1
Website Health Check
Speed · Mobile · Security · Technical foundations
Your website is your digital shop front. Before Google decides whether to recommend you, and before a visitor decides whether to trust you, your site has to pass a basic technical test. Website Health covers the things you cannot see with your eyes — how fast the pages load, whether the site works on a phone, and whether it's secure. These factors directly affect whether potential customers stay or leave.
Why this matters to your business
53% of mobile visitors abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load. That's not a visitor who gave you a chance and left — they left before they saw anything. Google also uses page speed as a ranking signal, so a slow site hurts you twice: fewer visitors arrive, and the ones who do leave quickly.
Page Speed & Core Web Vitals
Google measures performance through a set of signals called Core Web Vitals. You don't need to know the technical detail — just know that they measure three things: how fast the page appears, how stable the layout is while loading, and how quickly it responds when a visitor taps or clicks something. Google scores your site on a scale from 0 to 100 for both desktop and mobile separately.
| Metric |
What it means |
Good |
Needs work |
|
PageSpeed Score (Mobile)
Google's overall performance score on a smartphone. Most visitors browse on mobile.
|
0–100 |
90–100 |
Below 50 |
|
PageSpeed Score (Desktop)
Same score for laptop and desktop browsers — typically higher than mobile.
|
0–100 |
90–100 |
Below 70 |
|
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
How long until the main content of the page is visible. The most important speed signal.
|
seconds |
Under 2.5s |
Over 4s |
|
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Whether elements jump around on screen while loading — an infuriating user experience.
|
0–1 score |
Under 0.1 |
Over 0.25 |
|
HTTPS (SSL Certificate)
Whether your site uses a secure connection. Browsers show a warning on non-HTTPS sites.
|
Yes / No |
Yes |
No |
|
Mobile-Friendly
Whether the site renders correctly on a smartphone screen without horizontal scrolling.
|
Yes / No |
Yes |
No |
The Most Common Problems — and How to Fix Them
Common problem: Images are too large
Uncompressed photos are the number-one cause of slow websites. A photo taken on a modern smartphone is typically 4–8 MB. Your website only needs it to be 100–300 KB.
Fix: Run every image through a free tool like Squoosh.app or TinyPNG before uploading to your website. Ask your web developer to set up automatic image compression, or switch to a modern image format like WebP.
Common problem: Too many plugins or scripts
WordPress sites often accumulate plugins over time. Each plugin adds code that your visitor's browser must download before the page appears. Ten unnecessary plugins can add 2–3 seconds of load time.
Fix: Ask your developer to audit and remove unused plugins. A caching plugin (like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache) can dramatically speed up a WordPress site.
Quick test
Type your website address into PageSpeed Insights (search for it on Google — it's a free Google tool). Your score will appear in seconds. Anything below 50 on mobile needs urgent attention.
What a B grade looks like
Mobile score above 70, desktop above 85, HTTPS active, mobile-friendly, and no layout shift issues. Most small business websites can reach a B with image optimisation and a caching plugin — without rebuilding the site. An A requires more advanced technical work (server configuration, code splitting) and is a bonus, not a requirement.
2
SEO Analysis
Search visibility · Keywords · Content · Backlinks
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation — the practice of making your website show up when people search for what you offer. When someone types "accountant in Cork" or "best Italian restaurant Dublin" into Google, SEO determines whether your business appears on page one or page ten. Page ten might as well be invisible.
The fundamental idea
Google is trying to find the most relevant, trustworthy answer to every search query. Your job is to make it obvious that your business is the best answer. You do that through clear content (relevance) and earned links from other websites (trust).
On-Page SEO — What You Control Directly
Every page of your website has a title tag and a meta description. These two pieces of text are what Google shows in search results. Getting them right is the single cheapest, highest-impact SEO action you can take.
Before & After — Title Tag (Plumber in Dublin)
✗ Before (generic):
Home | Murphy's Plumbing
✓ After (optimised):
Emergency Plumber Dublin | Murphy's Plumbing — 24/7 Call-Out
The optimised version tells Google exactly what you do, where you are, and what makes you different. It also gives a person scanning search results a reason to click.
