How to Run Your First SEO Audit: A Beginner’s Guide Using Rank Math

Did you know that SEO audits traditionally take days or even weeks to complete and can cost hundreds of dollars? Search engine ranking algorithms, valued at nearly $80 billion, constantly evolve—making regular SEO audits essential for maintaining and increasing your search traffic.

Fortunately, with the right tools, conducting a free SEO audit doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. In fact, you can complete a comprehensive SEO audit checklist in just hours using Rank Math’s SEO analyzer. Additionally, more than half of the world’s web traffic now comes from mobile devices, while Google uses page speed as a ranking factor—making these elements crucial parts of any thorough SEO audit tutorial.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll walk you through how to do an SEO audit step by step using Rank Math. Whether you’re concerned about mobile optimization, site security (now a Google ranking factor), or identifying basic SEO settings that need optimization, this article will help you apply the 80-20 rule to your website—where fixing just 20% of issues can yield 80% of your SEO results.

Get Started with Rank Math Setup

Before diving into a complete SEO audit, we need to properly set up the Rank Math plugin. The setup process ensures that all the necessary components are in place for an effective SEO analysis.

Install and activate the plugin

The first step in your SEO audit journey begins with installing Rank Math. You can install it through three different methods:

• Via the WordPress admin panel (easiest method)
• Through FTP upload to your server
• Direct download onto the server using SSH (advanced)

For most users, the admin panel installation works best. Simply navigate to your WordPress dashboard → Plugins → Add New, search for “Rank Math SEO,” and click “Install Now” followed by “Activate.” Unlike most WordPress plugins that only require activation, Rank Math needs proper configuration through its setup wizard to deliver optimal SEO performance.

Use the Setup Wizard for configuration

Once activated, Rank Math automatically initiates its setup wizard. If you accidentally skipped this step, you can access it again by going to WordPress Dashboard → Rank Math SEO → Dashboard → Setup Wizard tab.

The wizard offers three configuration modes:

1. Easy Mode – Basic settings for beginners
2. Advanced Mode – More extensive options for experienced users
3. Custom Mode – Available for Rank Math PRO users only

When using the wizard, you can import settings from other SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO, All In One SEO, or SEOPress. This ensures you don’t lose valuable SEO data when migrating to Rank Math. The wizard helps configure essential settings that form the foundation of your subsequent SEO audit efforts.

Connect Google services and analytics

Afterward, connect your Google account to access crucial data. Navigate to Rank Math SEO → General Settings → Analytics and click “Connect Google Services.” This integration allows Rank Math to display important insights directly in your WordPress dashboard.

During this process, you’ll need to grant permissions for:

• Accessing Google Analytics data
• Managing Search Console data for verified sites
• Managing domain verification

For PRO users, Rank Math can also request permissions to create Analytics properties and view AdSense data. Once connected, select your appropriate Analytics account, property, and view from the dropdown menus. If you don’t have Analytics set up yet, Rank Math can create a property for you.

Remember to enable the “Install Analytics code” option if you’re not using another plugin for this purpose.

Prepare Your Site for SEO Auditing

Now that you’ve completed the basic setup, optimizing key modules within Rank Math ensures your site is properly configured for an effective SEO audit. Let’s activate these essential components before running your first analysis.

Enable sitemap and breadcrumbs

Sitemaps function as detailed indexes of your website’s content, helping search engines discover and crawl your pages more efficiently. To enable this feature, navigate to Rank Math SEO → Dashboard and ensure the Sitemap module is activated. Afterward, configure your settings under Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings. For optimal performance, consider splitting your sitemap into multiple pages rather than using a single massive index.

Similarly, breadcrumbs improve both user experience and SEO by creating navigational paths throughout your site. Enable them through Rank Math SEO → General Settings → Breadcrumbs and toggle the “Enable Breadcrumbs” function. Once activated, you can display them using either the shortcode  or the PHP function 

Turn on 404 monitor and redirections

The 404 Monitor tracks pages that return “not found” errors, which can negatively impact user experience and SEO. Enable this module in Rank Math SEO → Dashboard, then access it through Rank Math → 404 Monitor. You can choose between:

• Simple Mode: Records only the URL and error time
• Advanced Mode: Captures additional data including referring URLs

For handling these errors, activate the Redirections module, which allows you to create proper redirects for broken links through Rank Math → Redirections.

Set default schema types

Schema markup helps search engines understand your content better, potentially resulting in enhanced search results. To configure default schema types:

1. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta → Posts
2. Scroll down to find the Schema Type option
3. Select the most appropriate default schema from the dropdown
4. Repeat this process for Pages and any custom post types

Check robots.txt and visibility settings

The robots.txt file instructs search engines which pages to crawl and index. Access and edit your virtual robots.txt through Rank Math SEO → General Settings → Edit robots.txt. Furthermore, verify that your site isn’t accidentally blocking search engines by checking WordPress Settings → Reading and ensuring the “Discourage search engines” option is unchecked.

These fundamental configurations create a solid foundation for your upcoming SEO audit, ensuring that Rank Math has everything it needs to properly analyze your website.

Use Rank Math’s SEO Analyzer Tool

After completing the setup and configuration steps, it’s time to run your first SEO audit using Rank Math’s powerful analyzer tool. This built-in feature eliminates the need for expensive third-party SEO audit tools.

Launch the SEO Analyzer

To begin your SEO audit, navigate to Rank Math → SEO Analysis in your WordPress dashboard. First, enter your website URL in the provided field. Next, click the “Start SEO Analysis” button to initiate the scanning process. The analyzer will examine numerous aspects of your site, including content quality, technical SEO elements, and performance metrics.

