SEO Audit Report Template: What to Include (+ Free Download)
Build professional SEO audit reports with our free template. Covers executive summary, technical findings, on-page analysis, and recommendations.
Instead of building audit reports from scratch, CrawlRaven generates professional, client-ready reports automatically — prioritized by impact, with plain-language recommendations included. Try CrawlRaven free for 14 days →
Problem: Most SEO audit reports overwhelm clients with data — here's what to include instead
An effective SEO audit report has 6 sections: executive summary, health score overview, technical findings, on-page analysis, link profile, and a prioritized action plan. The key is presenting findings by business impact, not by technical category.
According to Search Engine Journal, the most common mistake in SEO reports is listing raw data without business context. Ahrefs' audit guide recommends leading with a summary score and top 5 issues before diving into detail.
Section 1: Executive summary — lead with impact, not data
The problem: Stakeholders want to know "how bad is it?" and "what should we fix first?" — not a 50-page technical appendix.
The solution: Your executive summary should include:
- Overall health score (out of 100)
- Top 3–5 critical issues with estimated traffic impact
- Quick wins that can be fixed in under a week
- Benchmark comparison to competitors (if available)
Section 2: Technical crawl findings
The problem: Technical issues are invisible to users but directly affect how search engines crawl and index your site. Google's crawling documentation confirms that crawl errors reduce your indexation rate.
The solution: Report on:
- HTTP status code distribution (200s, 301s, 404s, 500s)
- Crawlability issues (robots.txt blocks, noindex tags)
- Sitemap health (missing pages, outdated URLs)
- Redirect chains and loops
- Core Web Vitals scores per web.dev thresholds
What to include vs. skip in your report
| Report Element | Include? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Executive summary with health score | ✓ Always | Decision-makers read this first and often only this |
| Top 5 critical issues with impact estimates | ✓ Always | Drives prioritization and creates urgency |
| Core Web Vitals breakdown | ✓ Always | Direct ranking signal per Google |
| Full URL-by-URL crawl data | ✗ Skip | Overwhelming — link to raw data appendix instead |
| Competitor benchmarks | ✓ When available | Contextualizes your score relative to market |
| Prioritized action plan with effort estimates | ✓ Always | The most valuable section — tells the client what to do |
| Screenshots of issues | ✓ For key issues | Visual proof builds trust and aids developer handoff |
| Historical trend data | ✓ For recurring clients | Shows progress over time and justifies ongoing engagement |
Solution: Let CrawlRaven generate your reports automatically
CrawlRaven generates professional audit reports with all 6 sections, including executive summaries, health scores, prioritized action plans, and visual issue breakdowns. White-label the report with your agency branding and export as PDF in one click.
Frequently asked questions
What should an SEO audit report include?
A professional SEO audit report should include: executive summary, technical crawl findings, on-page SEO analysis, Core Web Vitals assessment, internal linking analysis, structured data review, and a prioritized action plan with estimated impact.
How do you write an SEO audit report?
Lead with an executive summary and key metrics. Organize findings by category (technical, on-page, links). For each issue, explain what it is, why it matters, and how to fix it. Prioritize by impact. CrawlRaven generates this automatically.
What is the best format for an SEO audit report?
PDF is the standard format for client-facing reports. Include visual elements like charts, priority scores, and comparison tables. CrawlRaven generates branded PDF reports with all of these elements built in.
15+ years of growing SaaS websites through SEO | Author, 200-Point Audit Checklist
Aditi has spent 15+ years helping SaaS companies scale organic traffic through technical SEO and content strategy. She is the author of the CrawlRaven 200-Point Audit checklist used by agencies and in-house teams to systematically improve search performance.