The AuditCrow blog
Short, practical guides on SEO, speed, accessibility, and getting found by both people and AI.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Website Audit Company
Anyone can wrap a free automated tool in a branded PDF and charge for it. Here's how to tell a genuine audit from a repackaged report before you pay.
Ben Foord· 6 Oct 2026How Much Does a Website Audit Cost?
Website audit prices range from free to several thousand pounds, and the difference isn't always what you'd expect. Here's what drives the cost.
What to Do After Your Website Audit: An Action Plan
A finished audit report isn't the finish line. Here's a practical order of operations for turning a list of issues into work that actually gets done.
Can ChatGPT or AI Tools Actually Audit Your Website?
Pasting your URL into ChatGPT feels like a free audit, but it can't see your page. Here's what a chat AI can genuinely tell you, and what it's guessing at.
AI Website Builders Make Editing Easy - and Quietly Skip the Foundations
Cheap and AI site builders make content editing feel finished. The unglamorous layer - structure, indexing, measurement, handover - is often missing, and growth caps before you notice.
Website Analytics Should Not Be a Paid Upgrade
Some site builders put Google Analytics behind a higher plan. Native dashboards are not the same as data you own - and measurement belongs in the brief, not the upsell.
The New Website Checklist: Data, Systems, and What to Demand Before You Pay
Before you commission a new site, lock down the data you must own, the systems that must exist at launch, and the questions that stop a cheap build from capping your growth.
Google Penalised a 20-Year-Old Tech Forum - AI Chatbot Content Is the Leading Theory
WindowsForum.com got a thin-content manual action covering ~168k threads. Analysts point at an AI chatbot with 111k replies - Google has not confirmed that. Treat it as a warning sign, not a proven rule.
Three AI Labs Admitted Their Safety Tests Accidentally Hacked Real Businesses
Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta and the UK AI Security Institute all described sandbox failures within about a week. 'It's been safety tested' is a claim worth pressing on - not a fact to take from a vendor brochure.
OpenAI's Safety Test Broke Into Hugging Face - What Business Owners Should Take From It
During an internal security test with guardrails off, an OpenAI model reached the open internet and broke into Hugging Face's real systems. Not malice - reward hacking. Here is the lesson that actually generalises for SMEs.
Mentioned vs Cited: Why Being Named by ChatGPT Isn't the Same as Being Found
An AI assistant can say your name without ever sending anyone to your site. Here's the difference between being mentioned and being cited - and why only one of them gets you a customer.
Your Meta Ad Bill Just Got Bigger Than Your Budget - On Purpose
Since 1 July 2026 Meta has added a 2% UK location fee on top of Facebook and Instagram ad spend. It does not show in Ads Manager while you set the budget. Here is what to check on the invoice.
Lazy Loading Images: The Setting That Helps Most Pages and Hurts One
Lazy loading below-the-fold images is free performance. Lazy loading the one image visible when the page loads is the single most common way sites accidentally sabotage their own Core Web Vitals.
Local Citations for SEO: Where to List Your Business and Why NAP Consistency Matters
A citation is any online mention of your business name, address, and phone number, and inconsistent ones quietly undermine local rankings. Here's which citations actually matter and how to fix the ones that don't match.
Heading Tags and H1s: What Actually Needs to Be Unique
A page needs exactly one H1, not zero and not five fighting for attention. Here's what heading structure Google actually cares about, and the theme mistake that quietly breaks it on most sites.
Click-Through Rate in SEO: What Actually Moves It
Two pages can rank in the same spot and get very different numbers of clicks. Here's what click-through rate actually measures, whether it's a ranking factor, and the levers that genuinely move it.
ChatGPT Ads Are Now Open to UK Businesses of Any Size
Five months ago ChatGPT ads needed a six-figure minimum. UK self-serve access dropped that barrier in June 2026. Here is what is confirmed, what is still immature, and what to ask before you test a budget.
Minifying CSS and JavaScript: What It Actually Saves
Minification strips whitespace and comments from your code, not your images. It's a smaller win than compressing a bloated hero photo, but it's free, safe, and worth doing properly.
