What is an SEO audit?
The featured-snippet answer, in plain language.
An SEO audit is a structured diagnosis of why a website is not ranking, converting, or growing the way it should. The Illucrum audit reviews 46 points across technical SEO, on-page SEO, keyword strategy, content depth, conversion UX, and (in the Full version) off-site authority. The output is a written report with scored severity and prioritised fixes, delivered in 3 to 7 business days.
Who this is built for
The general audit is the right fit for any site that isn't SaaS or an online store.
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Service businesses
Consultancies, agencies, professional services, whose website is the entry point to the sales conversation.
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Content sites and publishers
Where organic traffic is the primary revenue driver.
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Small-and-medium-sized companies
That have never had a formal SEO audit and want a clear baseline.
If your site is a SaaS application or an e-commerce store, the dedicated SaaS SEO audit or e-commerce SEO audit is the closer fit, with vertical-specific checks that this generic audit does not include.
The seven sections of an SEO audit
The 46 audit points are grouped into seven sections. Every check is scored on severity (green / amber / red) and prioritised by likely impact.
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Technical SEO
Crawlability, indexation, sitemap and robots configuration, HTTPS, canonical handling, mobile rendering, structured data foundations, page speed and Core Web Vitals. Most quiet ranking suppressors hide here.
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On-page SEO
Title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, content depth, intent matching, internal linking, image SEO, URL structure.
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Keyword strategy
Whether the site targets the right keywords for its business model, whether intent and content are aligned, and whether branded versus non-branded traffic is in healthy balance.
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Content and topical authority
Content quality, topical depth, cannibalisation issues, zombie pages (indexed, no traffic), and whether the content surface supports the keywords you actually want to rank for.
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Conversion UX
Hero clarity, primary CTA hierarchy, trust signals, mobile experience, navigation structure. SEO traffic only matters if it converts; this section reviews where the conversion gap is.
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Competitor positioning
The top 3 organic competitors are identified, their visibility benchmarked, and the gap quantified. The Full audit goes deeper into content and backlink gap.
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Backlinks and authority (Full audit only)
Referring domain count and growth, anchor text profile, link gap analysis against direct competitors. 66.5% of all web pages have zero backlinks; the audit identifies what is realistic to close in 6 to 12 months.
Patterns that repeat across website audits
Anonymised examples of what the report surfaces.
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01
Wrong page targeting the head term
A homepage targeting a high-volume informational keyword that does not convert, while the actual money pages are buried three clicks deep in the navigation.
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Duplicate title tags
Title tags duplicated across 40+ pages, suppressing each page's ability to rank.
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Internal linking on the wrong pages
Internal linking concentrated on the homepage and the contact page; the actual service pages receive almost no internal link equity.
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Core Web Vitals failing on mobile
Core Web Vitals failing on mobile, with mobile being 60%+ of the site's traffic.
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Blog zombies
A blog with 80 posts where 75 receive zero organic traffic; the remaining 5 carry the whole site.
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06
Competing CTAs above the fold
A contact page with three competing CTAs above the fold, each pointing somewhere different.
The report is specific to the site. No filler.
Or... drop your details and we'll contact you.
Two audit tiers, both for general websites
Basic for smaller sites and first-time audits. Full when competitive positioning and authority matter.
| Basic | Full | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $297 | $597 |
| Check count | 26 points | 46 points |
| Sections covered | 1 to 5 | All 7 |
| Backlink and authority review | Not included | Included |
| Competitor depth | Top 3 competitors | Top 3 competitors, with content and link-gap analysis |
| Delivery | 3 to 5 business days | 5 to 7 business days |
| Output | Written report, prioritised action plan | Written report, prioritised action plan, link-gap appendix |
Not sure which tier is the right call? See the Basic vs Full audit comparison.
Considering whether a vertical-specific audit is a better fit? See SaaS vs website SEO audit or e-commerce vs website SEO audit.
For full pricing across all audit types, see the pricing page.
How an audit takes shape, in four steps
Same shape for every audit; the deliverable is consistent across verticals.
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Intake
A short brief: the site URL and the question you want answered. WhatsApp or email; no calls required.
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Crawl and tooling
The site is crawled and analysed across Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, Ahrefs, and structured-data validators.
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Manual review
Every check is verified by hand. AI-assisted scoring is used for triage, not for final answers.
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Report
A written PDF report with scored findings, prioritised fixes, and an action plan.
Full process detail at How an Illucrum SEO audit takes shape.
Why this audit, not another
What makes this audit different from a generic SEO review, in plain language.
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01
One person, one process
Every audit is delivered by the founder; nothing is offshored or templated.
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Source-backed methodology
Every benchmark referenced in the report has a citable source. See SEO facts and statistics.
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No fabricated case studies
Reports use anonymised findings only.
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Written-first delivery
No retainer trap, no sales call, no calendar block.
SEO audit FAQ
The questions that come up most often before a website audit. The full FAQ has more.
What is an SEO audit and what does it include?
An SEO audit is a structured diagnosis of why your site isn't ranking, converting, or growing the way it should. The Illucrum audit covers 46 points across technical SEO, on-page SEO, keyword strategy, content, competitor positioning, and conversion UX. The output is a prioritised, scored action plan, not a generic checklist.
How long does an SEO audit take?
Three to five business days for the Basic audit, five to seven for the Full audit. The Full version takes longer because the backlink and competitor gap analysis involves data-gathering across external tools.
Can I do my own SEO audit?
For a small site with low competition, yes, especially on the on-page side. For competitive niches or anything beyond the basics, the bottleneck is rarely knowledge; it is interpretation and prioritisation. The full answer lives at SEO audit vs DIY.
Will an SEO tool do the same job?
Tools surface symptoms; an audit interprets them. The full comparison lives at SEO audit vs SEO tool.
What happens after the report?
You implement the findings yourself, hire someone to implement them, or hire me. There is no obligation to continue. The decision logic lives at SEO audit vs SEO retainer.
Is the audit confidential?
Yes. No client work is published without explicit permission, and no findings are shared externally.
See the full FAQ for website audits for more questions, or jump to general SEO audit questions.
Ready to find what's slowing your site down?
Audits are scheduled in the order requests come in. Describe the site and the question you want answered; we will scope it from there.
Contact us
Or... drop your details and we'll contact you.