SEO audit checklist for small businesses in Singapore

Close7 Marketing · Updated 20 October 2026

An SEO audit is a check of whether Google can find your pages, understand them and show them to people searching for what you sell. You don't have to pay for one to get started. Google's own advice is that if you run a small local business, "you can probably do much of the work yourself."

This checklist covers the 12 things worth checking first. Each point is based on a Google help page, listed at the end so you can read the source yourself. We last checked them on 20 October 2026.

Before you start: set up Google Search Console

Search Console is Google's free service for site owners. It shows which of your pages are in Google, which searches they appear for, and what Google thinks is broken. Most of the checks below use it, so add and verify your site first.

Two things worth knowing up front:

Paying for Google Ads does not lift your normal ranking. Google says advertising with it "won't have any effect on your site's presence in our search results," and that it never accepts money to include or rank sites.
Nobody can guarantee you the top spot. In Google's words: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google."

The checklist at a glance

Google can find your site
Nothing is blocking Google by mistake
Each page has one address
Your sitemap is submitted
Every page has its own title
Every page has its own description
Pages are written for people, with one clear main heading
Images have alt text and clear file names
Links are real links with clear words
The mobile version has everything
Pages load fast and stay steady
Your Google Business Profile is verified and complete

Then: measure, and give it time.

1. Check that Google can find your site

Search Google for site:yourdomain.com, using your own domain. If your pages show up, they are in Google's index. If nothing shows, or far fewer pages than you have, open the Page indexing report in Search Console.

Two statuses there confuse a lot of owners:

Crawled – currently not indexed. Google visited the page but didn't add it. It may or may not be added later, and Google says there's no need to resubmit it.
Discovered – currently not indexed. Google knows the page exists but hasn't visited it yet, usually because it didn't want to overload your site.

To check a single page, paste its address into URL Inspection at the top of Search Console. It shows whether the page is indexed, lets you test the live page, and lets you ask Google to crawl it. There's a daily limit on these requests, so save them for pages that matter. For a brand-new site, Google suggests asking it to index your homepage first.

Selling to Singapore only? If your site changes what it shows by country, such as prices, a currency switch or a pop-up, check what Google actually sees. Google says its crawler generally visits from the US, and URL Inspection shows the page as Google received it.

2. Make sure nothing is blocking Google by mistake

If your site was hidden from search while it was being built, check that the setting was switched off at launch. A leftover "noindex" is one of the fastest ways to disappear from Google.

No noindex on pages you want found. A noindex rule, in a meta tag or an X-Robots-Tag header, tells Google to drop the page from its results. URL Inspection shows whether Google found one.
robots.txt isn't blocking key pages. Google says robots.txt "is not a mechanism for keeping a web page out of Google." It controls crawling, not indexing, so a blocked page can still appear, just without a description.
Don't mix the two. If robots.txt blocks a page, Google never sees that page's noindex rule. Google also doesn't support noindex written inside robots.txt.

If you use a website builder, Google notes that services such as Wix, WordPress and Blogger usually have a search engine settings page for this, so you may not need to touch any code.

3. Give each page one address

The same page can often be opened at several addresses: with and without "www", over "http" and "https", or with tracking codes on the end. Google picks one address, called the canonical, to show in results. You can tell it which one you prefer. In order of strength, Google lists:

Redirects: a strong signal.
A rel="canonical" tag: a strong signal. Put one on the preferred page itself, pointing to its own address.
Listing the address in your sitemap: a weak signal.

Keep these consistent. Don't name one address in your sitemap and a different one in the canonical tag. And don't use noindex to choose between duplicates, because that removes the page from Search altogether.

Good news if you've found duplicates: Google says the same content at several addresses on your own site is not a violation and won't cause a manual action. Copying other sites' content is a different story.

4. Submit a sitemap

A sitemap is a file that lists the pages you want Google to know about. You submit it in the Sitemaps report in Search Console.

Google says a small site, about 500 pages or fewer, that links well between its own pages might not need one. A new site with few links from other websites might. Google adds that in most cases a site will benefit from having one. Keep in mind that a sitemap helps Google discover pages; it doesn't guarantee they'll be crawled or indexed.

5. Give every page its own title

The page title is usually what people see as the clickable headline in Google. Google's advice:

Every page needs a title in its <title> element.
Describe the page plainly and briefly. Avoid vague titles such as "Home".
Don't repeat the same words over and over, and don't use the same title on many pages. A shop where every page is called "Cheap products for sale" makes the pages impossible to tell apart.
If you add your brand, add it once at the start or end, separated by a dash, colon or pipe.

There's no length limit, but Google shortens long titles to fit the screen. After you change a title, Google may take a few days to a few weeks to notice.

For an online shop, this mostly means category and product pages need titles that say what's on them, like "Padded swimwear for Asian fits | Your Brand" rather than "Collection 3".

6. Give every page its own description

The meta description is a short summary that Google sometimes shows under your title. Google mostly builds this snippet from your page text, and uses your description when it describes the page better.

Write a different description for each page. If you can't do them all, Google suggests starting with your homepage and your most popular pages. A string of keywords is less likely to be shown.