Before & After — Meta Description (Accountant in Galway)
✗ Before (missing or auto-generated):
Welcome to our website. We offer a range of accounting services...
✓ After (specific, compelling):
Galway accountants specialising in small business tax, VAT returns, and payroll. Fixed monthly fees. Book a free 30-minute consultation today.
The meta description doesn't directly change your ranking, but it changes how many people click through. A clear description with a call-to-action can double your click-through rate.
| SEO Element |
Best Practice |
Common Mistake |
|
Title Tag
The clickable headline in search results
|
50–60 characters, includes main keyword + location |
Just the business name |
|
Meta Description
The short paragraph shown below the title in results
|
140–160 characters, unique per page, includes a call-to-action |
Identical on every page or missing |
|
H1 Heading
The main visible heading on each page
|
One per page, describes exactly what the page covers |
Multiple H1s or missing entirely |
|
Page Content
The written text on each page
|
At least 300 words, answers the question a customer would ask |
Short pages with mostly images and no text |
|
Backlinks (Inbound Links)
Other websites linking to yours — Google's main trust signal
|
Links from local directories, press, industry associations |
Zero links or only low-quality purchased links |
|
Keyword Rankings
Which search terms your site ranks for, and at what position
|
Ranking in top 10 for your primary service + location terms |
Ranking positions 50+ (effectively invisible) |
Backlinks — The Trust Currency of the Internet
When another website links to yours, Google treats it like a vote of confidence. Not all votes are equal — a link from your local Chamber of Commerce or a regional newspaper is worth far more than a link from a random directory. You don't need thousands of links. Fifty high-quality, relevant links can outperform five hundred low-quality ones.
How to earn quality backlinks
List your business in legitimate directories: Google Business Profile, Yelp, Bing Places, your industry association's website, and local Chamber of Commerce.
Get press coverage: Reach out to local newspapers or business blogs with a story angle. Even a small mention with a link counts.
Partner with complementary businesses: A solicitor and an accountant who refer each other can also link to each other's websites. That's a legitimate, high-quality link for both parties.
What a B grade looks like
Every page has a unique title tag and meta description, the site ranks on page one for at least five local intent keywords ("service + town"), and there are 20 or more quality backlinks from relevant sources. This is achievable for most SMEs within six to twelve months of consistent effort — no tricks, just good content and genuine relationships.
3
Local Reputation
Google Business Profile · Reviews · Owner responses
When someone searches for a business near them, Google shows a map with three results — known as the Local Pack. Getting into that map is one of the most valuable things a local business can do. The two factors that matter most are the completeness of your Google Business Profile and the quality and quantity of your reviews.
The business case
A business appearing in the Local Pack (the map at the top of search results) gets roughly 44% of total clicks for that search. If you're not in the map, you're invisible to nearly half the people searching for what you offer.
Google Business Profile — Your Free Storefront on Google
Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the box that appears on the right side of Google when someone searches for your business name, or in the map results for local searches. It shows your hours, phone number, address, photos, and reviews. It's completely free — and most businesses leave it half-finished.
| Profile Element |
Why it matters |
Status |
|
Business Name, Address & Phone
Must match exactly what appears on your website and other directories
|
Foundation of local trust |
Must be complete |
|
Business Category
The primary and secondary categories Google uses to match you to searches
|
Controls which searches you appear in |
Be specific, not generic |
|
Opening Hours
Including special hours for public holidays
|
Affects whether Google shows your listing at all |
Must be accurate and up to date |
|
Business Description
750 characters to describe what you do and who you serve
|
First impression for searchers |
Often left blank |
|
Photos
Interior, exterior, team, and product/service photos
|
Listings with photos get 42% more requests for directions |
Minimum 10, ideally 20+ |
|
Posts & Updates
Short updates, offers, or events published directly on your Google listing
|
Signals an active, engaged business |
Post at least once per month |
Reviews — Social Proof That Works 24/7
A real-world comparison
Consider two restaurants side by side in search results:
Restaurant A: 5.0 ★ — 3 reviews
Restaurant B: 4.7 ★ — 180 reviews
Most people will choose Restaurant B. A handful of five-star reviews looks suspicious. 180 reviews at 4.7 looks like a business that consistently delivers. Volume and recency matter as much as the star rating.
