Before you can fix your website, you need to know what is broken. The good news: you can do a thorough website audit yourself using nothing but free tools and about 30 minutes of your time. Here is exactly how.
Step 1: Check Your Page Speed
Go to pagespeed.web.dev and enter your homepage URL. Make sure you are looking at the Mobile tab (not Desktop). Write down your score.
- 90-100: Excellent. Your site is fast.
- 50-89: Needs work. You are losing visitors to slow load times.
- 0-49: Critical. Your site is actively hurting your business.
Repeat this for your most important service pages, not just your homepage. Some sites have a fast homepage but slow service pages because of uncompressed images or heavy plugins.
Pay attention to the specific recommendations Google gives you. The most common fixes for trades websites:
- Serve images in next-gen formats (WebP instead of JPEG/PNG)
- Properly size images (do not load a 4000px image for a 400px space)
- Eliminate render-blocking resources
- Reduce server response time (often a hosting issue)
Step 2: Test Mobile Usability
Pull up your website on your phone. Actually use it as a customer would. Check:
- Can you tap the phone number and have it dial?
- Can you read all the text without zooming?
- Do buttons and links have enough space that you do not accidentally tap the wrong thing?
- Does the navigation work smoothly?
- Can you fill out the contact form easily with your thumbs?
- Do any elements overflow the screen, requiring horizontal scrolling?
Be honest. If anything is awkward, frustrating, or broken, your customers are experiencing the same thing -- and they are leaving.
Step 3: Check Google Search Console
If you have not set up Google Search Console, do it now at search.google.com/search-console. It is free, and it tells you exactly how Google sees your website.
Key reports to check:
- Performance: Shows which search queries people use to find your site, how many clicks you get, and your average ranking position
- Pages: Shows which pages Google has indexed and any errors it encountered
- Core Web Vitals: Shows real-user performance data for your pages
- Mobile Usability: Flags specific pages with mobile issues
Step 4: Check Your Google Business Profile
Search for your business name on Google. Look at your business listing:
- Is the phone number correct?
- Is the address correct?
- Are the business hours accurate?
- Are your services listed and described?
- Do you have recent photos (within the last 3 months)?
- Do you have recent reviews (within the last month)?
- Have you responded to your reviews?
Step 5: SEO Quick Check
Open your website in a browser and check these things:
- Title tags: Look at the browser tab. Each page should have a unique, descriptive title. If every page says "Home" or your company name only, your title tags need work.
- Headings: Right-click on a page and "View Source." Search for <h1>. Each page should have exactly one H1 tag. If you see multiple H1 tags or none at all, the heading structure needs fixing.
- HTTPS: Does your URL start with https://? If it shows http:// (no "s"), you do not have an SSL certificate. Google flags this as "Not Secure" and it hurts your rankings.
- Indexing: Type "site:yourdomain.com" into Google. The results show every page Google has indexed. If you see fewer pages than your site actually has, some pages are not being indexed.
Step 6: Content Audit
Read through your website as if you are a customer who has never heard of your company:
- Does each page clearly explain what service you provide?
- Is it obvious what city and area you serve?
- Are there any outdated references (old phone numbers, discontinued services, last year's awards)?
- Are photos high quality and relevant?
- Is there a clear call to action on every page?
- Are there any spelling or grammar errors?
Step 7: Check Your Competition
Search for your main keyword (like "plumber [your city]") and look at the top 3 results. Visit their websites and compare:
- How fast do their sites load compared to yours?
- How do they present their services?
- What trust signals do they display?
- How easy is it to find their phone number?
- What do they do better than you? What do you do better than them?
Creating Your Fix List
After going through these steps, you will have a list of issues. Prioritize them:
- Critical: Broken phone number, no SSL, site not loading on mobile -- fix these today
- High priority: Slow page speed, missing service pages, no reviews strategy -- fix within 2 weeks
- Medium priority: Missing schema markup, outdated content, poor internal linking -- fix within a month
- Low priority: Design refresh, adding video, social media integration -- schedule when critical items are handled
You now know exactly where your website stands and what needs to be fixed. Whether you tackle it yourself or bring in help, you are making informed decisions instead of guessing.