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Forensic SEO audits: uncover what will make you money

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Our forensic SEO audit service examines your site’s organic performance with a fine-tooth comb. We uncover what’s not working and why, and hunt down where your traffic and rankings have gone. Probably to your competition. This is where we show you how to reclaim what’s rightfully yours.

Our SEO team makes you visible across Google and LLMs, helps users who are ready to convert find your site, and shows you how to knead your prospects into dough. The cold, hard kind.

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Sometimes it’s good to look down on others

We’ve seen our fair share of shoddy SEO audits. We know what it’s like to be deceived and lied to, too often deserted by agencies that kept us in the dark. Not here.

We conduct honest, forensic SEO audits to make you visible and add some extra zeroes to your bank balance. Purge the rubbish, create measurable changes, and leave your competition sleeping with one eye open.

Trad search engine visibility is no longer enough. This is the time of GEO. Our audits help you get seen in AI Overviews and LLMs. Appear everywhere. Stay two steps ahead. Make your competition watch their back.

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Our forensic auditing services

Getting Google to notice you is going to take more than a few meta description re-writes. Our meticulous SEO audit unearths the opportunities that will take you more than a couple of spots up the SERPs.

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Organic landscape overview

Uncover how big your slice of the pie really is. We analyse how much SERP real estate you already own to give you a clear idea of where to focus. Size matters. Ding dong.

Competitor analysis

We learn from other sites’ mistakes so you don’t have to. We understand the true nature of online competition and have effective, creative ways of overtaking your competition’s lead. Results or die.

Technical SEO audit

404: excuses not found. Site speed, core web vitals, schema markup and redirect errors are dishwater dull, so leave it to us to highlight in the Technical SEO audit. We uncover the underlying tech issues holding you back. 

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Mobile-first

Google sends in its mobile crawlers first, so you need to meet their expectations. We ensure your site’s mobile usability ticks every box. No penalties in sight.

On-site content

Our Content auditing shines a light on keyword gaps, uncovers new content opportunities, and implements linking strategies to make your content work harder. Great rankings aren’t born that way – they need to be nurtured.

Off-page SEO audit

A Digital PR audit finds opportunities to build out your backlink profile and site authority with links and coverage from relevant, high DR sites, expert commentary, and proactive campaigns.

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Export to PDF = Red Flag

Our SEO audit process

We don’t cut corners. Our forensic SEO audit process examines every nook and cranny of your website. We invest time in research, analysis and evaluation to identify the impactful changes that will keep raking the cash in, years down the line. An SEO audit is not what a Neil Patel tool delivers. 

Here’s how our SEO audit process works:

  1. Rip off the plaster and fill in the contact form with your details
  2. A member of the Dark Horse team will get in touch with you to learn more about your business, pain points and KPIs
  3. Our experts conduct a thorough SEO website audit, outlining your competitor landscape, tech SEO issues, content gaps, and opportunities to dominate
  4. We focus on what’s going to make you money, oodles of it – not what’s going to look good on our reports
  5. Want Digital PR as well? No probs. Get a dedicated DPR audit
Get started
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Why choose an SEO audit from Dark Horse?

We’re not for everyone. Our SEO audits uncover harsh truths, so all we ask is that you’re prepared to take that shot with a pinch of salt and a bite of lime. On the flip side, if it all looks right as rain, we’ll be sure to tell you.

  • Elite knowledge – We only hire the best; our SEO team has 88 years’ of experience. We have client relationships spanning years. That’s not down to business patter and fancy lunches, it’s down to the cold hard cash we’re handing them. Who wouldn’t turn that down? A thorough SEO audit opens up more opportunities for money to be made. 
  • No nonsense – We tell you the nitty-gritty of what’s stopping your site ranking. No sugar-coating. There is no spinning you lines or hiding behind well-constructed excuses; we just deal with it. Warts and all.
  • Award-winning – As in, we do the hard work and our “award” is crushing your competition into a fine dust. We’re not about stroking our own egos for a paid-for award that everyone votes for themselves in.
  • Personality – You don’t want to work with crooks peddling templated SEO audits and weak strategies, passing themselves off as a celestial blessing. We humbly offer ttransparency, honesty and integrity at every turn. Doing the right thing is the beating heart of Dark Horse. Death to mediocrity.
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SEO is a fight for rankings, attention and conversion. The only way to come out on top is to know your strengths and weaknesses, how you compare against your biggest rivals and what to do next so you do come out on top.