How to ask for reviews (without breaking Google's rules)
Do: Send a follow-up email or text after a job is done, with a direct link to your Google review page. Say something like: "We'd love to hear your feedback — it takes less than a minute."
Don't: Offer a discount or incentive in exchange for a review — Google can suspend your listing for this.
Don't: Ask for reviews in bulk from friends and family at the same time and from the same location — it looks like a manipulation attempt and Google may filter the reviews out.
Do: Respond to every review, positive and negative. Responding shows future customers that you care. A professional response to a negative review can actually increase trust.
What an A grade looks like
A verified, fully completed Google Business Profile, 50 or more reviews with an average of 4.5 or above, owner responses to at least 80% of reviews (including negative ones), and at least one new review per week on average. This is achievable for any established business — it's a process of consistently asking happy customers, not a technical challenge.
Don't have time to check all this yourself?
The AI Digital Audit scores your business across all six pillars in under 5 minutes — no tools, no technical knowledge needed.
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4
Digital Presence
Schema markup · Social profiles · Brand mentions · NAP consistency
Digital Presence measures how well your business is represented across the broader internet — not just your own website or Google. It looks at whether you've given search engines a structured description of your business, whether your social media profiles are consistent and complete, and whether your business name appears in news, blogs, or other websites.
Schema Markup — Your Business Card for Search Engines
Imagine you could hand Google a perfectly filled-in business card that listed your name, address, phone, opening hours, the type of business, your social media profiles, and your key services — all in a format that can never be misread. That's what schema markup does.
Schema markup is a small piece of invisible code added to your website that tells search engines exactly what your business is. Without it, Google has to guess. Guessing sometimes leads to your business being misclassified, shown with the wrong address, or excluded from rich results (the enhanced listings with stars, opening hours, or FAQ answers embedded directly in search results).
What schema markup does in practice
Without schema: Google crawls your website, reads the text, and tries to infer that you're a restaurant in Limerick that serves Italian food and closes on Mondays.
With schema: Google reads a structured data block that explicitly states your business type (Restaurant), cuisine (Italian), city (Limerick), closing day (Monday), price range (€€), and your Google review aggregate (4.8 stars). The result can be a richer search listing that stands out from competitors.
How to add schema markup
You don't need a developer for basic schema. Use Google's free Structured Data Markup Helper (search for it) to generate the code for your business type, then paste it into your website's header. If you use WordPress, a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math adds it automatically.
NAP Consistency — The Detail That Trips Most Businesses Up
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. Google cross-references your business details across dozens of websites — your own site, Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp, local directories, and more. If your address appears differently in different places (e.g., "10 Main Street" on your site but "10 Main St" on Yelp, or a different phone number on Facebook), Google loses confidence in your listing and may rank you lower.
Most common NAP mistakes
Using a mobile number in one place and a landline in another. Moving premises but not updating all listings. Having your business name listed as "Murphy's Plumbing Ltd" in one place and "Murphys Plumbing" in another (missing apostrophe, missing Ltd). Audit every directory listing once a year.
| Digital Presence Element |
Best Practice |
Impact |
|
LocalBusiness Schema
Structured data identifying your business type, location, and contact details
|
Present and complete on homepage |
High |
|
Social Media Profiles
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn — must have consistent name and contact info
|
All active, linked from website |
Medium-High |
|
Brand Mentions
How often your business name appears in news, blogs, or third-party websites
|
Regular mentions in local or industry press |
Medium |
|
NAP Consistency
Your Name, Address, and Phone number match exactly across all platforms
|
Identical on website, Google, Facebook, directories |
High |
|
OpenGraph / Social Tags
Controls how your website looks when someone shares it on Facebook or LinkedIn
|
Custom image and description per page |
Medium |
What a B grade looks like
LocalBusiness schema present on the homepage, NAP identical across your website and all major platforms, active social profiles linked from your website, and at least occasional brand mentions in local press or industry sites. The schema alone can often move a C to a B — it's a one-time technical fix with lasting benefit.
