SEO Audit Breakdown: The 40 Things NepTechPal Checks on Every Client Website

An SEO audit is like a health checkup for your website. Just as a doctor checks blood pressure, heart rate, and blood work before prescribing treatment, NepTechPal examines 40 critical factors before recommending any SEO strategy. Too many businesses skip this step, jumping straight into content creation or link building without knowing if their website’s foundation can even support ranking. That’s like furnishing a house before checking if the roof leaks.

Here’s exactly what our SEO audit checklist covers for every client website in Nepal — and what each check tells us about your site’s ability to rank on Google.

Why Does My Website Need an SEO Audit?

An SEO audit identifies the specific technical, content, and authority issues preventing your website from ranking — without it, any SEO investment is guesswork that may address symptoms while ignoring root causes.

When you need an audit:
– Your website isn’t ranking on Google despite having good content
– You’re about to invest in SEO and want to know where to start
– Your rankings dropped suddenly
– You’re redesigning your website and want to preserve SEO value
– You’ve never had a professional assess your site’s SEO health
– You’re switching SEO providers and want a baseline assessment

What an audit reveals:
– Critical errors preventing indexing (you could be invisible to Google)
– Quick wins that could boost rankings within weeks
– Strategic priorities for your SEO investment
– How you compare to competitors technically
– Estimated effort and timeline for improvements

Section 1: Technical SEO (15 Checks)

Technical SEO ensures Google can find, crawl, and understand your website. These are foundational — if they’re broken, nothing else matters.

Crawlability & Indexing

#	Check	What We Look For	Common Issue
1	Robots.txt	Proper crawl directives, no accidental blocking	Blocking important pages or entire site
2	XML Sitemap	Exists, submitted to Search Console, up-to-date	Missing, outdated, or contains errors
3	Google Search Console	Set up, verified, no critical errors	Not configured at all
4	Indexing status	All important pages indexed	Pages blocked, noindexed, or uncrawled
5	Crawl errors	404s, server errors, redirect chains	Broken links, missing pages

Site Performance

#	Check	What We Look For	Common Issue
6	Page speed (mobile)	Core Web Vitals pass, <3 second load	Uncompressed images, slow hosting
7	Page speed (desktop)	PageSpeed score >80	Render-blocking resources
8	Mobile responsiveness	Google Mobile-Friendly Test pass	Non-responsive design, tap target issues
9	HTTPS/SSL	Valid SSL certificate, no mixed content	Expired SSL, HTTP resources on HTTPS page
10	Hosting quality	Server response <200ms, uptime >99.9%	Cheap shared hosting, slow TTFB

Site Architecture

#	Check	What We Look For	Common Issue
11	URL structure	Clean, descriptive, keyword-inclusive	Dynamic URLs with parameters
12	Site hierarchy	Logical structure, max 3 clicks to any page	Flat or chaotic structure
13	Internal linking	Strategic links between related pages	Orphan pages, no contextual links
14	Breadcrumb navigation	Present on all pages with schema	Missing or incorrectly implemented
15	Canonical tags	Correct canonicalization, no conflicts	Missing, pointing to wrong URLs

Section 2: On-Page SEO (12 Checks)

On-page SEO ensures each page is optimized for its target keyword and structured for both search engines and users.

#	Check	What We Look For	Common Issue
16	Title tags	Unique, <60 chars, keyword-inclusive	Duplicate, generic, or missing
17	Meta descriptions	Unique, 150-160 chars, compelling CTA	Missing, duplicate, or too long
18	H1 headings	One per page, includes primary keyword	Missing, multiple H1s, or generic
19	Heading hierarchy	Logical H1→H2→H3 structure	Skipped levels, H2 before H1
20	Keyword optimization	Natural inclusion in content, headings, URL	Over-optimization or no optimization
21	Content quality	Comprehensive, original, >500 words on key pages	Thin content, duplicate, or outdated
22	Image optimization	Compressed, WebP format, descriptive alt text	Large images, missing alt attributes
23	Internal link anchors	Descriptive anchor text, relevant linking	“Click here” anchors, no internal links
24	Schema markup	LocalBusiness, FAQ, Article, Breadcrumb	No schema implemented at all
25	Open Graph tags	Proper OG tags for social sharing	Missing (poor social media previews)
26	Content freshness	Recent updates, no outdated information	Content from 2020 still showing
27	Duplicate content	No identical or near-identical pages	Same content on multiple URLs

Section 3: Off-Page SEO & Authority (8 Checks)

Off-page factors measure how the rest of the internet perceives your website’s authority and trustworthiness.

#	Check	What We Look For	Common Issue
28	Backlink profile	Quality and quantity of incoming links	Zero or very few backlinks
29	Referring domains	Diversity of linking websites	Links from only 1-2 sources
30	Toxic backlinks	No spammy, paid, or harmful links	Low-quality directory spam
31	Domain authority	Competitive DA/DR for your industry	Low authority compared to competitors
32	Google Business Profile	Complete, optimized, active	Unclaimed or incomplete
33	Local citations	NAP consistency across directories	Inconsistent name/address/phone
34	Online reviews	Volume, recency, and rating	Few or no reviews
35	Social presence	Active profiles, branded consistency	Abandoned or inconsistent profiles

Section 4: Competitive & Strategic Analysis (5 Checks)

Understanding your competitive landscape reveals opportunities and realistic expectations.

