The 29-Point Website Audit Checklist for Agencies (2026)

How to read this checklist

Each signal is a pass or fail binary check. For each fail, you have a concrete sales opener. For a lead with 10+ fails, you have a complete agency engagement ready to propose. The magic is that ALL of these checks can be automated and run in bulk across hundreds of leads at once.

In LeadHunt, each lead gets a 0-100 score based on weighted averages of these signals. Technical foundations weigh most (Core Web Vitals, mobile, SSL). Trust signals weigh least. The score lets you sort by "worst first" to find your highest-value prospects fast.

1. Technical foundations

SSL / HTTPS

Valid certificate, no mixed content warnings.

Mobile responsive

Tailored mobile viewport, no horizontal scroll.

Core Web Vitals (LCP)

Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5s.

Core Web Vitals (INP)

Interaction to Next Paint under 200ms.

Core Web Vitals (CLS)

Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1.

Page size

Total page weight under 3 MB.

HTTPS redirect

HTTP redirects to HTTPS with 301.

2. SEO fundamentals

Title tag

Unique, under 60 chars, includes primary keyword.

Meta description

150-160 chars, includes CTA.

H1 tag

One H1 per page, contains keyword.

Schema markup

LocalBusiness + Organization schema present.

Sitemap.xml

Valid XML sitemap at /sitemap.xml.

robots.txt

Present, not blocking critical pages.

3. Google Business Profile

GBP exists

Listing claimed and verified on Google.

GBP complete

Hours, phone, website, photos all filled.

GBP reviews

At least 20 reviews, 4.0+ average.

4. Contact and UX

Contact page

Dedicated /contact page with form.

Phone visible

Click-to-call number in header/footer.

Email visible

Contact email on About or Contact page.

WhatsApp button

Floating button or link (EU markets).

Working contact form

Submits successfully, triggers autoresponder.

5. Content and trust

About page

Team photos and company story present.

Services listed

Each service has its own page.

Blog / fresh content

Last post under 6 months old.

Testimonials

At least 3 client testimonials with photos.

Case studies

At least 1 detailed case study.

6. Compliance

GDPR cookie banner

Present on EU-targeting sites.

Privacy policy

Linked in footer.

Terms of service

Linked in footer.

How to turn an audit into a sale

The audit is step 1. The conversion step is the follow-up. Here is the sequence that works:

Run audit, generate PDF with their logo + yours co-branded.
Cold email mentioning 1 specific failing signal with a number (e.g. "your LCP is 5.3s").
Attach the PDF or link to it on your domain.
Offer a 15-minute call to walk through findings and quick wins.
On the call, pick 1-2 issues to fix as a trial. Propose the retainer once trial works.

Frequently asked questions

What is a website audit?

A website audit is a systematic review of a website across technical, SEO, UX, and trust dimensions to identify issues that affect performance, conversions, or search rankings. Agencies use audits as a sales tool: by showing a prospect exactly what is broken on their site, the agency earns the right to pitch a solution.

How long does a 29-point audit take?

Manually, a thorough 29-point audit takes 30-60 minutes per site. Automated tools like LeadHunt complete the same checks in under 30 seconds per site by parallelizing API calls to PageSpeed, Lighthouse, Google Business Profile, and the target site itself.

What tools do you need for a website audit?

For manual audits: Google PageSpeed Insights (free), Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools (free), Google Search Console (free), Schema Markup Validator (free), Google Business Profile browser (free). For automated bulk audits across hundreds of sites, use a dedicated tool like LeadHunt which combines all of these into one workflow.

Which audit signals matter most for agency sales?

For selling SEO services: Core Web Vitals, Google Business Profile presence, schema markup, title tags. For selling web design: mobile responsive, visual quality, contact forms, trust signals. For selling paid ads: landing page load speed, conversion tracking, pixel installation. Pick the 5-10 signals that map to your services.

Can I send a website audit report as PDF?

Yes, and you should. Agencies that attach a branded PDF audit to their cold emails have 3-5x higher reply rates than agencies sending text-only emails. The PDF gives the prospect something concrete to share with partners and forwards to decision makers. LeadHunt generates branded PDFs automatically on every audit.