What is the best SEO audit template?

It depends on the type of project. If you work with content, the Notion version is ideal for its clarity and collaboration. If you're more technical, the template focused on performance and loading will suit you better. For online stores, the ecommerce version is essential. And if you want to keep everything under control with automatic calculations, Google Sheets is the most practical. What matters isn't the tool, it's the method.

How often should an SEO audit be done?

A complete audit every 3-6 months is recommended. For large sites, with many products or in highly competitive sectors, it may be necessary to review it monthly. An audit is a one-off exhaustive analysis, while the maintenance checklist is lighter and is reviewed weekly or monthly.

SEO Audit · Resource

SEO Audit Template: Practical Guide with a Free Tool and Formats for Every Project

Q: What's the difference between an SEO audit and a maintenance checklist?

An SEO audit is an exhaustive analysis done on a one-off basis (every 3-6 months) and covers all areas: technical, content, performance and off-page. The maintenance checklist is lighter, reviewed more frequently (weekly or monthly) and focuses on recurring tasks like updates, backups or checking for 404 errors.

Need a template to audit your site or your clients’ sites? Here you have the base structure professionals use, adapted to Google Sheets, Notion, ecommerce or technical audits.

Published on July 21, 2026 · Updated on October 1, 2026 · 11 min read

Need a template to audit your site or your clients’ sites? Here you have the base structure professionals use for SEO, adapted to Google Sheets, Notion, ecommerce or technical audits.

Plus, I’m introducing you to a free tool that automates them. If you’re starting from scratch, begin with what SEO is and how it works and the guide to a complete SEO audit in 7 steps.

Template versions depending on what you need

People look for templates in different formats. Here you have the four most in-demand versions. Choose the one that best fits your project.

Option 1: Google Sheets (with automatic formulas)

Perfect if you like having everything in a spreadsheet and want the calculations to happen on their own.

Tab	What it contains	Key formulas
Summary	Area, average score, status (✅/⚠️/❌) and priority (high/medium/low)	`=AVERAGE()` to calculate scores. `=IF()` to change colors based on the grade.
Technical	Element, status, notes, priority	`=COUNTIF()` to count how many elements are OK.
On-Page	Element, status, notes, priority	Data validation for statuses and priorities.
Content	Element, status, notes, priority	`=VLOOKUP()` to look up data across tabs.
Performance	Element, status, notes, priority	Radar chart at the end to visualize scores.
Off-Page	Element, status, notes, priority	Conditional formatting to color cells automatically.

Option 2: Notion (content-focused)

Ideal if you work with content and want a quick and collaborative overview.

Block/Section	What it includes	How it’s organized
Executive summary	Overall score, main issues, priority recommendations	All on a main page with clear formatting.
Technical checklist	robots.txt, sitemap, HTTPS, canonicals… each with status (✅/⚠️/❌)	Checklist blocks with checkboxes and emojis.
On-Page database	URL, Title, Meta, H1, H2, Keywords and Notes	Table where each row is a different page.
Content notes	Quality, freshness, search intent, duplicates	Text blocks with bullet points and dates.
Performance	LCP, INP, CLS with their status	Data pasted from PageSpeed Insights with visual status.

Option 3: Complex ecommerce

For online store cases with many products and categories.

Area	What to review	Priority action
Products	Unique titles with attributes (size, color), original descriptions, spec tables, product schema and reviews, images with alt	Create a control sheet per product category.
Categories	Unique introductory text, logical hierarchy, filters without duplicate URLs, internal links	Review main categories and subcategories.
Cart & Checkout	Visible cart, checkout over HTTPS with few steps, clear payment methods, active SSL certificate	Simulate purchases to detect friction.

Option 4: Purely technical approach (performance and loading)

Perfect if you want to go straight to the point and leave content for another time.

