// Forensic_Protocol

    The technical SEO audit, in ten stages.

    A walkthrough of the exact forensic audit framework we run on every ecommerce engagement — what we look for, what we ship, and what gets fixed first.

    A technical SEO audit isn't a Screaming Frog export. It's a diagnostic that explains why a site is losing — in priority order, with an execution plan attached. This is the ten-stage protocol we run on every audit.

    // Stage_01

    Crawlability & render

    Crawl the site as Googlebot Smartphone and as a headless browser. Find blocked resources, JS-only content, infinite-scroll traps, and orphan templates.

    // Stage_02

    Indexation hygiene

    Compare what's indexed vs what should be. Identify thin, duplicate, parameter, and zombie URLs. Issue noindex/canonical/410 instructions.

    // Stage_03

    Core Web Vitals

    LCP, INP, and CLS measured at the template level — not the homepage. Most stores fail on collection and PDP templates, not the home.

    // Stage_04

    Internal linking

    Model the link graph. Surface orphan pages, identify hub gaps, fix anchor distribution, and align breadcrumbs to canonical hierarchy.

    // Stage_05

    Schema markup

    Validate Product, Offer, Review, Article, FAQ, Breadcrumb, Organization. Remove conflicting schema. Add what's missing for AI engine entity resolution.

    // Stage_06

    Canonicalization

    Audit canonical tags, hreflang, parameter handling, trailing slashes, and protocol consistency. Eliminate competing canonicals.

    // Stage_07

    Log file analysis

    Real crawl behavior from server logs. Where is Googlebot wasting budget? Where is it not going? Reallocate crawl to URLs that convert.

    // Stage_08

    Cannibalization mapping

    Identify URLs competing for the same query. Consolidate or differentiate. One URL per intent cluster.

    // Stage_09

    AIO & GEO risk

    Score the site against AI Overview and GEO citation patterns. Identify which queries are at risk of disappearing and which can be defended.

    // Stage_10

    90-day execution plan

    Sequenced, prioritized, owner-assigned. Every recommendation tied to an expected lift and a verification method.

    What you get

    A written deliverable, not a dashboard. Every finding includes the URL or template affected, the expected traffic impact, the fix, and how to verify it shipped. The 90-day plan is sequenced so engineers and editors can work in parallel without stepping on each other.

    Pair the audit with our GEO audit to also cover AI engine citation gaps, or read the ecommerce SEO framework for the full picture.

    // Free_GEO_Snapshot

    Want a forensic audit on your store?

    Drop your domain. Grant replies within 24 hours with scope, timeline, and the 180-day money-back guarantee in writing.

    Frequently asked

    How is this different from a free crawler report?

    Free crawlers list errors. A forensic audit tells you which errors actually cost traffic, in what order to fix them, and what to ship in their place. The deliverable is a 90-day execution plan, not a CSV.

    Do you implement the fixes?

    Optional. The audit stands alone. Most teams hand it to their dev or content team. If you don't have one, we have an execution arm that ships the plan against Shopify, Woo, Magento, BigCommerce, and custom stacks.

    What if my site is small (under 500 URLs)?

    The audit is scoped to your URL count and complexity. Small stores typically have indexation and cannibalization issues that are easier to fix and produce faster lifts.

    Can you guarantee rankings?

    No one can guarantee rankings — Google's algorithm decides. We guarantee the work: if you follow the plan and don't see measurable lift in 180 days, we refund the audit fee.