By Craig Wilson — Digital Marketing Consultant at Sticky Digital
Key Takeaways
- A local SEO audit identifies critical website issues that affect visibility and rankings
- Newcastle businesses should prioritise fixing technical errors, poor keyword targeting, and weak local signals
- A structured audit process improves both search performance and lead quality
- Most SEO issues are fixable without a full website rebuild — you just need to know where to look
Why Every Newcastle Business Needs an SEO Audit in 2025
Search engines have become even more sophisticated — and so have your competitors. For Newcastle SMEs, running a regular SEO audit is no longer optional. It’s essential to staying visible in local search results and attracting customers in a competitive digital landscape.
Whether you’re a builder in Belmont or a law firm in Charlestown, your website must perform technically, locally, and strategically. That’s where an SEO audit comes in — to uncover what’s holding your website back and what to fix first.
Step 1: Check for Crawlability & Indexing Issues
Your site won’t rank if Google can’t access it properly. Start by ensuring:
- Your website has an updated, submitted XML sitemap
- Robots.txt isn’t blocking important pages
- No pages are being incorrectly marked as “noindex”
- There are no major crawl errors in Google Search Console
Pro tip: Use tools like Screaming Frog or SEMrush to simulate a crawl.
Step 2: Fix Broken Links & Redirect Chains
Broken links (404 errors) and messy redirects send poor signals to Google and frustrate users.
- Identify and fix all broken internal and external links
- Avoid redirect chains or loops — every extra redirect can slow your site
- Use a 301 (permanent) redirect where necessary
If you’re unsure how to manage redirects properly, our SEO services can help tidy things up.
Step 3: Review On-Page SEO Basics
Every page should be targeting a keyword — but more importantly, it should be doing it well.
- Unique title tags (under 60 characters) and meta descriptions (under 160 characters)
- Clear H1 tags and structured heading hierarchy (H2, H3 etc.)
- Keyword inclusion in the first 100 words
- Clean, descriptive URLs
- Internal linking to other relevant blog or service pages
Use tools like Yoast or Rank Math if you’re on WordPress.
Step 4: Check Page Speed & Mobile Optimisation
Slow sites lose both traffic and conversions — especially on mobile. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals to audit:
- Time to First Byte (TTFB)
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- Mobile usability
- Image compression and lazy loading
- Hosting/server response times
If your site’s still running on an old WordPress theme, it may be time for an upgrade. Our web design team can help.
Step 5: Evaluate Local SEO Signals
Local SEO is critical for Newcastle businesses. Make sure:
- Your Google Business Profile is claimed, verified, and optimised
- Your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all listings
- You’re receiving and responding to customer reviews
- Local keywords and Newcastle suburb names appear naturally on your key pages
Bonus tip: Embed a Google Map on your contact page.
Step 6: Audit Your Content Quality & Strategy
Google rewards helpful, original content. Evaluate:
- Is your content up to date and accurate?
- Are you publishing valuable blog content targeting local questions?
- Do you answer user intent (not just match keywords)?
- Are you using structured data (schema) to enhance results?
If your last blog post was from 2022, it’s time to refresh. Learn more about content marketing for Newcastle businesses.
Step 7: Check for Technical Errors
Less visible issues can still tank your rankings:
- Duplicate content
- Missing or incorrect canonical tags
- Mixed content (HTTP/HTTPS) issues
- Structured data errors
- JavaScript blocking crawlable content
Technical SEO issues often fly under the radar — an audit brings them into the light.
Step 8: Analyse Your Backlink Profile
A weak or toxic backlink profile can hurt your rankings. Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console to review:
- The quantity and quality of backlinks
- Any spammy or irrelevant links
- Anchor text diversity
- Lost links that should be reclaimed
Building strong local backlinks from Newcastle organisations or directories is a smart long-term play.
FAQs
How often should Newcastle businesses run an SEO audit?
At least once per year — or quarterly if your site is frequently updated or running major campaigns.
Do I need special tools to run an SEO audit?
Many checks can be done with free tools like Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and Screaming Frog’s free version.
What’s the first thing I should fix?
Start with crawlability, broken links, and indexing issues — if Google can’t read your site, nothing else matters.
How Sticky Digital Can Help
Conducting a proper SEO audit is about more than ticking boxes — it’s about uncovering opportunities for growth. At Sticky Digital, we help Newcastle businesses not just find what’s broken, but fix it fast — and turn SEO into a powerful lead generator.
Our team offers full-service SEO audits, technical clean-ups, content strategy, and local optimisation for SMEs across the Hunter.
Want to know what’s holding your website back?
Get in touch today for a free audit consultation.
