How-toSEO audits
SEO Audit Template and Report Sample (Free Download)
by the AEO GEO Labs team7 min read
An SEO audit template is a reusable document that turns raw audit findings into a report someone will act on. This one has six sections: summary, scope, scorecard, findings table, roadmap and appendix. Below you get the blank template to copy, the rules for filling each section, and a short sample report so you can see what a finished one looks like.
tl;dr
- 1The template is plain text and markdown, so it pastes cleanly into Google Docs, Notion or Word.
- 2The findings table is the core: issue, evidence, impact, fix, owner, priority.
- 3The executive summary fits on one screen and names the top three fixes.
- 4The sample report uses an invented company to show the format. It is an illustration, not client data.
This template is the reporting layer of our step-by-step SEO audit guide. Run the audit with that guide, then use this page to write it up.
What an SEO audit report template should include
An SEO audit report template should include six sections, ordered by who reads them. Executives read the first two. Marketers read the scorecard and roadmap. Developers read the findings table and appendix.
| Section | Purpose | Reader | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Executive summary | State the problem, the top three fixes and the expected upside | Leadership | Half a page |
| 2. Scope and method | What was audited, with which tools, on what date | Everyone | A few lines |
| 3. Scorecard | Pass, warning or fail for each audit area | Marketing | One table |
| 4. Findings table | Every issue with evidence, fix, owner and priority | Developers, SEO | As long as needed |
| 5. 90-day roadmap | Fixes grouped into months with owners | Marketing, project lead | One table |
| 6. Appendix | Crawl exports, URL lists, screenshots | Developers | Links |
The common mistake is putting the findings table first. A 60-row table at the top of a report guarantees nobody reads past it.
The blank SEO audit template
Copy this block into a new document. Replace everything in angle brackets.
SEO AUDIT REPORT: <Site name>
Prepared by: <name> Date: <YYYY-MM-DD> Audit period: <dates>
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Current state: <one sentence on organic performance, with the number>
Main problem: <one sentence: the biggest thing holding the site back>
Top 3 fixes:
1. <fix> : <expected effect>
2. <fix> : <expected effect>
3. <fix> : <expected effect>
What we need: <decisions, access or developer time required>
2. SCOPE AND METHOD
Domains/sections audited: <list>
Tools: <Search Console, crawler name, PageSpeed Insights, etc.>
Crawl date and URL count: <date>, <n URLs>
Out of scope: <list>
3. SCORECARD
Area Status (Pass/Warn/Fail) Note
Indexing <> <>
Crawling <> <>
Directives & canonicals <> <>
Rendering <> <>
Performance & mobile <> <>
On-page relevance <> <>
Content quality <> <>
Links <> <>
Structured data <> <>
AI search visibility <> <>
4. FINDINGS
ID | Issue | Evidence | Impact | Fix | Owner | Priority (P0-P3) | Effort (S/M/L)
F1 | <> | <> | <> | <> | <> | <> | <>
5. 90-DAY ROADMAP
Month 1: <P0 and quick P1 fixes> Owner: <>
Month 2: <remaining P1 fixes> Owner: <>
Month 3: <P2 fixes, re-crawl, measure against baseline> Owner: <>
6. APPENDIX
<Links to crawl exports, URL lists, screenshots>
How to fill in each section
Each section of the SEO audit report template has one rule that keeps it useful.
- Executive summary: lead with the number. "Organic sign-ups fell 18% year on year" beats "SEO performance has declined." Pull the baseline from the Search Console Performance report, and name only three fixes.
- Scope: date everything. Audits go stale fast. A reader six months later needs to know what the site looked like when you checked.
- Scorecard: use three states, not scores out of 100. Pass, warning and fail are honest. A score of 73 invites arguments about the score instead of the fixes.
- Findings: one row per root cause, not per URL. For indexing rows, cite the reason exactly as the Page indexing report names it. "Template X outputs duplicate titles (214 URLs)" is one row. Put the 214 URLs in the appendix.
- Roadmap: assign every line to a named owner. A fix without an owner is a wish.
- Appendix: link, do not paste. Crawl exports belong in a spreadsheet, not in the body.