7. Write for people, with one clear main heading

Google says its ranking systems favour "helpful, reliable, people-first content," not content made to game rankings. In practice:

One clear main heading. It should stand out from everything else on the page.
No magic number of headings. Use them where they help the reader.
Skip the keywords meta tag. Google Search doesn't use it. Stuffing a page with the same words is against Google's spam policies.
Readable addresses. Words like /padded-swimwear help people more than a string of random numbers.

8. Add alt text and clear file names to images

Google calls alt text the most important detail you can add to an image. It also helps people who use screen readers. Describe what the image shows in a few natural words, and don't stuff it with keywords.

Name files clearly too. Google's own example: my-new-black-kitten.jpg is better than IMG00023.JPG. Use normal image elements for pictures you want found, because Google doesn't index images set as CSS backgrounds.

9. Use real links with clear words

Google can generally only follow links written as standard HTML links: an <a> element with an href. Menus or buttons that move people around with scripts alone may not be followed.

The words in a link matter as well. "Padded swimwear" tells people and Google far more than "click here". Make sure every important page can be reached from your menu or from another page.

10. Check that the mobile version has everything

Google uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking. So:

Your mobile pages should have the same main content as your desktop pages.
Use the same robots meta tags on both. A noindex on mobile alone can stop a page being indexed.
Don't hide main content behind a tap or swipe. Google won't load content that needs someone to click, swipe or type.

If you need to save space on small screens, Google suggests accordions or tabs rather than cutting content.

11. Check speed and page experience

Google's Core Web Vitals measure loading, responsiveness and visual stability. Its targets for a good experience:

Measure	What it checks	Good
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)	How fast the main content loads	Within 2.5 seconds
Interaction to Next Paint (INP)	How fast the page reacts to taps and clicks	Under 200 milliseconds
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)	How much the layout jumps around while loading	Under 0.1

You can see real-visitor results in the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console, and the HTTPS report shows whether pages are served securely. Google also asks whether your pages avoid intrusive pop-ups and too many ads. It says there's no single page experience score; Core Web Vitals are one of the signals its ranking systems use.

Images are often the biggest part of a page's size, Google notes, so oversized photos are a good first place to look if pages are slow.

12. If you serve customers locally, check your Google Business Profile

When someone searches for a business near them, Google shows local results on Maps and Search. Google's own tips:

Verify your business.
Keep your details complete and accurate: your address if customers visit, opening hours including special hours, your business category, and extras such as parking.
Reply to reviews.
Add photos and videos.

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the person searching) and prominence (how well known you are, which includes how many websites link to you and your reviews). It also says: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google."

Bonus: structured data

Structured data is code that describes your page to Google in a fixed format, for example a product's price or your business's address. Google recommends the JSON-LD format, says you shouldn't mark up anything visitors can't see, and suggests checking your code with its Rich Results Test.

After the fixes: measure, and give it time

Before you change anything, note four numbers from the Performance report in Search Console: clicks, impressions (how often you appeared), click-through rate (clicks divided by impressions) and average position. Compare them later.

Then be patient. Google says some changes "might take effect in a few hours, others could take several months," and suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether your work helped. Not every change will make a visible difference.

What a paid SEO audit should include

If you'd rather have someone do this for you, Google's advice on hiring an SEO makes a good yardstick:

Realistic estimates. An audit should give you realistic estimates of improvement and of the work involved. If someone guarantees first place, Google says to find someone else.
Read access only. At the audit stage, give read access to Search Console, not write access.
Advice backed by Google. Ask whether recommendations cite official Google documentation. Google says it doesn't endorse any third-party SEO software, and that such software has no access to Google's internal ranking data.
Clear explanations. Be careful with anyone who won't explain what they plan to change.
Red flags. Guaranteed rankings, a claimed "special relationship" with Google, "priority submit" offers, and cold emails saying your site isn't listed in search engines. Google also says you should never have to link to an SEO.

How Close7 Marketing can help

We start with a free preliminary check. Send us your website and we'll look at the searches your customers use and where your site stands today. You get a plain summary of what's working, what's missing and which searches are realistic to win, then a short proposal with clear options. Pick what suits you, or nothing at all.

If you go ahead, we offer a one-time SEO fix, monthly articles, a monthly full growth package, and Google Ads management for a fixed monthly fee. Every change comes to you as a draft first, and nothing goes live until you say yes. We don't guarantee rankings, and we only report positions we've confirmed on live Google or in your Search Console.

Questions

Can I do an SEO audit myself?

For most small sites, yes. Google says that if you run a small local business, you can probably do much of the work yourself, and suggests starting with its SEO Starter Guide. The checks on this page use free Google services, mainly Search Console.

Does paying for Google Ads improve my SEO ranking?

No. Google says advertising with Google won't have any effect on your site's presence in its search results, and that it never accepts money to include or rank sites.

How long before I see results from SEO fixes?

Google says some changes take effect in a few hours and others can take several months, and suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether your work helped. Nobody can promise a date or a position.

Does a small website need a sitemap?

Not always. Google says a site of about 500 pages or fewer that links well between its own pages might not need one, while a new site with few links from other websites might. Google adds that in most cases a site will benefit from having one.

Do I still need the meta keywords tag?

No. Google Search doesn't use the keywords meta tag.

What access should I give someone doing an SEO audit?

Google advises giving read access to Search Console only at the audit stage, not write access.

Sources

Checked on 20 October 2026, against Google's own documentation.