width=\"471\" height=\"102\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Redirect loops are something you\u2019re unlikely to spot by chance. So this issue would have likely gone unnoticed without a crawl-based audit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It looks like we also have missing alt text on over 2,400 images:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/39-missing-alt-text.png\" alt=\"Missing alt text issues via Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147553\" width=\"480\" height=\"122\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/39-missing-alt-text.png\" alt=\"Missing alt text issues via Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147553\" width=\"480\" height=\"122\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This is arguably not a huge problem, but the sheer number of affected images in this instance points to a likely hole in our processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Running this SEO audit gives you three things to take action on to improve SEO.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Technical SEO issues <\/strong>\u2013 Fixing these may boost your site\u2019s overall search performance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>On-page SEO issues<\/strong> \u2013 Fixing these may increase your organic clicks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Content opportunities <\/strong>\u2013 Pursuing these may rank pages higher and for more keywords.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you want to run a deeper audit, read <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/technical-seo-audit\/\">our guide to running a technical SEO audit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Got questions? Ping me <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joshuachardwick\">on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-audit\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An SEO audit is where you find opportunities to improve a site\u2019s search performance. It involves finding technical, on-page, content, and link-related issues to fix or improve. Everyone\u2019s SEO audit process differs, as there\u2019s no universal approach. But there are a handful of basic issues all site owners should look\u00a0for.\u00a0 You\u2019ll learn how to check [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}