Run a full SEO audit of your charity website in 30 minutes

This checklist is designed for charity marketing managers, volunteer webmasters, and executive directors who want to understand their website's SEO health without hiring an agency immediately.

It works best if you have:

• Basic access to Google Search Console and Google Analytics (or willingness to set them up)
• 30-60 minutes to work through the sections
• A willingness to dig into technical settings if needed

If you get stuck on any item, that's valuable data — it often signals where professional help would save you time. This checklist is also a conversation starter with your web developer: you can flag specific items and ask for clarification.

Work through each section in order. We've organized the checklist from foundation (technical SEO) to refinement (content and trust signals) because a broken foundation undermines everything built on top of it.

For each item:

1. Read the description. Understand why it matters for nonprofits.
2. Check the difficulty rating. Green (easy) = you can likely handle it. Yellow (moderate) = you may need a developer. Red (complex) = consider outsourcing.
3. Mark it done or flag it. Use the printable version below to keep notes.

Don't aim for 100% first. Most charities benefit from tackling green items, fixing 2-3 yellow priorities, and then exploring professional support for red-rated items that improve the biggest impact.

These form the bedrock of SEO. If Google can't crawl, index, and serve your site, nothing else matters.

Site Indexing & Crawlability

• Google Search Console is set up and verified. Difficulty: Easy. Go to search.google.com/search-console, add your domain, verify ownership via DNS record or HTML file. This is non-negotiable.
• No pages are blocked in robots.txt. Difficulty: Easy. Check your robots.txt file (visit yoursite.com/robots.txt). If you see "Disallow: /" or large sections blocked, contact your hosting provider or web developer immediately.
• Sitemap is submitted and recent. Difficulty: Easy. In Search Console, go to Sitemaps and add yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. Check that it was last fetched within the past week.

Mobile & Performance

• Site loads in under 3 seconds on mobile. Difficulty: Moderate. Use Google PageSpeed Insights. If Core Web Vitals show red, flag this for your developer — slow sites lose donors and volunteers.
• Mobile design is responsive (no horizontal scrolling). Difficulty: Easy. Visit your site on a phone. Scroll vertically only. If content breaks or requires horizontal scrolling, that's a problem.
• SSL certificate is active (HTTPS). Difficulty: Easy. Look for the green padlock in your browser address bar. If it's not there, contact your hosting provider.

Google matches donor and volunteer search queries to your content. If your words don't align with how people search, you stay invisible.

Page Foundations

• Home page has a clear H1 tag (main heading) that includes your charity's mission. Difficulty: Easy. Your H1 should say what you do, not just "Welcome." Example: "Help homeless youth in Liverpool find stable housing" beats "Welcome to Our Charity."
• Every major page (About, Get Involved, Donate) has a unique title tag under 60 characters. Difficulty: Moderate. Title tags appear in browser tabs and Google results. Each should be specific. "Donate Now" is weak; "Donate to XYZ Charity | Monthly Giving" is strong.
• Meta descriptions exist for top 10 pages and mention your core services or values. Difficulty: Easy. Meta descriptions (the snippet under the title in Google results) don't rank but drive clicks. Make them 120-155 characters.

Keyword Alignment

• Your Donate page targets donation-related keywords. Difficulty: Easy. Search "donate to [your charity name]" and see if your page ranks. If not, make sure your Donate page mentions donation methods (monthly, one-off, gifts) multiple times naturally.
• Your Get Involved page addresses volunteer search queries. Difficulty: Moderate. Search "volunteer [your city] [your cause]" and note what competitors appear. Use similar language if it fits your mission.
• Internal links use descriptive anchor text. Difficulty: Easy. Avoid "Click here"; use "Learn how to volunteer" or "Make a monthly donation." This helps Google understand your page hierarchy.

Donors and volunteers need reassurance that your charity is legitimate and trustworthy. Google rewards sites that provide this clarity.

Charity Registration & Governance

• Your charity registration number is visible on your website (usually in footer or About page). Difficulty: Easy. For UK charities, include your Charity Commission number and a link to your entry on register.charitycommission.org.uk. This is a major trust signal for Google and visitors alike.
• Your About page includes founder/leader names and bios. Difficulty: Easy. Author authority matters — add photos and brief backgrounds of key staff or trustees. This humanizes your charity and builds credibility.
• You have a dedicated Contact page with multiple ways to reach you (email, phone, address, form). Difficulty: Easy. Charities that hide contact info appear suspicious. Make it easy for donors and volunteers to reach out.

Google Ad Grant Compliance

• You have a privacy policy that explains how you use donor and volunteer data. Difficulty: Moderate. This is required for Google Ad Grant approval and GDPR compliance. If you don't have one, use a template from organizations like GDPR in Practice or consult a legal advisor.
• Your website discloses your mission, leadership, and financials clearly. Difficulty: Moderate. Google Ad Grant reviewers check these. Link to your Charity Commission entry or provide a downloadable annual report.

Content Authority

• Blog posts or impact stories include author names and publication dates. Difficulty: Easy. Dated content shows you're active. Author attribution builds trust (e.g., "By Sarah Jones, Volunteer Manager, Published March 2025").

Green (Easy): You can handle this yourself in under 30 minutes. No code knowledge required. Examples: adding your charity registration number, writing meta descriptions, checking your site on mobile.

Yellow (Moderate): You'll likely need a web developer or some technical knowledge. Expect 1-2 hours of work, possibly with guidance. Examples: setting up Search Console verification, fixing mobile responsiveness, improving page speed, adjusting title tags in your CMS.

Red (Complex): This requires specialist expertise or significant time investment. Most charities benefit from outsourcing. Examples: fixing Core Web Vitals scores below 50, restructuring site architecture, implementing schema markup, resolving crawl errors affecting 100+ pages, setting up Google Ad Grant compliance infrastructure.

Your first action plan: complete all green items this week. Pick 2-3 yellow items that feel achievable with a developer's help. Schedule 1-2 hours with a professional to evaluate the red items and prioritize them by impact.