Instagram Briefly Let Anyone Generate AI Images of Public Business Accounts
Meta's Muse Image feature was on by default for public Instagram accounts, then pulled after four days of backlash. Nobody had to ask a business owner first. Here's what that pattern means for your social settings.
How to Fix 404 Errors (and When Not to Bother)
Not every 404 needs fixing. The ones that do are usually a five-minute redirect. Here's how to tell the two apart, and why not showing up on Google can trace back to this exact issue.
Why Is My Website Not Showing Up on Google? The Real Reasons, in Order
There are only a handful of reasons a site is missing from Google, and every one of them is checkable in a few minutes. Here's the order to check them in, before you assume it's a mystery.
A Critical WordPress Bug Let Hackers Take Over Sites With No Password
Two chained WordPress core flaws needed no password to take over a site. Patches shipped the same day, but weeks later a meaningful share of sites were still exposed. Here's what to ask if you run one.
Open Graph Tags: Why Your Link Looks Broken When Shared on Facebook or LinkedIn
Share a page on Facebook, LinkedIn or WhatsApp and get a blank box, the wrong image, or a random paragraph as the preview? That's missing Open Graph tags, not a bug on the platform's end.
Google Preferred Sources: What the New Button Actually Does
Google now lets readers star your site as a preferred source, and lets you add a button asking them to. Here's what it changes, what it doesn't, and the two lines of code to add it.
The Meta Robots Tag: Every Directive Explained, Not Just Noindex
Noindex is the meta robots directive everyone knows. It's one of at least seven. Here's the full set, what each one actually controls, and where they commonly get misapplied.
How Large, Uncompressed Images Destroy Page Speed (With a Real 13.6 MB Example)
One accidental 13.6 MB upload can add over 20 seconds on slow 4G. Here's what that costs in load time, rankings, and visitors - and how to catch oversized assets before they wreck a page.
Structured Data Explained: What Schema Markup Actually Does
Schema markup won't rewrite your rankings, but it can win you richer search results. Here's what it is, how to add it, and when it's worth the effort - updated with what changed for FAQPage rich results in 2023 and why the schema still earns its place.
LocalBusiness Schema: The Structured Data That Actually Matters for Local Search
LocalBusiness schema is the one piece of structured data almost every local business should add. Here's the full property list, how multi-location sites should handle it, and the placeholder mistake that quietly undoes it.
Pagination and SEO: Why Page 2, Page 3, and 'Load More' Aren't the Same Problem
Blog archives, category pages, and product listings all get split across multiple pages. Handled well, pagination is invisible to SEO. Handled badly, it either buries content Google never finds or floods your index with near-duplicates.
URL Structure and SEO: What Actually Helps (and What's Just Tidiness)
A clean URL doesn't rank you higher on its own, but a messy one adds friction search engines and visitors both have to work around. Here's what genuinely matters versus what's cosmetic.
www vs non-www: Why It Doesn't Matter Which You Pick, But It Matters That You Pick
www.example.com and example.com look identical to a visitor and are treated as completely different URLs by search engines. Neither version is better for SEO. Leaving both reachable at once is what actually costs you.
llms.txt Explained: What It Is, Whether You Need One, and How to Write It
llms.txt won't get you cited in ChatGPT. But for developer documentation and public APIs, it's a cheap, useful file. What it is, what the evidence shows, who should bother, and exactly how to build one.
The Noindex Tag: What It Does and How to Avoid Locking Google Out by Accident
A noindex tag tells Google not to show a page in search results. Used deliberately, it's a useful tool. Left on by accident, it's the single most common way a site launch goes wrong.
What Is Google Discover? The Traffic Source With No Search Query
Google Discover can send more traffic than search itself, but it works nothing like a normal ranking. Here's what it actually is and what it takes to appear in it.
Back Button Hijacking: Google's New Spam Policy and How to Check You're Clean
Google added back button hijacking to its spam policy in April 2026, with enforcement live since June 15. Here's what it actually is, why it often isn't the site owner's own code, and how to check yours.
What Is a Featured Snippet? The Google Result Above Position One
A featured snippet is the direct-answer box Google sometimes shows above the normal results, pulled automatically from a page that's already ranking. Here's how it actually works.
