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SEO basics Latest

SEO audit checklist: 25 things to check on your site

The 25 checks we run on every site, in the order that finds problems fastest.

Jul 10, 2026 · 11 min read

All guides

  1. Internal linking for SEO: the most underused ranking lever How links between your own pages lift rankings, and a system to do it right. SEO basics 9 min
  2. SEO pricing: what small businesses actually pay in 2026 Freelancer vs agency vs in-house, what each really costs in 2026, and how to tell value from a markup. SEO strategy 10 min
  3. How to get backlinks as a small business (without buying them) Nine honest link-earning tactics that work at small-business scale, and the traps to skip. SEO strategy 10 min
  4. Google algorithm update recovery: what to do when traffic drops Confirm it was the update, find what it targeted, and recover methodically. SEO strategy 10 min
  5. Google Business Profile optimization checklist Every setting, category, and habit that moves you up the local map pack, in the order to do them. Local SEO 11 min
  6. SEO for service area businesses: ranking where you work, not where you sit How travel-to-customer businesses rank across every town they serve. Local SEO 10 min
  7. Core Web Vitals, explained for business owners What the three metrics measure, how much they matter, and the usual fixes. Technical SEO 9 min
  8. How long does SEO take to work? A month-by-month timeline for small businesses, plus the factors that speed it up or slow it down. SEO basics 9 min
  9. On-page SEO checklist: how to optimize a page properly Titles, headings, intent, links, images, schema: the full per-page routine. SEO basics 10 min
  10. Local citations: what they are and how to build them Why consistent business listings still matter, and how to fix yours. Local SEO 8 min
  11. Do Google reviews help SEO? What actually matters How reviews really influence local rankings, and a clean system for earning them. Local SEO 8 min
  12. SEO vs Google Ads: where should a small business spend first? One compounds, one is a tap you rent. How to split your budget by situation. SEO strategy 9 min
  13. Keyword research for small business: a practical method Find terms you can win, sort them by intent, and turn them into pages. Content 10 min
  14. What is local SEO? A plain-English guide The map pack, the factors that matter, and your first five moves. Local SEO 9 min
  15. Website redesign SEO checklist: keep your rankings intact Redesigns kill more rankings than algorithm updates. Protect yours with this list. Technical SEO 10 min
  16. Google Search Console for beginners: the five reports that matter The five free reports worth checking monthly, and what to do with each. SEO basics 9 min
  17. DIY SEO: what to do yourself and when to get help The tasks you can genuinely do yourself, the ones to buy, and a 4-hour routine. SEO strategy 10 min
  18. Content ideas for local businesses that actually earn traffic The formats that earn local search traffic: cost guides, comparisons, pre-sale answers. Content 9 min
  19. How to choose an SEO agency: questions that expose the bad ones The questions that expose weak agencies, and what a fair engagement looks like. SEO strategy 9 min
  20. Duplicate content on small sites: real problem or SEO myth? No penalty exists, yet duplication still costs rankings. Where it hides and the fix. Technical SEO 8 min

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