How do I check my website's SEO?

Before you start

You don't need paid software for this. You need Google Search Console (free; you prove you own the site once), a browser, and an hour. Paid SEO tools are mostly keyword databases. They're useful later, but they won't tell you anything the first ten checks don't.

The 10-point check

1. Search Console is set up and your sitemap is submitted. Look under Indexing, then Sitemaps. The status should say Success.
2. Google has indexed your important pages. Indexing, then Pages, shows what is indexed and why anything isn't. "Crawled, currently not indexed" on a key page usually means Google didn't think it added enough.
3. A site: search matches. Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk. The number of results should roughly match the number of real pages you have.
4. Your words are in the page source. On a key page, right-click, choose View page source, and search for your main heading. If it isn't there, some search tools see a blank page.
5. Every page has its own title and description. Titles are the blue links in results. Each should be different, lead with the words a customer would search, and not be cut off mid-thought.
6. One main heading, then real subheadings. Each page should have one main (H1) heading, with sections under proper subheadings, not bold text made to look like headings. Search engines use headings to understand the page.
7. The first paragraph answers the question. If the page is about "how long does X take", the first two sentences should say how long. That is the text Google is most likely to quote.
8. Pages link to each other. Every page you care about should be reachable from the homepage or menu, and related pages should link to each other in the text.
9. It works quickly on a phone. Run your homepage through Google's free PageSpeed Insights and look at the mobile result. Fix anything it marks red first.
10. Your Google Business Profile links to the right address. Check it is the full https:// address your site actually uses, and that it lands on a working page. Our Business Profile link guide explains how.

Two quick extra checks

• Made-up addresses say "not found". Type your domain followed by a nonsense path, such as /test-page-xyz. A proper "page not found" message is right. If your homepage appears instead, Search Console may report "soft 404" errors, which waste Google's time on your site.
• Look at what you're shown for. In Performance, the Queries tab lists the searches you appeared for. Our guide to impressions with no clicks explains how to read it.

What to fix first

Fix anything that stops Google indexing you (checks 1 to 4) before anything else. No amount of good writing helps a page Google can't read. Then titles and opening paragraphs (checks 5 to 7), because they decide whether people click. Speed and links come after.