Frequently Asked Questions

SEO Auditor is free with ads. Both Quick scans (10 pages) and Standard scans (50 pages) are available to all users, including full technical SEO checks, meta tag analysis, heading structure, Core Web Vitals, content analysis, and spell check.

Becoming a Supporter (one-time purchase) removes all advertisements, unlocks Deep scans (100 pages), and enables AI-powered analysis with GPT-5.4 insights — including executive summaries, prioritised recommendations, and content gap analysis.

No subscriptions. Buy once, keep forever — including all future features.

SEO Auditor requires iOS 26.0 or later. It works on both iPhone and iPad, with an adaptive interface optimised for each device.

Partially. You need an internet connection to:

• Crawl and analyse websites
• Fetch Core Web Vitals from Google PageSpeed
• Sync data with iCloud

However, you can view your audit history, export reports, and access settings offline.

Currently, SEO Auditor is only available for iOS (iPhone and iPad). We're considering a Mac version using Catalyst in the future, but there are no immediate plans for Android.

No. All SEO analysis happens locally on your device. We don't collect, store, or transmit any of your data. Your audits, URLs, and results never leave your iPhone or iPad.

Read our full Privacy Policy for details.

No. SEO Auditor works without any account or registration. Just download and start auditing. No email, no sign-up, no tracking.

Yes. If you add an OpenAI API key for AI-enhanced analysis, it's stored securely in the iOS Keychain — the same secure storage used for passwords and sensitive data. The key never leaves your device except when making API calls directly to OpenAI.

Only when you explicitly use certain features:

• Core Web Vitals: The URL you're analysing is sent to Google PageSpeed Insights API
• AI Analysis (optional): Page content may be sent to OpenAI if you've added your API key
• iCloud Sync (optional): Your audit history syncs via Apple's iCloud

All other analysis happens 100% locally on your device.

SEO Auditor performs the same technical checks that search engines use. Core Web Vitals data comes directly from Google's PageSpeed Insights API, ensuring accuracy.

However, SEO is complex and rankings depend on many factors beyond technical SEO, including content quality, backlinks, domain authority, and competition. Use SEO Auditor as one tool in your SEO toolkit.

SEO Auditor offers three scan depths:

• Quick (10 pages, free): Basic technical SEO, meta tags, headings, Core Web Vitals, spell check on first page
• Standard (50 pages, Pro): Full link analysis, image optimisation, content analysis (readability, keyword density), performance hints, spell check on all pages
• Deep (100 pages, Pro): Everything in Standard plus external link validation, full HTTP header analysis, and AI insights (if API key set)

Each level performs the same core technical SEO checks — the difference is how many pages are crawled and which advanced analyses are included.

You can audit any publicly accessible website. However:

• Password-protected pages cannot be accessed
• Some sites may block automated crawlers
• Very large sites may take longer to analyse
• Sites behind firewalls or VPNs may not be reachable

SEO Auditor respects robots.txt directives and crawls responsibly.

You can track up to 3 competitors simultaneously. This allows you to compare your SEO performance against your main competition without overwhelming the analysis.

Scheduled audits let you monitor up to 5 domains automatically:

• Go to Settings → Scheduled Audits and add your domains
• Choose a frequency: Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, or Monthly
• Enable push notifications to get alerts when scores change
• The app runs Quick scans in the background using iOS Background App Refresh

Prerequisites: Internet connection when the background task runs, Background App Refresh enabled in iOS Settings, and notification permission granted for alerts.

iOS manages background task timing, so exact scan times may vary. Results appear in your audit history.

The Schema Markup Generator creates JSON-LD structured data that helps search engines understand your content. It supports 8 types:

• Article — Blog posts, news articles, reports
• FAQ — Frequently asked questions (rich result eligible)
• How-To — Step-by-step instructions (rich result eligible)
• Local Business — Physical business with address
• Product — Product with price and availability
• Organisation — Company or organisation details
• Breadcrumb — Navigation breadcrumb trail
• Event — Events with dates and locations

Select a type, fill in the fields, generate the JSON-LD, and paste it into your website's <head> section. Validate with Google's Rich Results Test.

Site Architecture Analysis is available in Deep scans and includes six features:

• Internal Link Graph: Visualises page-to-page linking, identifies orphan and hub pages
• SERP Feature Detection: Checks eligibility for rich results (FAQ, How-To, breadcrumbs, sitelinks)
• Content Gap Analysis: Finds thin pages and missing SEO elements
• Redirect Chain Audit: Maps 301/302 chains, detects loops, flags chains over 2 hops
• Pagination Detection: Finds paginated content and checks SEO handling
• JS/CSS Coverage: Identifies render-blocking resources and unused code

The Score Trend Dashboard in the History tab shows an interactive chart of your SEO scores over time:

• Toggle the chart on/off with the chart button
• Filter by domain using the chips at the top
• Colour zones indicate score health: green (80+), amber (40–79), red (below 40)
• Each history entry shows the points change since the previous audit for that domain

Regular audits build a richer trend picture. Use scheduled audits for automatic data collection.