For the technical rows, pull checks straight from the technical SEO checklist, which already lists pass conditions and priorities. For which crawler to export from, see our comparison of SEO audit tools.
Priority and effort scoring
Use the same scale on every report so findings compare across audits.
| Priority | Meaning | Effort | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| P0 | Blocks indexing or revenue; fix this week | S | Under a day, one person |
| P1 | High impact on many or valuable pages; this month | M | A few days or one sprint |
| P2 | Moderate impact; this quarter | L | Multiple sprints or teams |
| P3 | Hygiene; backlog |
Sort the findings table by priority, then by effort. P1 items with S effort are the quick wins worth calling out in the summary.
SEO audit report sample
This SEO audit report sample shows the template filled in for an invented B2B software site, "Example Analytics." The numbers are made up to show the format. They are not from a real audit.
SEO AUDIT REPORT: example-analytics.com (sample, fictional data)
Date: 2026-10-01 Crawl: 3,412 URLs
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Current state: Organic demo requests down 22% vs the same quarter last year.
Main problem: 41% of blog posts are not indexed, and the pricing page
canonicalizes to the homepage.
Top 3 fixes:
1. Fix pricing page canonical : restores the page to search results
2. Merge 120 thin "glossary" posts into 15 guides : improves indexing rate
3. Server-render feature pages : body text currently missing from raw HTML
What we need: 3 developer days in October, content owner sign-off on merges.
3. SCORECARD (excerpt)
Indexing Fail 1,040 blog URLs "Crawled, currently not indexed"
Directives/canonicals Fail Pricing page canonical points to homepage
Rendering Warn Feature page copy injected client-side
Performance & mobile Pass All templates pass Core Web Vitals
AI search visibility Warn GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot blocked at CDN
4. FINDINGS (excerpt)
F1 | Pricing canonical -> homepage | URL Inspection screenshot | Page not indexed
| Set self-referencing canonical | Front-end dev | P0 | S
F2 | Thin glossary posts | Index report export | Low index rate sitewide
| Merge into 15 guides, 301 the rest | Content lead | P1 | L
F3 | Feature copy not in raw HTML | View-source vs rendered diff
| Server-render the hero and feature blocks | Front-end dev | P1 | M
F4 | AI search bots blocked at CDN | CDN bot rules export
| Allow OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot | DevOps | P1 | S
Notice what the sample does: three fixes in the summary, every finding tied to evidence and an owner, and the AI search layer treated as a normal finding rather than a separate report.
Frequently asked questions
What is an SEO audit template?
An SEO audit template is a reusable report structure for presenting audit findings. A good one includes an executive summary, scope and method, a pass-warn-fail scorecard, a findings table with evidence, fix, owner and priority for each issue, a 90-day roadmap and an appendix of exports. It saves time and keeps every audit comparable with the last one.
Is this SEO audit template free?
Yes. The template on this page is free to copy and use, including for client work. It is plain text, so it pastes into Google Docs, Notion, Word or a spreadsheet without formatting problems. There is no sign-up or email gate. Copy the blank block, replace the placeholders, and delete any scorecard rows that do not apply to your site.
What should an SEO audit report include?
An SEO audit report should include a short executive summary with the top three fixes, the scope and date of the audit, a scorecard of each area, a findings table with evidence and owners, and a time-boxed roadmap. Raw crawl exports belong in an appendix. The report succeeds if a reader knows what to fix first after reading one page.
How long should an SEO audit report be?
An SEO audit report should be as short as the findings allow. For most sites, the summary, scorecard and roadmap fit on two or three pages, and the findings table holds 10 to 40 root-cause rows. If the report runs to 80 pages, it is probably listing every URL instead of grouping issues by template and cause.
Can I use this SEO audit report template for clients?
Yes, you can use this SEO audit report template for client audits. Add your branding, keep the six-section order, and lead with the executive summary, because clients read the first page and skim the rest. Agencies reselling audits often add a short methodology note and a "next steps" call to action after the roadmap.
If you want the audit itself done, AEO GEO Labs runs fixed-fee SEO audits that include AI search visibility, written in exactly this format. See our services.