Research Article
Audit-Driven SEO Workflows — Process & Artifacts
No client work. No vendor matching. No referrals.
Discovery
Clarify objectives, constraints, stakeholders, systems, and data availability. Capture current-state risks, deadlines, and change windows.
Diagnostics
- Technical checks (crawlability, indexation, rendering, performance budgets).
- Information architecture and content mapping (coverage, duplication, canonicalization).
- Signals review (internal linking, structured data usage, external constraints).
Prioritization
Use impact/effort matrices, risk ratings, and dependency mapping. Define acceptance criteria per item and responsible owners.
Roadmap & Handover
Sequence initiatives, define governance gates, and transition to execution with measurement baselines and rollback plans.
Artifacts
- Findings log with evidence links and severity tags.
- Decision log and assumption register.
- Risk register with mitigations, owners, and review dates.
Method Notes & Sources
This article synthesizes public documentation from major search engines and common governance frameworks. Selected references include (non-exhaustive):
- Public documentation on search engine guidelines and crawling/indexing fundamentals.
- U.S. transparency and disclosure guidance for online content and advertising.
- Industry discussions on measurement inventories, reporting cadence, and change control.
All content is educational and descriptive; it is not professional advice.