How to Make an SEO Audit Report (With Free Template)

Jul 28, 2026 · SEO Audits

Making an SEO audit report boils down to three phases: collect data, analyze it, and present findings in a way that drives action. The technical part is easy — any crawler can find broken links. The hard part is turning data into a report someone will actually read and act on.

Phase 1: Collect the Data

Run the Site Crawl

Use a crawler to scan every page on the site. What you're collecting:

• HTTP response codes for every URL (200, 301, 404, 500)
• Title tags, meta descriptions, H1 tags for every page
• Internal link structure (what links to what)
• Image alt text presence and file sizes
• Page load metrics (if the tool supports it)
• Robots.txt and sitemap configuration

WebsiteChecker.Tech runs all of these checks automatically and presents findings with severity levels and plain-English explanations — which saves significant time in Phase 3 (presentation).

Check Google Search Console

Search Console provides data no crawler can replicate:

• Index coverage: Which pages Google has indexed, which it excluded, and why
• Core Web Vitals: Real-user speed data (not just lab tests)
• Mobile usability: Issues detected on actual mobile users' devices
• Manual actions: Any penalties from Google
• Security issues: Malware or hacking detected by Google

Test Page Speed

Run PageSpeed Insights on the homepage and 3-5 key pages. Record:

• Performance score (0-100)
• Largest Contentful Paint (target: under 2.5s)
• Total Blocking Time (target: under 200ms)
• Cumulative Layout Shift (target: under 0.1)

Phase 2: Analyze and Prioritize

Raw data isn't a report. You need to answer: what matters most?

Prioritize issues using this matrix:

Examples of quick wins (high impact, low effort):

• Fixing a robots.txt that blocks important pages (5-minute fix, potentially hundreds of pages unblocked)
• Adding missing meta descriptions (copy task, improves CTR)
• Removing redirect chains (replace A→B→C with A→C)

Examples of "plan and schedule" (high impact, high effort):

• Major page speed optimization (code changes, image pipeline, CDN setup)
• Site migration from HTTP to HTTPS with proper redirects
• Restructuring site architecture for better internal linking

Phase 3: Structure the Report

Use this template structure:

1. Cover page — client name, date, your branding
2. Executive summary — health score, top 3 findings, overall assessment (1 page max)
3. Crawl overview — pages found, response code breakdown, crawl depth
4. Issues by category — grouped by type (technical, on-page, speed, mobile), each with: description, impact, affected pages, fix recommendation
5. Page speed results — Core Web Vitals for key pages
6. Prioritized action plan — ranked list of fixes with effort estimates
7. Appendix — full URL lists, detailed data tables (link to tool export)

Phase 4: Present to the Client

Don't email the report and hope they read it. Schedule a 20-minute walkthrough:

1. Start with the health score. "Your site scores 64 out of 100. Here's what that means."
2. Cover the top 3 findings. Explain each in plain English. Focus on business impact, not technical jargon.
3. Show the action plan. "Here are the 5 things I recommend fixing, in order of priority."
4. Propose next steps. This is where the audit turns into paid work — "Would you like me to implement these fixes?"

The 20-minute walkthrough is more effective than a 30-page PDF. Clients remember conversations, not documents.