How to Find and Fix SEO Errors on Your Website with Ahrefs

Ahrefs Site Audit helps you look at your website the way a search engine does. The tool crawls all major website pages to examine their interconnections and loading methods and page display formats which results in a comprehensive SEO problem report that shows which issues require immediate resolution.

The system shows you all existing problems which prevent your site from being indexed and which reduce your site crawl efficiency and which result in degraded page performance through the use of broken links and incorrect redirects and duplicate content and missing or weak meta tags and slow-loading pages.

The correct method for handling this data requires you to implement specific tasks in sequential steps which begin with proper audit configuration and progress through site crawling and result examination until you reach the last step which requires you to confirm all identified issues have been fixed through re-crawling of the site.

Step 1 — Create a project and verify your site in Ahrefs

What to do

• You need to log into Ahrefs through either the main platform or the free verification service of Ahrefs Webmaster Tools.
• You should create a new project through Site Audit by selecting the option to create a new project.
• You need to add and verify your website ownership through Google Search Console or by adding an HTML tag or file according to your needs.

Why

A project functions as an organizational tool which collects all your audits while it maintains your crawl history and enables you to set up automatic crawl assessments. The Site Audit function operates within a project which enables you to track crawl activities throughout different periods.

Step 2 — Configure crawl settings before running your first audit

What to do

• In project settings choose:
  • Crawl source(s): map all website pages through the website sitemap and all site pages.
  • Crawl depth / limit: start with a representative sample or limit to 10k pages for websites which contain numerous pages.
  • Exclusions: block all access to admin areas and staging environments and all low-value query strings.
• Enable integration with Google Search Console (GSC) and PageSpeed / Core Web Vitals if available.

Why

The correct setup maintains optimal crawl budget usage while delivering specific high-impact results. The Ahrefs system provides users with adaptable crawling options together with PageSpeed integration for tracking performance indicators.

Step 3 — Run the audit (full crawl)

What to do

• Start the crawl. For the first run allow it to finish completely.
• If your site is large, run a full crawl overnight or during low-traffic windows.

What it gives you

Ahrefs’ Site Audit will return hundreds of items grouped into issues and categories (it can detect 170+ common issues). The main views: Overview, Issues, Pages (Page Explorer), and Crawl map / Summary.

Step 4 — Read the Audit Overview and pick priorities

How to interpret the top-level metrics

• Errors represent critical issues which need urgent resolution through two specific methods (404s, 5xx, broken canonicals).
• Warnings represent issues which need attention but possess less critical importance (missing meta descriptions, duplicate titles).
• Notices serve as informational messages.

The basic rule for prioritization starts with this method

• The system tracks its performance through Indexing and Accessibility which includes multiple issues such as (5xx errors, DNS problems, robots.txt blocking, and redirect loops).
• The system tracks its performance through Crawlability and Canonicalization which includes multiple issues such as (404 errors, broken internal links, and incorrect canonical links).
• Duplicate content and meta issues arise from two specific problems which create duplicate titles and missing or improperly sized meta content.
• The system tracks its performance through Performance metrics and Core Web Vitals.
• The system tracks its performance through structured data and hreflang implementation.
• The system tracks its performance through images and accessibility testing which shows missing alt text.

Why this order

If a page can’t be crawled or indexed, optimizing title tags or structured data doesn’t help. First solve the existing obstacles, then proceed with content development and user experience enhancements. This is the recommended Site Audit process which follows standard procedures set by Ahrefs documentation.

Step 5 — Find and fix broken pages (404s, 410s, server errors)

How to find

The process of finding information starts with using Site Audit and searching for “4xx client errors” and “404 Not Found” through its Issues section. The Page Explorer tool displays the complete list of affected URLs including their internal link connections.

Fix options

The page should receive a 301 redirect to its closest relevant page when its content gets deleted. On Apache you can use .htaccess file to create a 301 redirect from the old product page to the new product page). The page should exist but its content needs to be restored or brought back to 200 status. The resource exists as a temporary asset which requires a 410 gone response together with the deletion of internal links.

Why redirects matter

Broken internal links hurt user experience and waste crawl budget. The 301 HTTP status code preserves link equity while all internal links must be updated to reflect the new URLs. The Ahrefs tool allows you to identify all webpages that connect to the broken URL which enables you to create solutions for the issue.

Step 6 — Fix redirect chains and loops

How to find

• Search redirect chains / redirect loops in Issues.
• Page Explorer shows the redirect path.

Fix steps

• Shorten chains to a single 301 from old → new.
• Fix misconfigured server redirects that create loops.
• Where possible, we will update internal links to point at the final URL instead of using intermediate redirects.

Why

Redirect chains create delays for both crawlers and users. Shorten them for faster crawl and to avoid losing link value.

Step 7 — Resolve duplicate content and canonical issues

How to find

Issues: “Duplicate content”, “Duplicate titles”, “Duplicate meta descriptions”, and “Conflicting canonical tags”.

Example problem

• Category pages with tracking parameters produce near-duplicate pages.
• Product variants produce duplicate titles.

Fixes

• Use rel=”canonical” to point to a single canonical URL for duplicated pages.
• Add parameter handling in Google Search Console or use canonicalized URLs to avoid duplicate indexation.
• Consolidate similar pages (301 redirect low-value duplicates to the canonical one).
• Use meta tags that clearly differentiate each page (unique titles and descriptions).

Ahrefs guidance on canonical/hreflang

Follow Ahrefs’ recommendations to ensure hreflang points to canonical URLs and remove rogue canonicals if they conflict with hreflang.

Step 8 — Fix missing/duplicate meta titles and descriptions

How to find

The issues which need resolution are missing meta description duplicate title and title which exceeds or falls short of required length.