Metric	Recommended value	Tool
LCP	< 2.5 seconds	PageSpeed Insights / CrUX
INP	< 200 milliseconds	PageSpeed Insights / CrUX
CLS	< 0.1	PageSpeed Insights / CrUX
FCP	< 1.8 seconds	PageSpeed Insights
TTI	< 3.8 seconds	PageSpeed Insights
Page size	< 3 MB	PageSpeed Insights
Requests	< 50	PageSpeed Insights

Technical checklist:

Element	Status	Notes
Server: HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 and TTFB < 200ms	✅/⚠️/❌	—
Cache configured correctly	✅/⚠️/❌	—
Images in WebP/AVIF with lazy loading	✅/⚠️/❌	—
Minified CSS and inline critical CSS	✅/⚠️/❌	—
Minified, async or deferred JS	✅/⚠️/❌	—
Fonts with font-display: swap and in WOFF2	✅/⚠️/❌	—
CDN for static content	✅/⚠️/❌	—
Hosting adequate for the traffic	✅/⚠️/❌	—

The base SEO audit template that works for everything

Before adapting it to formats or niches, you need the mother structure. This is what can’t be missing from any self-respecting SEO audit.

1. Technical Audit: the foundation

Start with the basics. If the site isn’t crawlable and indexable, everything else fails.

robots.txt: does it exist? Does it block important content by mistake? Check it with AuditáSEO or Google Search Console. Here you have how to create robots.txt and XML sitemap correctly.
XML Sitemap: is it up to date and submitted to Google Search Console?
Status codes: look for misconfigured 404, 301 or 302 errors. AuditáSEO detects them automatically. Here you have how HTTP codes and web errors work.
Canonicals: every page should have its correct rel="canonical" and without conflicts.
HTTPS: the whole site should be secure. If there’s mixed content (HTTP and HTTPS), fix it.
URL structure: they should be clean, use hyphens and be descriptive. No weird parameters.
Structured data: check that Schema (FAQ, Article, Product, etc.) is implemented and validate with Google’s tool. Here you have a list of useful schemas and how to check that your schema works.

2. On-Page Audit: the content

Here we evaluate each key page and its optimization for search engines.

Title Tag: it should be unique, attractive, contain the main keyword and be between 50-60 characters. Here you have how to optimize the meta title and meta description.
Meta Description: unique, persuasive and 120-160 characters. It doesn’t directly influence ranking, but it improves CTR.
Headings (H1-H6): there should be a single H1 per page. The hierarchy (H2, H3…) should be logical and semantic. Here you have the H1, H2 and H3 hierarchy guide.
Content: it has to be useful, original, resolve search intent and have an adequate length. No thin or duplicate content.
Keywords: they should appear naturally, without stuffing. Use synonyms and semantically related terms (LSI). Review how to choose keywords wisely.
Internal links: the structure should be logical. Anchor texts should be descriptive.
Images: all should have descriptive alt attributes. The file name also helps.

3. Performance and User Experience (UX)

Google rewards sites that offer a good experience. This is what needs to be reviewed.

Core Web Vitals: the LCP (loading), INP (interactivity) and CLS (visual stability) metrics must meet Google’s thresholds. Here you have how to improve your Core Web Vitals.
Loading speed: the page should load fast on mobile and desktop. Use PageSpeed Insights to measure it.
Mobile responsiveness: the site should look and work well on all devices. Google’s Mobile-Friendly test is your friend.
Usability: navigation should be intuitive. Buttons and CTAs should be where the user expects them.

Frequently asked questions about SEO templates and audits

Which of these templates is better?

It depends on your project. If you work with content, the Notion one is ideal. If you’re a techie, the performance version will suit you better. For online stores, the ecommerce version is essential. And if you like having everything under control, Google Sheets is your ally.

Can I use the template in another format?

Of course. All these templates are adaptable. You can copy the structure into Trello, Asana, ClickUp or even a Word document. What matters is the method, not the tool.

What’s the difference between an SEO audit and a maintenance checklist?

An audit is an exhaustive analysis done on a one-off basis (every 3-6 months). The maintenance checklist is lighter and reviewed more frequently (weekly or monthly).

How often should I do an SEO audit?

It depends on the project, but a complete audit every 3-6 months is a good starting point. For large sites or highly competitive sectors, it can be monthly.

If you’d rather have a specialist audit your site, I review your project with the same criteria I apply in my professional audits and deliver a clear report with a prioritized action plan. Tell me about your project and I’ll reply in less than 48 hours.

Written by

Alex Figueiras

Freelance SEO consultant in Valencia · WordPress + Elementor + Rank Math

I help local businesses and SMEs rank on Google with technical audits, on-page SEO and content that converts. More than 40 projects audited and cases measured in sectors such as renovations, training and ecommerce.