5
Competitor Benchmark
Digital competitors · Keyword gaps · Reputation gaps
Knowing how you compare to competitors is one of the most useful things this audit can tell you. It's not about copying what they do — it's about understanding the gap, so you can close it where it matters most. The digital landscape is competitive, but it's also measurable. You can see exactly why a competitor ranks higher than you and make a plan to fix it.
What "digital competitor" means
Your digital competitors are not necessarily your direct business competitors. They are the businesses that appear in search results when your potential customers are looking for what you offer. Sometimes these are indirect competitors, national chains, or aggregator websites. The important thing is who is taking the clicks that should be coming to you.
What We Compare
| Metric |
What a gap tells you |
What to do |
|
Keywords Ranked (Top 10)
How many search terms each business appears on page one for
|
They have more content targeting specific queries |
Create focused service/location pages |
|
Backlink Count & Quality
Number and authority of websites linking to each business
|
They are seen as more authoritative by Google |
Directory listings, press, partnerships |
|
Review Count & Rating
Google reviews — volume and average star rating
|
They have stronger social proof and trust signals |
Systematic review-request process |
|
PageSpeed Score
How fast each site loads on mobile and desktop
|
Their user experience is better — Google rewards this |
Image compression, caching, better hosting |
Reading a benchmark result
Your site ranks for 40 keywords in the top 10. Your top competitor ranks for 400.
This doesn't mean you need to do ten times more work. It usually means they have dedicated pages for each of their services and locations, while your site has one generic page that tries to cover everything. Creating 10 focused service pages is often enough to close 80% of that gap.
The trap: obsessing over rankings
Being number one on Google for your business name doesn't mean much — people who already know you would find you anyway. What matters is ranking for the searches people make before they know who to choose. Focus your SEO on your service + location keywords, not your brand name.
Realistic first-year target
Matching or exceeding the top competitor in at least two of the four benchmark categories — usually reviews and page speed, since these are fastest to improve. Keyword and backlink gaps take longer to close, but dedicated service pages and consistent directory listings will move the needle within six months.
6
AI Visibility (GEO / AEO)
ChatGPT · Gemini · Perplexity · AI search discoverability
This is the newest pillar of your audit — and arguably the fastest-growing. Millions of people now ask ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and Perplexity AI questions like "Who's the best solicitor in Limerick?" or "What's the most reliable plumber in Dublin?" instead of typing into a search engine. When they do, an AI gives them a direct answer — usually naming two or three businesses. Is yours one of them?
GEO vs SEO — what's the difference?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) focuses on ranking in Google's blue-link results. You optimise for keywords, and people click through to your website.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) focuses on being mentioned by AI assistants in their generated answers. The AI doesn't show a list of links — it picks businesses and recommends them directly. If you're not mentioned, you don't exist in that answer.
How AI Engines Decide Who to Mention
AI engines like ChatGPT don't browse the internet in real time (unless specifically enabled). They were trained on enormous amounts of text — web pages, review sites, forums, news articles, business directories. A business that appears frequently, consistently, and authoritatively across those sources is far more likely to be mentioned in an AI-generated answer.
| AI Visibility Factor |
What it means |
How to improve |
|
Brand Mentions Across the Web
How many times your business name appears on credible third-party sites
|
More mentions = more AI training data about you |
Press coverage, directory listings, guest posts |
|
Review Platform Coverage
Presence on Google, Trustpilot, Yelp, Facebook, and industry-specific review sites
|
AI models heavily weight review data for business recommendations |
Claim and populate all major platforms |
|
Authoritative Content
Blog posts, FAQs, or guides that answer questions your customers ask
|
AI prefers sources that answer questions clearly and directly |
Write FAQ pages and "how it works" content |
|
Wikipedia / Knowledge Graph Presence
Whether your business or brand appears in structured knowledge sources
|
Extremely high trust signal for AI models |
Difficult for SMEs — focus on other signals |
|
Schema Markup (speakable)
Special schema that flags content as suitable for AI and voice assistants
|
Helps AI engines identify and quote your content |
Add via developer or Yoast SEO plugin |
A practical test you can do right now
Open ChatGPT or Google Gemini and type: "Who are the best [your service] in [your city]?"