Review passed, warning, and failed tests

Once the analysis completes, Rank Math categorizes your results into three color-coded sections:

• Green (Passed): These tests indicate areas where your site meets or exceeds SEO standards
• Orange (Warnings): Issues that aren’t critical but should be addressed to improve performance
• Red (Failed): Critical problems requiring immediate attention

Pay particular attention to failed tests, as fixing these issues typically yields the greatest SEO improvements. Consequently, addressing warnings can help enhance your overall SEO performance.

Interpret the SEO score and charts

At the top of your analysis, you’ll see your overall SEO score displayed as a percentage. This score represents how well your site aligns with current SEO best practices. Moreover, the analyzer provides a visual breakdown of performance across different categories through intuitive charts and graphs.

Rank Math organizes test results into logical sections like Basic SEO, Advanced SEO, Performance, Security, and more. Therefore, you can quickly identify which areas require the most attention.

Compare with competitor sites (Pro feature)

Rank Math Pro subscribers gain access to comparative analysis capabilities. This valuable feature allows you to benchmark your site against competitors by entering their URLs into the analyzer. Subsequently, you can view side-by-side comparisons of SEO scores, highlighting specific areas where your site outperforms or lags behind competitors.

Using these insights, you can create a prioritized SEO audit checklist targeting the most impactful improvements for your specific situation.

Take Action on Audit Insights

Fix missing meta titles and descriptions

Missing meta titles and descriptions affect how search engines understand your content. Navigate to Rank Math → Titles & Meta to set default templates for all your posts and pages. Although Google might occasionally choose different snippets for search results, properly optimized metadata significantly impacts click-through rates. For pages with custom needs, edit individual posts through the Rank Math meta box and use variables like %seo_title% to ensure consistency.

Add focus keywords to content

Focus keywords tell search engines what your content is primarily about. For websites with numerous posts lacking focus keywords:

1. Access the Rank Math meta box when editing a post
2. Add up to 5 focus keywords (unlimited with PRO)
3. Follow Rank Math’s optimization recommendations

Alternatively, automate this process by adding code to your theme’s rank-math.php file to use post titles, tags, or categories as focus keywords.

Improve internal and external linking

Internal linking establishes content relationships that help both users and search engines. Essentially, Google follows these links to discover and rank your content. Maintain at least twice as many internal links as external ones, and ensure important pages receive more internal links to signal their value. Use descriptive anchor text rather than generic “click here” phrases to help search engines understand link context.

Update outdated or thin content

Content with fewer than 300 words may be considered “thin” and perform poorly. Identify underperforming pages through Google Analytics and Search Console, then refresh them by:

• Updating statistics and examples with current data
• Replacing broken links with functional ones
• Adding depth with relevant information
• Restructuring with proper headings for better readability

By addressing these four areas, you’ll significantly improve your site’s SEO performance following your audit.

Conclusion

Running your first SEO audit might seem overwhelming, but Rank Math transforms this complex process into manageable steps anyone can follow. Throughout this guide, we’ve explored how to properly set up Rank Math, prepare your site for analysis, run comprehensive scans, and most importantly, take action on those insights.

SEO auditing, after all, holds little value unless you implement the recommended changes. Therefore, prioritize fixing critical issues first—particularly those flagged in red during your analysis. These typically include missing meta descriptions, broken links, and thin content areas that significantly impact your search visibility.

Additionally, remember that SEO auditing should become a regular practice rather than a one-time effort. Search algorithms constantly evolve, making quarterly audits essential for maintaining strong rankings. Rank Math simplifies this ongoing process by centralizing your SEO tools within your WordPress dashboard.

Finally, tracking your progress remains crucial after implementing changes. Return to Rank Math’s SEO Analyzer after several weeks to measure improvements in your score. Many website owners notice substantial traffic increases within months of addressing critical SEO issues—especially those related to site structure and content optimization.

Armed with this beginner’s guide, you now possess the knowledge to conduct effective SEO audits without expensive consultants or complicated tools. Start implementing these recommendations today, and watch your site climb steadily through search rankings tomorrow.

FAQs

Q1. What is Rank Math and how does it compare to other SEO plugins? 

A1. Rank Math is a powerful WordPress SEO plugin that offers a wide range of features for optimizing your website. It’s known for being user-friendly and providing more value compared to some other popular SEO plugins, especially in its Pro version. However, the choice between Rank Math and other plugins often comes down to personal preference and specific needs.

Q2. How do I set up Rank Math for the first time? 

A2. To set up Rank Math, install and activate the plugin through your WordPress dashboard. Then, use the Setup Wizard to configure basic settings. Connect Google services like Analytics and Search Console for better insights. Finally, enable key features like sitemaps, breadcrumbs, and 404 monitoring to prepare your site for SEO auditing.

Q3. What are the key steps in conducting an SEO audit with Rank Math? 

A3. Start by launching Rank Math’s SEO Analyzer tool. Review the results, which are categorized into passed, warning, and failed tests. Interpret your overall SEO score and examine the detailed charts provided. Focus on addressing critical issues first, particularly those marked in red, as these typically yield the greatest SEO improvements.

Q4. How can I improve my site’s SEO based on Rank Math’s audit results? 

A4. After your audit, prioritize fixing missing meta titles and descriptions, adding focus keywords to your content, improving internal and external linking, and updating any outdated or thin content. These actions can significantly boost your site’s SEO performance and search engine rankings.

Q5. How often should I perform an SEO audit using Rank Math? 

A5. It’s recommended to conduct SEO audits regularly, ideally on a quarterly basis. Search algorithms are constantly evolving, so frequent audits help ensure your site remains optimized. Use Rank Math’s SEO Analyzer tool to track your progress over time and make necessary adjustments to maintain strong rankings.