SEO Audit: What to Check Before Paying Someone

An SEO audit checks why Google does not show your site to people searching for what you sell. A good report lists a few key items in order of impact, says who should fix them, and explains how to measure the results. If you get a long PDF with hundreds of "errors" and no priorities, you received a tool report, not an audit.

Before you hire someone or accept a report, check the following.

What is an SEO audit?

It is a diagnosis of four layers:

1. Google can read your site: crawling, indexing, speed, and mobile version.
2. Each page clearly states what it is: titles, descriptions, headings, and structured data.
3. You have the right page for each search: if someone searches for "CRM implementation" and your site only has a home page, there is nothing to rank.
4. Other sites mention you: links and mentions from relevant sites.

Most audits stop at the first layer because tools check that automatically. Usually, the big problem is in the third layer.

What should a good SEO audit include?

Area	What is checked	Where to look	Warning sign
Indexing	How many pages Google has indexed and which ones it excluded, and why	Search Console, page indexing report	Service pages marked as "crawled, but not indexed"
Speed and mobile	LCP, INP, and CLS using real user data	Search Console (Core Web Vitals) and PageSpeed Insights	LCP over 2.5 s on mobile
Structure	One page per service, logical internal links, and URLs that explain the content	Site crawl	The whole site on one page, or URLs like /p?id=123
Content and intent	What your customer searches for and if you have a page that answers it	Search Console (queries) and a keyword tool	Traffic from searches that have nothing to do with what you sell
Titles and descriptions	Each page has its own, with no duplicates or cuts	Site crawl	The same title on 20 pages
Structured data	Organization, services, FAQs, and articles	Google rich results test	Data that does not match what is seen on the page
Local	Google profile, name, phone, and area are consistent	Google profile	Different phone number on the site and the profile
Languages	hreflang and correct version per language	Page code	The English version marked as Spanish
Authority	Who links to you and from where	Search Console (links)	Hundreds of links from unrelated directories

The speed thresholds are what Google considers good: LCP of 2.5 seconds or less, INP of 200 milliseconds or less, and CLS of 0.1 or less.

How do I know if the audit I got is useful?

Ask five questions:

1. Does it have priorities? It must say what to fix first and why. Ten ordered changes are worth more than 300 loose findings.
2. Does it use your real data? If they did not ask for access to your Search Console, they worked with estimates from an external tool.
3. Does it talk about your business? It must mention your services and your customers' searches, not just technical errors.
4. Does it say who does each task? Some fixes are for your developer, others for the writer, and others for the person managing the Google profile.
5. Does it say how to measure it? Impressions and clicks per page in Search Console, and how many visits become contacts.

If the answer to most of these is no, the document might be correct but still not help you make decisions.

What signs show you only got a tool report?

• Hundreds of "errors" with the same importance.
• Phrases like "improve on-page SEO" without saying which page or what to change.
• Recommendations that do not apply to your site: fixing something in WordPress when your site is not WordPress.
• A score from 0 to 100 as the main conclusion.
• No mention of your competitors or which searches you are losing.

Tools are useful; I use several. The problem is delivering their output without interpreting it.

How long does an SEO audit take?

For a service site with 10 to 50 pages, a useful audit takes days, not weeks. The most time-consuming part is not running the tool, but checking search intent page by page and setting priorities.

It takes longer to see results after the audit. Technical changes show up in weeks; new content can take months to rank. That is why the audit should mark what to measure from day one.

Can I do an SEO audit myself?

A basic one, yes. With Search Console, you can check in one afternoon:

• How many pages you have indexed and which are excluded.
• Which searches bring you impressions and what position you rank in.
• If your Core Web Vitals are "good" on mobile.

If you see searches that are relevant to your business but you rank on page 2 or 3, that is your fastest opportunity. What is harder to do alone is deciding which pages are missing and in what order to build them.

20-minute Search Console check, step by step

If you have never opened Search Console, start here. The names below are from the Spanish menu:

1. Indexing › Pages. Note how many pages are indexed and how many are not. Open the reasons for "not indexed" and check if any of your service pages appear there.
2. Performance › Search results. Turn on "Average position" and sort queries by impressions. Those that are relevant to your business and rank between positions 8 and 20 are your opportunity list.
3. In the same view, Pages tab. Check which page receives each search. If the home page gets searches for a service that has its own page, you lack internal links or the service page is weak.
4. Experience › Core Web Vitals. Look at mobile. If there are URLs marked as "poor," note them for your developer.
5. Links. Check which sites link to you and with what text. A few good links are worth more than many from directories.

With these five screens, you can have an informed conversation with whoever audits your site.

What to have ready before hiring an audit

• Read-only access to Search Console and GA4.
• Admin access to your site or, at least, someone who can make changes.
• A list of your services, ordered by which one gives you the most profit.
• The 3 or 4 competitors your customers compare you with.
• If you have a Google profile, access to it.

Without this, the audit is based on guesses and the diagnosis is more generic.

How often should you do an SEO audit?

A full audit once a year, or before and after any redesign, platform change, or domain change. That is when you lose the most traffic due to URLs that change without redirects. In between, the 20-minute Search Console check every month is enough: it warns you if something broke before you notice it in sales.

What I would do with an audit in hand

1. Fix what prevents Google from indexing your service pages first.
2. Then, create the missing page for the search that sells the most.
3. Finally, everything else: titles, structured data, and fine-tuning speed.

I work as an independent SEO consultant in Mexico City. If you want an audit with priorities and not an 80-page PDF, book 30 minutes.