Organic Growth Audit Checklist

Site loads in under 3 seconds on mobile

Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal. Slow pages lose both rankings and visitors.

No critical crawl errors in Google Search Console

404s, server errors, and redirect chains prevent search engines from indexing your content.

XML sitemap is submitted and up to date

Your sitemap tells search engines what pages exist and when they were last updated.

Robots.txt is not blocking important pages

A misconfigured robots.txt can silently prevent your best content from being indexed.

HTTPS is enforced across all pages

Google has used HTTPS as a ranking signal since 2014. Mixed content warnings erode trust.

Mobile experience is fully responsive

Google uses mobile-first indexing. If your mobile experience is broken, your rankings suffer.

Structured data (schema markup) is implemented

Schema helps search engines understand your content and enables rich snippets in results.

No duplicate content or canonical tag issues

Duplicate pages dilute your authority. Canonical tags tell search engines which version to rank.

Every key service/product has a dedicated landing page

Each offering needs its own optimized page targeting specific search intent.

Content targets specific search intent, not just keywords

Understanding whether someone wants to learn, compare, or buy determines what content to create.

Blog or resource section publishes consistently

Regular publishing signals freshness and builds topical authority over time.

Content is original, not rewritten from competitors

Derivative content rarely ranks. Original research, perspectives, and data create differentiation.

Existing content is audited and updated regularly

Outdated content actively suppresses your search authority. Stale pages are a ranking liability.

Title tags and meta descriptions are unique per page

These are your first impression in search results. Generic or duplicate metadata costs clicks.

Content addresses questions your audience actually asks

The gap between what you want to say and what people search for is where traffic dies.

No thin pages with under 300 words of substantive content

Thin pages signal low quality to search engines and can drag down your entire domain.

Clear URL hierarchy reflects content structure

URLs like /services/seo/ tell both users and search engines how your content is organized.

Important pages are reachable within 3 clicks from homepage

Pages buried deep in your site get less crawl budget and less authority.

Internal links connect related content with descriptive anchor text

Internal links distribute authority and help search engines understand topical relationships.

Navigation is consistent and crawlable (no JS-only menus)

If search engines can't follow your navigation, they can't discover your pages.

Topic clusters link pillar pages to supporting content

Clustering content around themes builds topical authority faster than isolated posts.

No orphan pages (pages with zero internal links pointing to them)

Orphan pages are invisible to search engines and waste your content investment.

You know which competitors rank for your target keywords

You can't build a strategy without knowing who you're competing against in search results.

Content gaps vs. competitors are identified and documented

Topics your competitors cover that you don't represent immediate ranking opportunities.

Your domain authority is tracked and benchmarked

Domain authority indicates your site's overall ability to rank. Know where you stand.

Backlink profile is healthy — no toxic links, active link building

Quality backlinks remain one of the strongest ranking signals. Toxic links actively hurt you.

You monitor competitor content and ranking changes

When a competitor publishes or gains rankings, it directly impacts your position.

Share of voice is measured for your core keyword categories

Share of voice tells you what percentage of available search traffic you're capturing.

Your brand appears in ChatGPT responses for key queries

AI-generated answers are becoming a primary information source. If you're not cited, you're invisible.

Your content is structured for AI extraction (clear headers, lists, definitions)

LLMs favor well-structured content they can parse and cite. Wall-of-text pages get skipped.

You appear in Perplexity, Gemini, and other AI search tools

Each AI platform sources differently. Visibility in one doesn't guarantee visibility in others.

Your brand narrative is consistent across authoritative sources

AI systems cross-reference multiple sources. Inconsistent information reduces citation confidence.

No pages with outdated statistics, dates, or claims

Stale content signals neglect to search engines and erodes trust with visitors.

Legal and regulatory content is current and reviewed

Non-compliant content creates both legal risk and ranking penalties.

All external links point to live, relevant destinations

Broken outbound links signal poor maintenance and hurt user experience signals.

Author attribution and E-E-A-T signals are present

Google's quality guidelines emphasize Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.