Building links on a broken foundation? That’s like running ads to a 404 page.
It’s tempting to jump straight into a link-building campaign, especially when you’ve got aggressive MRR goals and a list of target keywords burning a hole in your roadmap. But without a clean, crawlable site, all those shiny backlinks won’t deliver the rankings or organic traffic you expect.
At EMGI, we work with growth-focused SaaS companies to drive long-term search engine optimization (SEO) success through high-authority link acquisition. But before we build a single link, we start with one thing: the audit. Even the most powerful links won’t help if technical or on-page SEO is holding your site back.
This guide walks you through how to do a website audit that identifies what’s silently sabotaging your rankings on search engine results pages, so your site is ready to capitalize on every backlink that comes next.
Why an SEO website audit should come before link building
Backlinks don’t fix broken websites—they expose them.
They amplify what’s already there. If your site is technically sound and aligned with user intent, great links push it higher in search results. But if there are crawl issues, bloated code or thin content? Those same links might just highlight the problem areas.
For SaaS companies, this risk is magnified. Google’s algorithm isn’t fooled by a few high-DR links. Since 2021, it prioritizes Core Web Vitals (loading, interactivity, visual stability) as well as mobile friendliness and an overall good user experience. Subscription-based models rely heavily on organic acquisition, so slow load times, duplicate content and broken pages chip away at credibility and waste link equity.
An SEO audit checklist can help you spot under-the-hood issues holding you back:
- Crawlability and indexed pages
- Internal linking structure
- Core web vitals (page speed, responsiveness, visual stability)
- Website content gaps and duplication
- Technical flags like redirect chains, missing metadata or lack of structured data
Solve these, and suddenly web pages rank faster. Bounce rates drop. High-authority sites are more willing to link back.
How to do a website audit: SaaS SEO audit checklist
Crawl your website
Crawling your site is like seeing it through Google’s eyes. SEO site audit tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs Site Audit or Sitebulb help surface broken links, duplicate pages, thin content and orphan pages that quietly hurt your rankings.
Start with your key SaaS pages like product landing pages, pricing and features sections. These are the ones that usually drive conversions.
We’ve seen how minor technical fixes early in the auditing process make SaaS link building far more effective. For example, with HR Partner, the audit confirmed a solid structure, allowing us to target service pages that now bring in 1,500+ extra website visitors per month.
Check indexation status
Checking your indexation status ensures search engines understand which pages to show and which to ignore. Google Search Console offers an easy way to compare submitted vs. indexed pages using the URL inspection tool.
It’s not uncommon for SaaS sites to have test environments or dev subdomains accidentally indexed. This clutters your presence and confuses search engine crawlers. Use canonical tags, noindex tag or robots.txt to block unnecessary pages.
Identify technical SEO issues
This is where the behind-the-scenes stuff can quietly tank your rankings. A technical SEO audit with tools like PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse or WebPageTest will flag common issues, such as slow load times, mobile usability problems, HTTP/HTTPS conflicts or JavaScript rendering issues.
One thing SaaS teams often overlook? Sign-up flows, dashboards and gated content. These pages might look great to users, but if they rely on heavy JavaScript or don’t render properly, search engines might struggle to crawl or index them at all.
We’ve seen important pages go completely unnoticed by Google because of it. Our audits regularly reveal hidden issues, such as JavaScript-based forms that don’t load properly or multiple pages using the same URL, which prevents proper indexing.
Audit site architecture & internal linking
Your website structure should be easy to follow. Key SaaS pages (features, pricing, integrations) should be within three clicks of the homepage. If users (or Google) have to dig too deep to find them, they’re probably missing out.
Keep things flat and easy to navigate. And don’t sleep on internal links. They’re not just there for decoration. A blog post about a feature? Link it to the actual feature page. A product mention in a case study? That’s a great place for a contextual link. Even your footer can pull some weight—just don’t turn it into a cluttered mess. A great strategy for interlinking blog posts is the pillar-cluster method for keeping all relevant content within easy reach (think: Wikipedia topics).
Review on-page SEO & keyword alignment
Each page on your site should target a specific keyword. One topic, one goal. Use your page titles, meta descriptions, headers and image alt text to reflect the keyword strategy without stuffing.
