# SEO Audit NZ: Find Out Exactly What Is Holding Your Website Back

An SEO audit is a structured review of everything that affects how your website performs in search. It shows what is working, what is broken, and which fixes will make the biggest difference. Net Branding Limited carries out website SEO audits for organisations across New Zealand and overseas from our office in Remuera, Auckland. We have worked in digital marketing since 2008, and every audit ends with a prioritised plan written in plain language.

Not ready for a full audit yet? Our free check gives you a quick snapshot of your site’s search health and how AI tools see you, with no obligation.

[  
 Get your free SEO and AI visibility check  
 ](/free-audit/)

## Signs your website needs an SEO audit

Most businesses do not ask for an SEO audit until something goes wrong. Traffic drops, enquiries slow down, or a competitor suddenly appears above you. By then the cause may have been building for months.

These are common reasons people come to us for an SEO health check:

- Organic traffic or enquiries have fallen, and nobody is sure why.
- The website was redesigned or moved to a new platform, and rankings dropped afterwards.
- Important pages do not appear in Google, or show outdated titles and descriptions.
- You have paid for SEO before and want an independent view of what was done.
- You are planning a new website and want to know what to keep and what to fix.
- You want to know whether AI tools such as Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT describe your business accurately.

An audit replaces guesswork with evidence. Instead of trying fixes one at a time and hoping for a result, you get a clear picture of the causes and a sensible order in which to address them. That saves time, budget and frustration.

## What a full SEO audit covers

A full website SEO audit looks at every layer that influences search visibility. We tailor the depth to your site, but a typical audit includes the areas below.

### Technical health

We check how search engines crawl, render and index your site. This includes robots.txt, XML sitemaps, canonical tags, redirects, broken links, duplicate URLs, mobile usability and HTTPS. We compare what Google Search Console reports against what a full crawl finds. Our [technical SEO](/seo/technical-seo/) page explains these areas in more detail.

### Speed and Core Web Vitals

We review page speed and Google’s Core Web Vitals measures for loading, responsiveness and visual stability, and identify the main causes of slow pages.

### On page content and search intent

We review titles, meta descriptions, headings, internal links and content quality on your key pages, and check whether each page matches what people are searching for. We also look for pages that compete with each other for the same search.

### Local search

For businesses serving local customers, we review your Google Business Profile, categories, reviews and the consistency of your business name, address and phone number across the web.

### Backlinks and authority

We review the sites linking to you, flag any risky links, and compare your authority with leading competitors.

### Structured data and AI visibility

We check schema.org markup for errors and gaps, and review how AI tools currently describe your business.

## Free SEO check versus a full SEO audit

We offer both a free check and a full paid audit because they serve different purposes. The free check is a starting point. The full audit is a working plan.

|  | Free SEO and AI visibility check | Full SEO audit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Purpose | A quick snapshot of your site’s search health | A complete diagnosis with a prioritised action plan |
| Depth | Key pages and headline issues | Whole site crawl and detailed review of priority sections |
| Technical review | Main crawl, indexing and speed signals | Full technical analysis, including redirects, canonicals, duplication and rendering |
| Content review | High level observations | Page by page review of priority pages against search intent |
| Local search | Quick Google Business Profile check | Full profile, reviews and citation consistency review |
| Backlinks | Not included | Link profile and competitor comparison |
| AI visibility | Brief look at how AI tools describe you | Detailed review, with option to add our full AI visibility audit |
| Output | Short summary of what to look at first | Written report, prioritised roadmap and walkthrough call |
| Cost | Free, no obligation | Scoped and quoted before work begins |

If your site is small and the free check shows only a few clear issues, you may not need the full audit straight away. If the free check reveals deeper problems, or your site is large or complex, the full audit is usually the better investment.

You can request the free check on our [free audit](/free-audit/) page at any time.

## How we prioritise audit findings

A long list of issues is not useful on its own. Crawling tools can flag hundreds of warnings, many of which have little real effect on visibility. The value of an audit lies in knowing which findings matter.

