Are free tools enough for a full SEO audit?

For a basic audit — yes. Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, Screaming Frog (free version up to 500 pages) and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools give you 80% of the picture. For deep competitor analysis and a full link profile you'll need paid tools or a specialist.

How often should I check my site's SEO?

Technical audit — every 3–6 months or after major site changes. Google Search Console — weekly, to catch traffic drops or new errors early. Keyword rankings — monthly.

What should I do if I find many errors after checking?

Prioritize: fix critical technical errors first (site inaccessible for indexing, no HTTPS, pages blocked from Google), then meta tags and content, then speed and links. Don't try to fix everything at once — it's demotivating. Take 3–5 tasks per week.

How to Check Your Website's SEO Yourself: Free Tools 2026

Step 1: Google Search Console — check if Google can see your site

If Search Console isn't connected yet — that's the first thing to do. But if you already have access, go in and check three things:

Coverage — how many pages are indexed and whether there are errors. Red errors are critical — fix them first.
Core Web Vitals — whether the site passes Google's threshold values. Poor scores directly affect rankings.
Performance — queries with many impressions and low CTR (under 3%) are pages where you need to improve meta tags.

Step 2: PageSpeed Insights — check your speed

Go to pagespeed.web.dev, enter your URL and check both mobile and desktop versions separately. Google has ranked sites primarily based on mobile since 2021.

90–100 — excellent, nothing to do
50–89 — room to improve, but not critical
0–49 — serious problem affecting rankings and conversion

Most common causes: uncompressed images (convert PNG/JPG to WebP via squoosh.app), render-blocking fonts, unused JavaScript.

Step 3: Check meta tags on all pages

Open each key page in your browser and press Ctrl+U (view source). Find in the <head>:

<title> — present? Under 60 characters? Contains the keyword?
<meta name="description"> — present? Under 160 characters? Written like ad copy?
<h1> in the body — is there exactly one H1?
<link rel="canonical"> — points to the correct page URL?

Faster method: install the SEO META in 1 CLICK Chrome extension — it shows all meta tags for the current page in one click.

Step 4: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools — check technical errors and links

Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free for site owners. After verifying your domain you get:

List of all technical errors with explanations and priority
Which sites link to you (external links)
Which keywords bring traffic according to Ahrefs data
Broken links on your site

Step 5: Check indexation via Google

In Google's search bar, type: site:yourdomain.com

Google will show all your site pages it has indexed. Compare the count with your actual page count. If Google has far fewer — there's an indexation problem (blocked robots.txt, noindex tags, no internal links to pages).

Step 6: Check heading structure

Install the HeadingsMap Chrome extension. It shows the heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3...) on any page as a tree. Look for:

Exactly one H1 per page
H2 and H3 flow logically without gaps
Headings describe section content, not decorative
Keywords present in headings naturally

Step 7: Check images

Does every image have an alt attribute with a description?
Does every image have a title attribute?
Is the format WebP? (better than JPG/PNG for quality and size)
File size under 200 KB loads fast

Step 8: Check mobile version

Go to search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly and enter your URL. The tool will show whether there are problems with the mobile version from Google's perspective.

Step 9: Check internal links

Are there links from the home page to all key sections?
Are there "orphan pages" — pages with no inbound links?
Are there broken 404 links?
Do you use anchor text with keywords, not just "here" or "read more"?

Step 10: Check Schema.org markup

Go to search.google.com/test/rich-results and enter your URL. The tool will show whether your site has structured data (Schema.org) and whether it's correct.

Minimum set for business sites: Organization or LocalBusiness on the home page, BreadcrumbList on inner pages, Article or BlogPosting for blog posts.

Master checklist

✓ Google Search Console connected, no critical errors
✓ Mobile PageSpeed > 60
✓ Title and description on all pages, unique
✓ One H1 per page
✓ Ahrefs Webmaster Tools connected, High errors fixed
✓ site:domain.com shows correct pages
✓ Heading structure logical (H1 → H2 → H3)
✓ All images have alt and title
✓ Mobile version passes Google test
✓ No orphan pages or broken links
✓ Schema.org markup present and valid

Found issues but don't know where to start?

We'll run a full technical SEO audit and create a prioritized fix plan. We'll show exactly what's blocking your Google growth — clearly and without jargon.

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