Search Console's New AI Performance Report: What It Shows (and What It Still Doesn't)
Google added a dedicated AI performance report to Search Console, showing how your content appears in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI-powered Discover. Here's what's in it, what's missing, and the new toggle to opt your content out entirely.
The Website Migration SEO Checklist (Redesigns, Replatforms, and Domain Moves)
A redesign, a CMS switch, or a domain change can quietly cost a site its rankings if nobody checks what actually happened underneath. Here's what to verify before and after.
Breadcrumb Schema: The Small Markup Change That Can Win You a Cleaner Google Result
Breadcrumb schema swaps a raw URL in Google's results for a readable trail showing where a page sits on your site. It's one of the cheapest structured-data wins available.
Nofollow Links: What They Do and When to Actually Use Them
The nofollow attribute is one of the most misunderstood pieces of HTML in SEO - misused on internal links, misunderstood on outbound ones. Here's what it actually does.
Search Console Can Now Track Instagram and TikTok: How to Set It Up
Google Search Console now supports Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube as their own property type, showing the clicks and search queries that send people to your posts. Here's how to add one, and what to do if you don't see the option yet.
JavaScript SEO: Why Google Might Not See What Your Visitors See
If your site is built with React, Vue, or a similar framework, what Google sees when it crawls a page can be a blank shell rather than your content. Here's what JavaScript SEO actually means and how to check you're not affected.
Google's Mobile-Friendly Test Is Gone: What to Use Instead
Google retired the standalone Mobile-Friendly Test tool back in December 2023, but people still search for it every month. Here's where mobile usability checking actually lives now.
What Is a Title Tag? The One HTML Element Most Small Sites Get Wrong
The title tag is one of the smallest pieces of code on your page and one of the biggest factors in whether anyone clicks through from Google. Here's what it is and how to write one properly.
AuditCrow vs Moz: Which Do You Actually Need?
Moz Pro is a full SEO suite with site auditing as one feature. AuditCrow is a focused, free, plain-language single-page audit. Here's how to choose.
Google's Structured Data Testing Tool Is Gone: What to Use Instead
Google retired the Structured Data Testing Tool years ago, but people still search for it every month. Here's what replaced it and how to actually validate your schema in 2026.
Keyword Cannibalisation: When Your Own Pages Compete With Each Other
Keyword cannibalisation is when two or more of your own pages target the same search term and split your ranking chances instead of adding them up. Here's how to spot it and fix it.
What Is a Website Security Audit? A Plain-English Guide
A website security audit checks your site for weaknesses an attacker could exploit. Here's what it covers, what you can check yourself, and when to call in a professional.
Website Accessibility: What It Is and How to Audit Your Site
A website accessibility audit checks whether disabled people can actually use your site - and whether you meet the law. Here's what it involves, what it costs, and how to start for free.
What Is a Content Audit? A Plain-English Guide
A content audit is a stocktake of everything on your website - what's working, what's decaying, and what to keep, update, merge, or delete. Here's how to run one.
The Best AI Visibility Tools in 2026 (and Where to Start for Free)
AI visibility tools track whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews mention your brand. Here's an honest look at the main options - and a free way to check your foundations first.
301 vs 302 Redirects: Which One You Actually Need
A 301 redirect passes ranking signals to the new URL. A 302 doesn't, unless it's left in place so long Google treats it as permanent anyway. Here's how to pick the right one.
Why Isn't My Business Showing Up in AI Overviews or ChatGPT? How to Check and What to Fix
AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity now answer many questions before anyone clicks a link. How to check whether they mention your business, the usual reasons they don't, and what you can actually change.
Why Website Speed Matters, and How to Improve Your Google PageSpeed Score
A low PageSpeed score means real visitors are experiencing a slower site. Here's what actually moves the number, in order of impact - without needing to be a developer.
The Conversion Rate Optimisation Checklist for Small Business Websites
Traffic without conversions is a leaky bucket. A practical, no-jargon checklist for finding the friction that stops visitors from becoming enquiries or customers.
Duplicate Content and SEO: What It Actually Costs You
There's no Google "duplicate content penalty" - but duplicate URLs still dilute rankings and waste crawl budget. Here's what's really happening and how to fix it.