We rank every finding by:

- **Impact.** How much fixing it is likely to affect visibility, traffic or enquiries.
- **Effort.** How much time or development work it requires.
- **Risk.** Whether leaving it unfixed could cause further losses, such as pages dropping out of the index.

The result is a roadmap that usually falls into three groups: quick wins you can act on within days, important fixes that need planning, and longer term improvements. Each item explains what the problem is, why it matters and how to fix it, so your team or developer can act on it directly.

We also tell you what not to worry about. Knowing which warnings can safely be ignored is just as valuable as knowing which to fix, because it stops time being spent on changes that will not move results.

Want to talk through your situation before deciding which option suits you? Cathy Mellett can discuss your site and goals and recommend the right starting point.

[  
 Talk to Cathy about an audit  
 ](/contact/)

## Adding an AI visibility audit

Search is no longer only about blue links. Many people now ask AI tools for recommendations and summaries, and those tools may describe your business, or a competitor, without the searcher visiting any website.

A standard SEO audit includes a brief look at AI visibility. For organisations that want to understand this in depth, our separate [AI visibility audit](/ai-search/ai-visibility-audit/) goes further. It examines:

- How AI tools such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity describe your organisation.
- Whether your services, locations and key facts are stated accurately and consistently.
- Which sources AI tools appear to rely on when they mention your sector.
- Gaps in structured data and entity information that could cause confusion.

The two audits work well together. The SEO audit makes sure search engines can access and understand your site. The AI visibility audit checks whether that understanding carries through into AI generated answers. Our [schema and entity](/ai-search/schema-entity/) work can then address the gaps both audits find.

We do not guarantee any AI tool will cite or recommend your business. The audit shows where you stand and what is within your control to improve.

## What happens after your audit

An audit is only worthwhile if it leads to action. When the report is ready, we walk you through it on a video call or in person in Auckland, explain the priorities and answer your questions.

From there, you choose how to proceed:

- **Do it yourself.** The report is written so your team or developer can implement the fixes.
- **Work with us on specific fixes.** We can handle technical changes, content improvements or local SEO tasks.
- **Ongoing SEO.** We use the audit as the baseline for a continuing programme and report progress against it.

The audit also provides a benchmark. Recording your starting position in Google Search Console, analytics and rankings means you can measure the effect of every change made afterwards.

If the audit shows that your current site is holding you back more than it can be fixed, we will say so and explain the options, including a [website redesign](/websites/redesign/). If you are planning a platform change, an audit before a [website migration](/websites/migration/) helps protect the visibility you already have. Slow sites can be addressed through our [website speed](/websites/speed/) service.

## SEO audit FAQs

### How long does a full SEO audit take?

It depends on the size and complexity of the site. We confirm the timeframe when we scope the audit, before any work begins.

### What do you need from us?

Usually access to Google Search Console and Google Analytics, plus a short conversation about your goals, services and key markets. We handle data carefully in line with the NZ Privacy Act 2020.

### Is the free check enough?

For some small sites, it is a useful start. For larger or more complex sites, or after a traffic drop, a full audit gives the depth needed to find the real causes.

### Will the audit fix my website?

The audit identifies and prioritises the fixes. Implementation is a separate step, which your team can do or we can help with.

### Can you audit a large or enterprise website?

Yes. For large sites, we focus on templates and sections rather than individual pages. See our [enterprise SEO](/seo/enterprise-seo/) page for how we approach scale.

### Do you guarantee better rankings after an audit?

No. Nobody can honestly guarantee rankings, traffic or AI citations. An audit gives you an accurate picture and a clear plan, which is the foundation for sustainable improvement.

## Get a clear picture of your website's search health

An SEO audit gives you facts instead of assumptions. You will know what is holding your website back, what to fix first and what can wait.

Net Branding Limited, 165 Orakei Road, Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand. Phone [09 523 0478](tel:+6495230478) or email [cathy@seocompanynz.com](mailto:cathy@seocompanynz.com). [Read our Google reviews](/about/reviews/).

Ready for the full picture? Ask for a quote for a complete SEO audit scoped to your website and goals.

[  
 Get a quote for a full SEO audit  
 ](/contact/)