#	Check	What We Look For	Insight Provided
36	Competitor keyword gaps	Keywords competitors rank for that you don’t	Content opportunities
37	Competitor backlink analysis	Where competitors get their links	Link building targets
38	Content gap analysis	Topics competitors cover that you don’t	Content strategy priorities
39	SERP feature opportunities	Featured snippets, local packs, FAQ boxes	Quick ranking wins
40	Keyword difficulty assessment	Realistic ranking timelines per keyword	Priority keyword targeting

How Do We Score Each Check?

Each of the 40 checks receives a status: Pass (green), Warning (yellow), or Fail (red). The overall audit produces a weighted score that tells you exactly where your website stands.

Scoring framework:

Score Range	Status	What It Means
80-100	Excellent	Minor optimizations needed, focus on content and links
60-79	Good	Several improvements needed, strong foundation
40-59	Needs Work	Significant issues, prioritized fixes required
20-39	Poor	Major problems, may need technical overhaul
0-19	Critical	Fundamental issues, site is essentially invisible to Google

Average score for Nepali business websites we audit: 35-45. Most have never had any SEO work done, making the improvement potential enormous.

What Happens After the Audit?

NepTechPal delivers a prioritized action plan categorizing issues into three tiers: critical fixes (do immediately), important improvements (next 1-3 months), and strategic enhancements (ongoing optimization).

Tier 1: Critical Fixes (Week 1-2)
– Indexing issues (if Google can’t see your site, nothing else matters)
– SSL/security problems
– Mobile responsiveness failures
– Severe speed issues

Tier 2: Important Improvements (Month 1-3)
– Title tag and meta description optimization
– Content expansion on key pages
– Schema markup implementation
– Internal linking improvements
– Google Business Profile optimization

Tier 3: Strategic Enhancements (Ongoing)
– Content marketing and blog strategy
– Backlink building
– Competitive keyword targeting
– Advanced technical optimization

How Much Does an SEO Audit Cost in Nepal?

A comprehensive 40-point SEO audit in Nepal costs NPR 15,000-40,000 as a standalone service, or is included free as part of ongoing SEO service engagement with agencies like NepTechPal.

Audit Type	Cost (NPR)	Includes
Basic audit	15,000 – 20,000	Top 20 critical checks, summary report
Comprehensive audit	25,000 – 40,000	Full 40-point check, competitor analysis, action plan
Audit + implementation	40,000 – 80,000	Full audit + fixing all critical/important issues
Included with SEO retainer	Free	Part of NepTechPal’s onboarding for monthly SEO clients

ROI of an audit: A NPR 25,000 audit that identifies why your site doesn’t rank — and provides the roadmap to fix it — can prevent months of wasted SEO investment spent on the wrong priorities.

What the Community Is Asking

“What does a proper SEO audit include?” At minimum: technical crawl analysis, on-page optimization review, backlink profile assessment, speed testing, mobile testing, and competitor comparison. If an “audit” is just a PageSpeed score and a list of keywords, it’s not a real audit.

“Can I do an SEO audit myself?” You can check the basics using free tools: Google Search Console (indexing, crawl errors), PageSpeed Insights (speed), Mobile-Friendly Test (responsiveness), and site:yourdomain.com (indexing). For a comprehensive audit including competitive analysis and strategic recommendations, professional tools and expertise are needed.

“How often should I get an SEO audit?” A full audit at the start of SEO work, then a light checkup quarterly and a comprehensive review annually. Major website changes (redesign, migration, CMS switch) should always trigger a fresh audit.

“My current SEO agency never did an audit — is that normal?” No. Any reputable SEO agency starts with an audit. Without one, they’re guessing about what your site needs. If your agency started “doing SEO” without first understanding your site’s current state, question their methodology.

How NepTechPal Can Help

NepTechPal provides comprehensive 40-point SEO audits for Nepali businesses, delivering a clear assessment of your website’s health and a prioritized roadmap for improvement. Our audits are actionable — not 50-page reports full of jargon, but clear recommendations you and your team can understand and act on. For ongoing SEO clients, the audit is included as part of our onboarding process.

Get your free SEO audit at neptechpal.com.np

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does an SEO audit take?

A comprehensive 40-point audit takes 3-5 business days to complete. This includes crawling your website, analyzing data, checking competitors, and compiling the prioritized report with recommendations.

Will an SEO audit fix my rankings?

An audit identifies problems — it doesn’t fix them. Think of it as diagnosis, not treatment. The audit tells you what’s wrong; the implementation work that follows fixes it. Some quick wins from audit findings can improve rankings within weeks.

Can an SEO audit hurt my website?

No. An audit is purely analytical — it reads and tests your site without making any changes. Implementation of audit recommendations is a separate step that should always be done carefully with backups.

What tools does NepTechPal use for SEO audits?

We use a combination of Google Search Console, Google Analytics, PageSpeed Insights, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs/Semrush, and manual review. No single tool catches everything — comprehensive audits require multiple tools and expert interpretation.

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Want to know exactly where your website stands? NepTechPal’s 40-point SEO audit gives you a clear roadmap to better rankings. Get your audit at neptechpal.com.np

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