If your business name doesn't appear, you have an AI visibility gap. If a competitor appears, note which one and research how they are represented online — that's your improvement blueprint.
Also try: "Tell me about [your business name]." If the AI says it doesn't have information about you, or gets facts wrong, that's a signal to increase your web presence.
This is the fastest-changing pillar
AI search is evolving week by week. What matters most today may shift as AI engines update how they source information. The stable foundation is always the same: be genuinely present, credible, and well-reviewed across the internet. Businesses that do this for traditional SEO will naturally benefit in AI search too.
Realistic target for most SMEs
Being mentioned by at least two of the four major AI engines when asked for your service category in your city, with accurate information. An A grade — where AI engines proactively recommend you by name with specific detail — requires sustained content creation, press coverage, and a strong review footprint built over 12–24 months. For most businesses, a C in this category is a competitive advantage today, as the majority of SMEs score F.
Ready to see where you stand?
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7
Top 5 Quick Wins
Actions any SME can take in the next 30 days
Regardless of what your specific audit results say, these five actions improve every business's digital score. They are low cost, high impact, and within reach of any business owner — with or without a developer.
1
Claim and complete your Google Business Profile
Go to business.google.com, claim your listing, and fill out every single field — category, description, hours, phone, website, and at least 10 photos. This is free, takes two hours, and has an outsized impact on local search visibility. If you already have a profile, audit it: are all fields complete? Are hours accurate? Are photos recent?
Impact: HighTime: 2 hoursCost: Free
2
Send a review request to your 10 most recent happy customers
Write a short, personal email or text message asking for a Google review. Include a direct link to your review page (find it by searching your business name on Google and clicking "Write a review"). Make it easy — most people are happy to leave a review if asked directly. Do this once and then build it into your post-service process going forward.
Impact: HighTime: 30 minutesCost: Free
3
Compress every image on your website
Go to squoosh.app (free, browser-based) and reduce each image on your site to under 200 KB. Then re-upload them. On most small business websites, this single action can cut load time in half. If you use WordPress, install the Smush plugin to handle it automatically for all future uploads.
Impact: HighTime: 2–4 hoursCost: Free
4
Write a unique title tag and meta description for every page
Open each page of your website and write a title tag (50–60 characters, includes your main service + your city) and a meta description (140–160 characters, includes a call-to-action). In WordPress, Yoast SEO or Rank Math make this simple — you don't need to touch any code. This is the highest return-on-effort SEO action that exists.
Impact: HighTime: 1–3 hoursCost: Free
5
Add schema markup to your homepage
Use Google's free Structured Data Markup Helper (search for it) to generate LocalBusiness schema for your homepage. It takes about 20 minutes and requires no coding knowledge. Paste the output into your homepage's header section, or give it to your developer. This tells Google and AI engines exactly what your business is, where it is, and how to contact you — in a format they can read without guessing.
Impact: Medium-HighTime: 30 minutesCost: Free
The 30-day challenge
Complete all five of these actions in the next 30 days. Then re-run your audit in 90 days. In most cases, these five actions alone are enough to move an overall grade by one full letter — from D to C, or from C to B. That's not a guarantee, but it's the pattern we see across every business that takes consistent action.
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G
Glossary
Plain-English definitions for every term used in your audit report
AEO — Answer Engine Optimisation
The practice of structuring your website's content so that AI assistants (like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity) are more likely to quote or recommend your business in their answers. Similar to SEO but focused on AI-generated responses rather than traditional search rankings. Also called GEO.
Related: GEO, AI Visibility Score
AI Visibility Score
A measure of how often and how prominently your business is mentioned when AI engines are asked questions relevant to your service and location. Scored by Naia — a specialist AI visibility analytics platform. A high score means AI assistants recognise and recommend your business; a score of zero means you are effectively invisible in AI search.