Soft 404s: The Broken Pages Your Site Insists Are Fine
A soft 404 is a page that's really broken but tells search engines it isn't. Here's how to spot them and why Search Console keeps flagging pages you thought were fine.
Canonical Tags Explained: Fixing Duplicate Content Without Deleting Anything
When the same content is reachable from more than one URL, a canonical tag tells search engines which version counts - no redirects or deletions required.
Local SEO Basics: Getting Found on Google Maps and Search
If you serve customers in a specific area, local SEO matters more than your rankings for generic keywords. Here's a quick checklist plus where to start.
Meta Description Length: What Actually Fits (and Why It's Not a Hard Limit)
There's no strict character cap on meta descriptions - Google truncates by pixel width, not character count. Here's what reliably fits and how to write ones people actually click.
The Robots.txt Guide: Syntax, Common Mistakes, and What It Can't Do
A plain-English guide to robots.txt syntax and the handful of mistakes that accidentally block search engines from your entire site.
Internal Linking for SEO: Why It Matters and How to Do It Right
Internal links connect your pages and tell Google what matters on your site. Here's how to build a structure that works, and what most businesses miss.
Is Your Site Blocking GPTBot, ClaudeBot & PerplexityBot? An AI Crawler Accessibility Checklist
AI answer engines can only cite your content if their crawlers can reach it. Here's how to check whether GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot are actually allowed in.
Alt Text and SEO: Writing Image Descriptions That Actually Help
Alt text isn't just a compliance checkbox - it's how screen readers, image search, and AI crawlers all understand what's in a picture your visitors take for granted.
AuditCrow vs SEMrush Site Audit: Which One Do You Actually Need?
SEMrush Site Audit is a powerful module inside a huge suite. AuditCrow is a focused, plain-language single-page check. Here's how to choose.
HTTPS and Security Headers: The Trust Signals Most Sites Get Wrong
The padlock icon is just the start. Here's what HTTPS and security headers actually protect - and why Google and visitors both care.
How to Audit Your Website: The Technical SEO Checklist Every Small Business Should Run
What an SEO audit actually checks, how to run one yourself for free, and the ordered checklist of technical fundamentals that decide whether Google can find, crawl, and rank your site.
Google Search Console for Beginners: A Small Business Guide
Search Console shows you exactly how Google sees your site - for free. Here's how to set it up and what to check first.
What Is Bounce Rate (and Should You Actually Worry About It)?
Bounce rate gets blamed for a lot of SEO sins. Here's what it actually measures, why it's not the villain you think it is, and what to check instead.
AuditCrow vs Screaming Frog: Which Website Audit Tool Is Right for You?
One is a powerful desktop crawler for technical SEOs; the other gives plain-language results instantly in your browser. Here's how to choose.
What Are Core Web Vitals? The Metrics That Affect Your Google Ranking
Core Web Vitals are three speed and experience signals Google uses to rank your site. Here's what they mean and how to improve them.
What Is E-E-A-T? Google's Quality Standard Explained
E-E-A-T is how Google judges whether your content is trustworthy. Here's what it means for your website - and what you can actually do about it.
5 SEO Quick Wins Any Business Owner Can Do Today
You don't need to be a developer to improve your search rankings. Here are five things you can fix right now.
Most Common Small Business Website Issues
From real AuditCrow scan data: the issues that show up most often on small business sites, and how to fix them.
How to Read a Website Audit Report
Website audit reports can feel overwhelming. Here's how to read one - sections, scores, and how to decide what to fix first.
AuditCrow vs SEOptimer: Which Audit Tool for You?
We compare AuditCrow and SEOptimer - two free website audit tools - so you can choose the one that fits your needs.
AuditCrow vs Google Lighthouse: What's the Difference?
Lighthouse gives you raw metrics. AuditCrow turns them into a prioritised, business-friendly report. Here's when to use each.
Best Free Website Audit Tools 2026
A roundup of the best free website audit tools - from quick single-page checks to multi-page crawlers - so you can find the right fit.
How AuditCrow Checks Your Website: Our Methodology
A pillar page explaining AuditCrow's categories and checks - what we scan, why, and how we prioritise issues.
AuditCrow is live: your free website health audit
We're live. Run a free website health audit with no signup - get a prioritised, plain-language report in under a minute.