What Is an SEO Audit? Everything You Need to Know
If your mission-driven business or nonprofit has a website, you already know it’s your digital front door. But is it working as hard as it could be? Are the right people finding you online? Are you missing out on organic traffic?
That’s where an SEO audit comes in.
Whether you’ve just launched your site or have been running it for years, an SEO audit helps you take a step back, see the big picture, and make informed decisions to grow your online reach.
Let’s break down what an SEO audit actually is, what it includes, and how it can empower ethical brands to show up, stand out, and grow sustainably.
What Is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit is a comprehensive review of your website’s search engine performance. It examines the technical setup, on-page content, keyword targeting, and off-site factors (such as backlinks) to assess how well your site is optimized for search.
Think of it as a health check-up for your website—it shows what’s working, what’s broken, and where you have the most potential to grow.
Why an SEO Audit Matters for Ethical Brands
Ethical businesses and nonprofits often rely on values-based marketing, word of mouth, or social media. But without a strong organic search presence, they risk:
Missing new supporters or customers
Losing visibility to better-optimized competitors
Wasting time and money on content that never gets seen
An SEO audit helps you:
Understand your current visibility
Spot missed opportunities
Prioritize fixes that actually move the needle
If you're trying to grow your impact without leaning on ads, an SEO audit is the best place to start.
What Does an SEO Audit Include?
Every SEO audit is a bit different, but a well-rounded one typically covers these four areas:
1. Technical SEO Check
This ensures that search engines can crawl, index, and understand your website.
Key things we look at:
Site speed and mobile performance
Broken links and redirects
XML sitemaps and robots.txt file
Crawl errors or indexation issues
Core Web Vitals (Google’s user experience metrics)
A technical issue might be silently hurting your rankings—without you even knowing.
2. On-Page SEO Review
This examines the content and structure of individual pages.
Key things we look at:
Title tags and meta descriptions
Headings (H1, H2, etc.) and keyword use
Image alt text and internal linking
Page formatting and readability
If your page titles aren’t clear, or your content doesn’t include the right keywords, Google (and your visitors) won’t know what your site is about.
3. Keyword and Content Strategy Analysis
Your content should match what your audience is searching for.
Key things we evaluate:
What keywords you currently rank for
Whether those keywords are aligned with your mission
How competitive your current strategy is
Where you have gaps in your content
Even one high-performing blog post can bring in thousands of visits a year. An audit shows you where those opportunities are.
4. Off-Page SEO and Backlink Profile
Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. They signal authority and trust to search engines.
Key things we look at:
How many domains link to you
The quality of those links
Opportunities to build more links (e.g., through partnerships, press mentions, guest content)
For nonprofits and ethical businesses, backlinks often come from local orgs, partners, news features, or values-aligned bloggers. We help you identify and capitalize on those opportunities.
What You Get From a Rooted Reach SEO Audit
When you book a full SEO audit with Rooted Reach, you get:
A comprehensive audit PDF + walkthrough video or call
A prioritized list of recommendations (with clear explanations)
Fixes implemented on your site (no tech skills needed)
A roadmap for future content and keyword strategy
We tailor every audit to your organization’s goals, audience, and resources, so you're not just getting a checklist, you're getting a plan.
When to Get an SEO Audit
You don’t need to wait until your traffic drops. We recommend an audit if:
You just launched or redesigned your website
You’re seeing low traffic or engagement
You want to start blogging or content marketing
You’re about to fundraise or launch a campaign
You want to grow your reach organically
Even if things seem fine, most sites have hidden issues that are easy to fix once identified.
An SEO audit is the smartest first step to grow your online presence the right way. It’s data-driven, mission-aligned, and sets you up for long-term success, without gimmicks or greenwashing.
If you’re curious how your site is performing, I offer a free mini SEO checkup for ethical businesses and nonprofits. If you're ready to go deeper, our comprehensive SEO audit includes implementation and strategy support tailored specifically to your needs.
Let’s uncover what’s working—and what’s next.