SEO Audit Checklist for Manchester Businesses (2026)

✅ Technical SEO Audit

Technical issues are often the biggest drag on rankings. Start here before anything else.

Crawlability

• Check robots.txt — is it blocking any important pages or directories?
• Check for noindex tags on pages that should be indexed (check via Search Console's Coverage report)
• Crawl the site with a tool (Screaming Frog free version covers up to 500 pages) and check for 4xx and 5xx errors
• Verify that your XML sitemap exists, is submitted to Google Search Console, and contains all important pages
• Check for redirect chains (301 → 301 → 301) — these lose link equity and should be flattened

Page Speed and Core Web Vitals

• Run your homepage through Google PageSpeed Insights — aim for 75+ on mobile
• Check Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console (Enhancements → Core Web Vitals)
• Check your LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) — should be under 2.5 seconds
• Check your CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) — should be below 0.1
• Check image sizes — images should be compressed and served in WebP format where possible

HTTPS and Security

• Confirm your site runs on HTTPS (padlock in the browser bar)
• Check that HTTP URLs redirect to HTTPS
• Check that www and non-www versions redirect to a single canonical version

Duplicate Content and Canonical Tags

• Check for canonical tags on all key pages — are they pointing to the correct canonical URL?
• Check for duplicate title tags across multiple pages
• Check for paginated content issues (page 2, page 3 of blog listings)
• For WordPress: check that category, tag, and author archives are either noindexed or canonicalised correctly

Mobile

• Run your site through Google's Mobile-Friendly Test
• Check that font sizes are readable on mobile (minimum 16px body text)
• Check that tap targets (buttons, links) are large enough and well-spaced on mobile

✅ On-Page SEO Audit

On-page SEO determines how well your pages match the searches you want to rank for.

• Check title tags — does every page have a unique, descriptive title tag under 60 characters?
• Check meta descriptions — does every page have a unique meta description under 160 characters? (Not a direct ranking factor but affects CTR)
• Check H1 headings — does every page have exactly one H1 that includes the primary keyword?
• Check heading hierarchy — are H2s and H3s used logically to structure content?
• Check image alt text — do all meaningful images have descriptive alt text?
• Check internal links — are key pages linked to from other relevant pages on the site?
• Check URL structure — are URLs short, descriptive, and keyword-relevant?
• Check for keyword cannibalisation — are multiple pages targeting the same keyword and competing with each other?

✅ Content Audit

Content quality is increasingly important as Google's algorithms have become better at evaluating E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).

• Identify thin pages (under 300 words) that add little value — consider expanding, merging, or deleting them
• Check that your key service pages fully address search intent — what does the user want to know?
• Check for outdated content — statistics, pricing, product names, or events that are no longer current
• Check for trust signals on key pages — author credentials, accreditations, case studies, testimonials
• Assess content depth — are your main pages comprehensive compared to competitors ranking above you?
• Check blog content — is it being indexed? Is it driving any organic traffic? Is any of it cannibalising key service pages?

✅ Backlink Profile Audit

Your backlink profile tells you how Google perceives your site's authority and whether there are any toxic links causing issues.

• Use a free tool (Ahrefs Webmaster Tools or Google Search Console's Links report) to see your current backlink profile
• Check the total number of referring domains — is it growing over time?
• Identify your most valuable links — which sites link to you with the most authority?
• Look for toxic or spammy links — links from irrelevant, low-quality, or manipulative sites
• Check anchor text distribution — is it varied and natural, or over-optimised with repeated exact-match keywords?
• Compare your link profile to top-ranking competitors — what do they have that you do not?
• Check for broken links on your site — pages with backlinks that now return 404 errors (these should be 301 redirected)

✅ Local SEO Audit

For Manchester service businesses, local SEO is often the highest-ROI area of SEO work. See our dedicated Local SEO Checklist for the full list, or use this summary:

• Check your Google Business Profile is claimed, verified, and fully optimised
• Check your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) is identical across your website, GBP, and all directories
• Check your review count and rating — and whether you are responding to reviews
• Check that you are listed in all relevant directories for your sector and location
• Check for location pages on your site — do you have pages targeting each area you serve?
• Check LocalBusiness schema is implemented correctly on your website

Tools You Need

Most of the checks above can be done using free tools:

• Google Search Console: Free — essential for crawl coverage, Core Web Vitals, and links reports
• Google Analytics 4: Free — traffic, behaviour, and conversion tracking
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Free up to 500 URLs — crawl your site for technical issues
• Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: Free for site owners — backlink profile and keyword rankings
• Google PageSpeed Insights: Free — page speed and Core Web Vitals
• Google Mobile-Friendly Test: Free — mobile usability

How to Prioritise What to Fix

An SEO audit will generate a long list of issues. Not all of them deserve equal attention. Prioritise fixes using this framework:

1. Fix first: Crawl blocks, noindex errors on important pages, site speed below 50 on mobile, HTTPS issues — these are fundamental and affect everything else
2. Fix second: Duplicate content, missing or broken canonical tags, broken links — these dilute your authority and confuse Google
3. Fix third: Title tag and meta description optimisation, internal linking improvements, on-page content upgrades
4. Build on top: Link building, content expansion, schema markup — these compound once the technical foundation is solid

If you would rather have a professional audit done for you, MancSEO provides comprehensive SEO audits for Manchester businesses, including a prioritised action plan. Get in touch to request yours.