SEO · 7 min read
The SEO audit checklist for UK small businesses (2026)
A practical SEO audit checklist for UK small businesses in 2026 — technical, content, local and AI-search checks you can run in a morning.
By Jack Frampton, Multi-Channel Marketer at Queen's College, Taunton · Published 15 June 2026
A good SEO audit isn't a 200-line report — it's a prioritised list of things to fix this month. Here's the version I run for South West small business clients in 2026.
Technical health
Crawlability (robots.txt, sitemap.xml), Core Web Vitals (LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1), mobile rendering, HTTPS, redirects, and broken links. Use Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights.
On-page and content
One H1 per page, descriptive title (<60 chars), meta description (<160 chars), internal links to related pages, image alt text, and schema markup. Identify "almost ranking" queries (positions 8–20) and improve those pages first.
Local SEO
Claimed and category-correct Google Business Profile, consistent NAP across directories, fresh reviews, and a dedicated landing page per major town served.
AI search readiness
Clear answers to common questions, FAQ schema, factual writing, and citation-worthy data. AI Overviews and ChatGPT Search reward pages that answer questions cleanly.
Frequently asked questions
- Technical health?
- Crawlability (robots.txt, sitemap.xml), Core Web Vitals (LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1), mobile rendering, HTTPS, redirects, and broken links. Use Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights .
- On-page and content?
- One H1 per page, descriptive title (<60 chars), meta description (<160 chars), internal links to related pages, image alt text, and schema markup. Identify "almost ranking" queries (positions 8–20) and improve those pages first.
- Local SEO?
- Claimed and category-correct Google Business Profile , consistent NAP across directories, fresh reviews, and a dedicated landing page per major town served.
- AI search readiness?
- Clear answers to common questions, FAQ schema, factual writing, and citation-worthy data. AI Overviews and ChatGPT Search reward pages that answer questions cleanly.