SEO Auditor supports four export formats:

• PDF: Professional reports for clients or stakeholders
• HTML: Interactive reports viewable in any browser
• CSV: Spreadsheet-compatible for data analysis
• JSON: Machine-readable for developers and integrations

Core Web Vitals are Google's metrics for measuring user experience:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): How fast the main content loads
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint): How responsive the page is to user input
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): How stable the visual layout is

These metrics are ranking factors in Google Search. SEO Auditor fetches real data from Google's PageSpeed Insights API.

No API keys are required for basic functionality. SEO Auditor works fully out of the box.

Optional API keys:

• OpenAI API key: Enables AI-enhanced analysis with GPT-4 for more detailed recommendations

Google PageSpeed Insights API is free and doesn't require authentication.

A low SEO score typically indicates issues in one or more areas:

• Technical SEO: Missing meta tags, broken links, slow loading
• Content: Thin content, missing headings, spelling errors
• Security: No HTTPS, missing security headers
• Mobile: Not mobile-friendly, viewport issues

Review the detailed recommendations in your audit report and address issues by priority (Critical → High → Medium → Low).

We recommend:

• Weekly: Quick scans to catch new issues
• Monthly: Full audits to track progress
• After changes: Audit after major site updates, redesigns, or migrations

Use the History feature to track your SEO score over time and measure improvements.

Long audit times can be caused by:

• Large sites: Try a Quick scan (10 pages) instead of Deep (100 pages)
• Slow server: The target website may be responding slowly
• Network issues: Check your internet connection
• Complex pages: Pages with lots of JavaScript may take longer

You can cancel an audit at any time and view partial results.

Some websites may not be auditable due to:

• Firewall/WAF: The site blocks automated requests
• Cloudflare protection: Bot protection may prevent crawling
• Geographic restrictions: The site may not be available in your region
• robots.txt: The site may disallow crawling

Try auditing a different page on the same site, or contact the site owner.

If your audit history is missing:

• Check iCloud: If you use iCloud sync, ensure you're signed in with the same Apple ID
• App reinstall: Reinstalling the app clears local data (unless synced to iCloud)
• Storage full: iOS may clear app data if device storage is critically low

Enable iCloud sync in Settings to prevent data loss.

Core Web Vitals require:

• Internet connection: Data is fetched from Google's API
• Public URL: The page must be publicly accessible
• Sufficient traffic: Google needs real user data (CrUX) for field metrics

If field data isn't available, SEO Auditor will show lab data from Lighthouse instead.

AI-Powered Insights use OpenAI's GPT models to analyse your SEO audit results and provide:

• Executive Summary: A concise overview perfect for sharing with stakeholders
• Prioritised Actions: What to fix first, ranked by impact and effort
• Content Tone Analysis: How your content reads to visitors
• Keyword Suggestions: Additional keywords to target
• Content Gap Analysis: Topics your content doesn't cover
• Competitive Advice: How to differentiate from competitors

This feature requires your own OpenAI API key and is available during Deep scans.

To create an OpenAI account:

1. Visit platform.openai.com/signup
2. Sign up using your email address, Google account, Microsoft account, or Apple ID
3. Verify your email address by clicking the link sent to your inbox
4. Complete your profile by providing your name and organisation (optional)
5. Add a payment method under Settings → Billing — this is required to use the API

OpenAI offers pay-as-you-go pricing with no monthly fees. You only pay for what you use, and typical SEO analysis costs just a few pence per scan.

Creating your API key:

1. Log in to platform.openai.com
2. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner
3. Select "API keys" from the menu (or go directly to platform.openai.com/api-keys)
4. Click "Create new secret key"
5. Give your key a name (e.g., "SEO Auditor") and click "Create secret key"
6. Important: Copy the key immediately — you won't be able to see it again!

Adding the key to SEO Auditor:

1. Open SEO Auditor on your iPhone or iPad
2. Go to the Settings tab
3. Tap "OpenAI API Key"
4. Paste your API key and tap "Save"

Your key is stored securely in the iOS Keychain. It never leaves your device except when making direct API calls to OpenAI.

Once you've added your API key, AI features are enabled automatically:

1. Ensure your OpenAI API key is saved in Settings
2. Run a Deep scan on any website
3. AI insights will be generated automatically after the scan completes
4. Look for the "AI Insights" section in your results

AI analysis only runs during Deep scans to provide the most comprehensive insights. Quick and Standard scans don't include AI analysis.

AI analysis uses your own OpenAI API key, so costs depend on OpenAI's pricing. Typically:

• Each analysis uses approximately 2,000-4,000 tokens
• At current GPT-4 pricing, this is roughly £0.02-0.05 per analysis
• Costs may vary based on page content length and OpenAI's pricing changes

Check OpenAI's pricing page for current rates.

When using AI features:

• Your page content is sent directly to OpenAI's API
• We (T1M Code) never see or store this data
• Your API key is stored locally in your device's secure Keychain
• OpenAI's privacy policy applies to data sent to their API

If you're analysing sensitive websites, consider whether AI analysis is appropriate for your use case.

AI insights require:

• Valid API key: Check your key is correct in Settings
• Deep scan: AI analysis only runs during Deep scans
• Internet connection: Required to reach OpenAI's API
• API credits: Ensure your OpenAI account has available credits

If issues persist, try removing and re-adding your API key, or check OpenAI's status page for outages.