Benchmark: Score above 30 = visible; above 60 = strong presence
Backlink
A link from another website pointing to your website. Google treats each backlink as a vote of trust. The quality of the linking site matters far more than the quantity — one link from a regional newspaper is worth more than fifty links from low-quality directories. Earning backlinks from relevant, authoritative sources is the foundation of long-term SEO success.
Benchmark: 20+ quality backlinks for local SME visibility
Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors who land on your website and leave without clicking anything or visiting another page. A high bounce rate (above 70%) can indicate that visitors are not finding what they expected, or that the page loaded too slowly. A low bounce rate does not always mean success — sometimes people find the answer they needed and leave satisfied.
Benchmark: 40–60% is typical for SME service websites
Core Web Vitals
A set of three technical measurements Google uses to assess the user experience of a webpage: Largest Contentful Paint (how fast the main content appears), Cumulative Layout Shift (how stable the layout is during loading), and Interaction to Next Paint (how responsive the page is to clicks and taps). These directly affect both your PageSpeed score and your Google search rankings.
Target: LCP under 2.5s · CLS under 0.1 · INP under 200ms
GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation
Optimising your business's online presence so that AI-powered search tools (such as ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, and Perplexity) include and recommend your business in generated answers. Unlike traditional SEO, GEO focuses on earning mentions across the broader web — reviews, press, directories, and authoritative content — rather than ranking for specific keywords.
Google Business Profile
Google's free business listing tool (formerly Google My Business). Your profile appears in Google Maps and in the right-hand panel when someone searches for your business name. A complete, verified, and regularly updated profile is the most important single action a local business can take for digital visibility. It controls your appearance in the Local Pack — the map results that appear at the top of local searches.
Local Pack
The set of three business listings shown on a map at the top of Google's search results for location-based queries (e.g., "plumber near me" or "accountant Dublin"). Appearing in the Local Pack can deliver 40%+ of the total clicks for that search. Ranking in the Local Pack depends on your Google Business Profile completeness, proximity, review quality, and overall online authority.
Meta Description
A short paragraph (usually 140–160 characters) that appears below your page's title in search results. It does not directly affect your ranking position, but a well-written meta description significantly increases click-through rate — how many people choose to click your result versus a competitor's. Every page should have a unique, compelling meta description.
NAP Consistency
The practice of ensuring your business Name, Address, and Phone number are identical across every online platform — your website, Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp, local directories, and anywhere else you appear. Inconsistencies confuse Google and weaken your local search ranking. Even minor variations (e.g., "St" vs "Street", or a missing "Ltd") count as inconsistencies.
Check: Audit your listings once per year for accuracy
PageSpeed Score
A score from 0 to 100 generated by Google's PageSpeed Insights tool. It measures how fast and smooth your website is to use, weighted heavily toward the mobile experience. A score above 90 is excellent; below 50 means visitors on mobile are experiencing significant delays. The score is calculated from a combination of Core Web Vitals and other performance signals.
Target: 90+ (desktop) · 70+ (mobile)
Schema Markup
Structured code added to your website that describes your business, content, or products in a standardised format that search engines and AI systems can read precisely. Common types include LocalBusiness (your address and contact details), Product (for e-commerce), FAQ (question-and-answer content), and Review (aggregated ratings). Schema markup can unlock "rich results" in Google — enhanced listings with stars, opening hours, or prices displayed directly in search results.
SERP
Search Engine Results Page — the page Google (or any search engine) shows after someone types in a query. Your audit tracks your position on SERPs for keywords relevant to your business. Position 1–3 captures most of the clicks. Below position 10 (page two of results) delivers negligible traffic for most queries.
Target: Top 10 for your core service + location keywords
Title Tag
The clickable headline that appears in Google search results and in browser tabs. It is one of the most important on-page SEO elements. An effective title tag is 50–60 characters long, includes your main keyword (your service + your location), and gives searchers a reason to choose your result. Each page of your website should have a unique title tag.
Formula: Primary Keyword + Location | Brand Name