TL;DR
Staying on top of your website’s SEO is essential if you want to perform well in search rankings.
An SEO audit helps you identify what’s working, what’s holding you back, and where improvements can be made.
But with so many tools out there, it can be hard to know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our favourite tools for SEO audits. Whether you’re running a small business or managing multiple ecommerce stores, these tools will help you keep your site in good shape.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free platform provided by Google that offers invaluable insight into how your site performs in the search engine’s eyes. For many, this is the foundation of an SEO audit because it comes directly from the source.
Why we use it:
- Discover which keywords bring in organic traffic
- Identify indexing issues and coverage errors
- Monitor mobile usability and Core Web Vitals
- Submit XML sitemaps and track crawling progress
- Uncover security concerns like malware or manual actions
What makes Google Search Console stand out is its accessibility and direct data from Google. You can review which URLs are indexed, check for structured data issues, and even view clicks, impressions, and average position across different queries.
It’s simple to set up and provides regular updates on how your site is performing in search. For both technical SEO and performance tracking, GSC is essential.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog is a downloadable desktop application that mimics how a search engine crawls your website. It scans hundreds or even thousands of pages in minutes, identifying technical SEO problems that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Why we use it:
- Locate broken internal or external links
- Find duplicate, missing, or overlong meta data
- Audit canonical tags, hreflang usage, and robots directives
- Detect redirect chains and loops
- Analyse page depth, internal linking, and crawl hierarchy
It’s not just for techies, Screaming Frog also integrates with Google Analytics and Google Search Console, letting you compare crawl data with user behaviour and traffic patterns.
For SEO professionals focused on site architecture and crawl efficiency, this tool is a staple. Its CSV exports and flexible filters make in-depth analysis a breeze.
Semrush Site Audit Tool
Semrush is well-known as a comprehensive digital marketing platform, but its site audit feature alone makes it a strong contender. The Semrush Site Audit Tool checks your website for more than 140 on-site and technical issues that could be impacting performance.
Why we use it:
- Highlight crawlability issues and broken internal links
- Diagnose slow-loading pages and site speed bottlenecks
- Ensure HTTPS implementation and secure configurations
- Assess internal linking, structured data, and AMP issues
- Generate an overall Site Health Score for benchmarking
Semrush’s audit reports are clean, intuitive, and include visual elements that make prioritising fixes easier.
Plus, it offers real-time tips and explains problems in plain language, so even less-experienced users can take action confidently. It’s a fantastic tool for ongoing audits and continuous improvement.
Ahrefs Site Audit
Best known for its backlink analysis, Ahrefs also offers a comprehensive site audit feature that shouldn’t be overlooked. It provides in-depth technical insights and useful visual breakdowns that make even the most complex issues easier to digest.
Why we use it:
- Crawl your site for errors, redirects, and orphan pages
- Spot slow-loading assets and bloated JavaScript files
- Identify thin or duplicate content and cannibalisation
- Examine internal linking and crawl depth
Ahrefs also gives you a Health Score to quickly assess the overall state of your website. You can track your progress over time, sort issues by type or severity, and get detailed explanations on how to resolve them.
If you’re already using Ahrefs for keyword research and backlink tracking, their audit feature adds a strong technical component to your toolkit.
Moz Pro Site Crawl
Moz Pro offers a clean and beginner-friendly way to find and fix SEO issues. It provides easy-to-understand reports that help you make quick improvements.
Why we use it:
- Find duplicate content and missing tags
- Track weekly site health trends
- Get recommendations you can act on
- Simplify technical SEO for non-tech users
It also features a Moz Score which tracks site improvements over time. You can set up recurring crawls to catch issues early and stay ahead of competitors.
Moz is great for marketers who want the insights without the complexity.
GTmetrix
GTmetrix focuses on one important part of SEO audits: speed. It breaks down your site’s performance and explains how to make pages load faster.
Why we use it:
- Test Core Web Vitals
- Identify scripts slowing your site down
- Get performance grades and history
- See how your site performs on mobile vs desktop
It uses data from both Google Lighthouse and Web Vitals. GTmetrix also offers a filmstrip view and video replay to show exactly where delays occur.
It’s ideal for quick insights into how speed might be affecting user experience and rankings.
Get a complete picture of your website’s health
There’s no single best tool for every SEO audit. The right choice depends on your goals, site size, and level of expertise. But the tools above cover all the key areas – technical issues, content quality, backlinks, speed, and more.
By combining a few of these tools, you can create a complete picture of your website’s health and find opportunities to improve. Whether you’re running a local business, scaling an ecommerce operation, or managing multiple domains, a regular audit keeps your SEO efforts on track.
We recommend performing an SEO audit every quarter, or more frequently if you’re actively making changes to your site or content.