Fixes (practical)

• The metadata template needs creation for both product and category data through its design which uses product name and brand name and primary keyword as its variables.
• The dynamic sites which operate through CMS require template logic implementation with unique design elements to be maintained.
  <title>{{product.name}} — {{brand}} | AcmeCo</title>
<meta name="description" content="Buy {{product.name}} at AcmeCo. Free shipping.">
• The Site Audit tool enables users to export page lists which they can use to perform bulk fixes through spreadsheet operations and CMS import processes.

Step 9 — Resolve hreflang and localization errors

How to find

The Site Audit tool will identify missing return tags and show inconsistent hreflang and show hreflang which directs to non-canonical URLs.

Fixes

• Each hreflang pair requires a corresponding return tag which should be present in its structure.
• Hreflang entries should point to canonical URLs which should exclude all parameterized URL versions.
• The language and country codes need verification because they must match correct standards (en, en-GB, ar-SA, etc.).

Why it matters

International search results display incorrect pages because of faulty hreflang implementation. The documentation from Ahrefs describes the different ways that hreflang problems occur and provides solutions to fix these issues.

Step 10 — Improve page speed and Core Web Vitals

How to find

Site Audit can integrate PageSpeed metrics and show pages with poor Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID/INP, CLS).

Fixes (common)

• Optimize images (proper formats, compression, responsive sizes).
• Defer non-essential JavaScript and remove unused code.
• Use lazy loading for off-screen images.
• Implement caching headers and CDN.
• Reduce render-blocking resources.

Practical example

If category pages have LCP > 2.5s:

• Replace heavy hero image with a resized WebP.
• Inline critical CSS for the above-the-fold area.
• Lazy load below-the-fold product images.

Step 11 — Fix internal linking and orphan pages

How to find

The site audit tool displays results which show web pages that have minimal internal links and show existing internal links which lead to redirecting links.

Fixes

• The process requires internal links to be added from appropriate category pages and blog posts to all orphan pages which require links.
• The process requires all links which currently lead to redirecting links to be updated so they will lead to their ultimate destination.
• The process creates a site structure map which organizes main categories into subcategories that lead to product pages which the system enforces throughout its templates.

Why

The process of internal linking establishes authority distribution which helps crawlers discover web pages with greater efficiency.

Step 12 — Check images, alt text, and structured data

How to find

• Issues: “Image missing alt attribute”, “Large image file size”.
• Structured data issues show warnings/errors for Schema markup.

Fixes

• Add descriptive alt text to images (important for accessibility and image search).
• Compress and serve scaled images.
• Fix structured data errors by validating your JSON-LD or microdata using the Rich Results Test and correcting field names and types.

Step 13 — Export lists and make a prioritized action plan

How to do it

• Site Audit permits users to export its data in CSV format to retrieve exported errors and warnings from the system (Ahrefs allows users to perform exports).
• Your tracking system needs a task for each issue type which you will create in your preferred tool between Jira and Asana and your spreadsheet system.
• Your task needs to include the following elements:
  • URLs of all affected pages
  • You must identify the issue type which includes 404 errors and duplicate title problems
  • You must assign three priority levels to your task which include P1 and P2 and P3
  • You must establish the target fix date for the work

Why

The process of exporting documents enables organizations to distribute tasks and track their work achievements. Ahrefs provides users with the ability to export both complete page lists and their corresponding problems.

Step 14 — Re-crawl and verify fixes

What to do

• After the fixes have been implemented, you should either execute a Site Audit crawl again or wait for the upcoming scheduled run.
• The Ahrefs tool enables users to compare two crawl reports which will help them verify that the errors have been corrected and the metrics have reached better results.

Quick reference — Common issues and exact fixes

• 404 pages — 301 redirect to relevant page or restore content.
• Redirect chains/loops — replace chain with a single 301; fix server redirect rules.
• Duplicate titles/meta — create templates and unique, descriptive metadata.
• Wrong canonicals/hreflang — point hreflang to canonical URLs and ensure reciprocal tags.
• Missing/incorrect robots/sitemap — correct robots.txt and submit an updated sitemap.
• Slow pages — compress images, defer JS, use CDN, and optimize server response.
• Missing alt attributes — add descriptive alt text to images.
• Broken internal links — update or remove links to 4xx pages.
• Structured data errors — validate JSON-LD and correct missing required fields.

Where to Go From Here

The process of finding and fixing SEO errors becomes difficult to manage because the Ahrefs tool shows multiple issues in its report. You should remember this essential point: you should avoid trying to solve every problem at the same time. To achieve successful SEO enhancements, you should implement changes according to a systematic process.

The correct use of Ahrefs Site Audit enables you to transform your knowledge from uncertain assumptions into absolute knowledge. The process begins with a complete website scan, which helps you identify actual search engine blocking problems that need fixing, starting with the most critical issues. SEO concepts become real tasks when people need to solve problems with broken pages, redirect issues, duplicate content, missing meta tags, slow pages, and hreflang errors.

The example website we used demonstrates that fixing 404 pages and cleaning up redirects and correcting canonicals and improving page speed can eliminate significant technical obstacles. The solutions enhance search engine crawling capabilities while guiding users through the website and establishing a robust base for search rankings and visitor expansion.

The main benefit of Ahrefs Site Audit lies in its ability to identify issues while enabling users to track their advancement throughout different periods. The website requires regular re-crawls to verify whether selected solutions succeed and to stop previous problems from returning during site development. When organizations implement Site Audit consistently, it transforms into an essential component of their routine website management duties, instead of serving as a temporary SEO project.

Your website will achieve technical health through this guide when you complete all steps. The base components establish the foundation which supports all effective SEO results.

About the Author

Robert Koch – experienced SaaS application designer and business optimization through automation consultant. An avid home brewer and cheesemaker in his spare time.