SaaS buyers often search with use-case specificity—think “best payroll software for startups” instead of just “payroll software.” Align content with this long-tail intent to match where users are in their decision-making journey.
Missing image alt text and irrelevant image titles are more red flags. They reduce your SEO value and weaken accessibility. Fill the gaps and, where it fits, add structured data to help Google better interpret your content.
Analyze content quality & gaps
If competitors with similar DR are outranking you, it’s probably because their content is hitting the mark better. Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush make it easy to run a competitor analysis and see what relevant topics you haven’t covered (or covered not well enough).
Look for content that’s outdated, duplicated across the site or just not answering what people are searching for. A regular content audit can tell you what to cut, rewrite or combine. Sometimes, all it takes is repurposing what you already have to keep a page up to date.
Check if you’re missing bottom-of-funnel pages, like comparison posts (e.g., “X vs. Y software”) or industry-specific solutions. Some other pages that are a common SaaS blind spot are case studies and integrations. These often sit quietly in the background, but they can drive serious traffic and conversions when optimized properly.
Great content isn’t just about rankings, it’s about meeting user needs, matching search intent and keeping your target audience satisfied.
Perform a backlink profile audit
Before building new links, look at what’s already pointing to your site. A backlink profile audit helps you catch anything toxic, irrelevant or outdated that could be dragging your authority down.
Tools like Ahrefs or Moz Link Explorer can surface spammy domains and legacy junk links you might not even know about. While disavowing can help, it’s not a magic fix. It should be your last move, not your first instinct.
Link building should be about dynamic growth, not damage control. A clean, healthy backlink profile gives your site the best shot at building authority, not just recovering from SEO mistakes.
Technical SEO issues to fix before link building
| Issue | Why it matters | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 404 Errors | Wasted link equity | Redirect to a relevant page or update links |
| Duplicate content | Confuses Google | Remove, rewrite or add canonical tags |
| Missing meta tags | Poor CTR, unclear targeting | Write meta titles/descriptions with a focus on search intent and keywords |
| Thin content | Doesn’t rank or convert | Combine with related content or rewrite to add value |
| Unsecured (HTTP) pages | Hurts user trust and SEO | Implement HTTPS across the entire site |
| Broken internal links | Disrupts crawling and indexing | Fix broken paths or remove dead links |
| Poor mobile experience | Lowers rankings, high bounce rates | Use responsive design and test across mobile devices |
| 301 redirects | Preserves link equity, fixes broken paths | Implement permanent redirects from outdated URLs to relevant live pages |
Audit finished? Let’s build you some links!
A proper website audit sets the stage for SEO that drives higher rankings, more qualified traffic and stronger conversion paths. Without it, even the best backlinks can fall flat.
Fixing technical issues, improving site structure, tightening on-page SEO—this ensures your site is ready to benefit from every link you build.
That’s the approach we take at EMGI. When Prospeo contacted us, they already had a strong product and solid content. We focused on link acquisition, but only after confirming their site could support it. The result? A jump from 1,000 to 17,000 monthly visitors and a big step toward $1.5M in ARR.
If your audit’s done and you’re ready to scale with high-authority, high-impact backlinks, let’s talk. We’ll help you turn that clean foundation into steady, compounding SEO growth.
FAQs
What is a website audit?
A website audit is a comprehensive review of your site’s technical setup, content quality, SEO alignment and backlink profile. It helps identify issues that may prevent your pages from ranking or proper indexation.
How do you perform a website audit?
Crawl the site to identify technical issues such as broken links, duplicate content and indexing errors. Review on-page elements, e.g., titles, meta tags and keyword alignment. Assess internal linking, site structure and backlink quality.
Don’t forget user experience website audit—check page speed, mobile usability and overall site design, as these are key SEO ranking factors too. Use tools like Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, Google Analytics and Ahrefs to guide the process.
What is technical SEO?
Technical SEO is optimizing a website’s backend structure so search engines can crawl, index and rank it effectively. It includes site speed, mobile-friendliness, secure HTTPS, structured data and clean URL structure.
What are the technical errors of SEO?
Common technical SEO errors include broken links, duplicate content, slow page speed, missing meta tags, HTTP/HTTPS conflicts, poor mobile usability and issues with indexing or crawlability. These can prevent search engines from properly understanding and ranking your site.