Talk to us

SEO service

An SEO audit is only the start. Come under Dark Horse protection for revenue-driving SEO focused on delivering nothing but ROI.

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Technical SEO

Get your site architecture autopsied. We fix the technical issues holding your brand back.

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On-Site Content

Our experienced wordsmiths craft optimised content that builds trust, is actually helpful, and gets your users to part with their cash. E-E-A-T the competition.

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Digital PR

Take it off-page with Digital PR tactics designed to build valuable links and boost your site authority without a single “sweetie, darling” uttered.

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The experts in charge of your SEO audit

If you have to enter your site’s URL on a so-called SEO audit page, you’re going to get an automated, downloadable PDF within about 3 minutes that’s only suitable for wiping your arse. Zero merit, zero skill and full of half truths that will do nothing for you. ‘Fixing’ their recommendations will have <1% impact on your SEO results. Don’t waste your time. Put your SEO audit in the hands of real experts instead.

Get SEO Audit
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The auditors

Henry Smith – Head of SEO

Over ten years’ experience, in house and at agencies, make Henry a safe pair of hands to be in.

Leader of the pack

MEET THE TEAM

Victoria Roscow – Deputy Head of SEO

From Yellow Pages Websites to Dark Horse. One of the team who’s seen it all.

The word is whatever
she says it is

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Alana Claxton – SEO Lead

Has worked on household names; she’ll help make you one.

She's already on it.

MEET THE TEAM

Izzy Till – SEO Manager

Revered internally for her attention to detail and get-shit-done approach. A formidable adversary.

 

Makes us better.

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Bree Shemilt – SEO Content Executive

Has worked across niches including home & garden, insurance, medical supplies, robotic automation, online courses, and more. Seven years’ experience and you pick up a thing or two.

Write all the time.

MEET THE TEAM

Kate Glynn – Senior Content Manager

Takes a closer look at your content than you might like. Don’t be scared – you’ll be better off for it.

Wordle, write, books, repeat.

MEET THE TEAM

Matt Davies – SEO Manager

Matt has two decades of experience behind him. He specialises in the difficult intersection of technical infrastructure and content strategy, having solved complex problems for clients in FinTech, luxury retail, the arts and more. Nothing he’s not seen.

The industry term is 'shit hot'.

MEET THE TEAM

RicRichard Burton – SEO Manager

13 years’ experience. Unlucky for some. When Richard’s auditing your account, it’s only your competition who should be watching the cracks in the pavement.

He finds the problems you can't even see.

MEET THE TEAM

New Care Homes is a business centred around expertly designed, high-specification care homes. New Care wanted to increase its search visibility in specific geographical locations. It came to us with the aim to increase conversions and search reach near to where its care homes were based. In terms of business-to-consumer lead gen, New Care, in the majority of cases, wasn't directly targeting its benefactors of the home, but often relatives of them. Dark Horse developed its strategy considering both the website to create a strong foundation and content to drive intent-based traffic. It was time to get started, it was time for Dark Horse to get forensic.

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85%

Growth in keywords

The questions you’re too scared to ask

How long does an SEO audit take?
How long does an SEO audit take? - Expand

The SEO landscape is fast moving. But so are we. From the moment we get access to the information we need, we aim to deliver the SEO audit within 7 business days. Expect us. 

It takes time because it’s excellent.

How do I know if my site needs an SEO audit?
How do I know if my site needs an SEO audit? - Expand

What have you got to lose? You’ll benefit from an SEO audit if:

  • You’re not ‘doing’ SEO right now
  • Your existing SEO strategy isn’t working for you
  • You don’t even know if your SEO efforts are driving results
  • You’ve an inkling your current agency or in-house team aren’t doing everything they could be

Provide access to your Google Analytics and Google Search Console, and we’ll take a look. If we think your current agency is doing a decent job, we’ll tell you. We won’t even grit our teeth. That’s integrity.

How often should you do an SEO audit?
How often should you do an SEO audit? - Expand

SEO never sleeps. Every day your rankings shift, quietly slipping away when you’re not looking. Review your SEO performance daily, and schedule a full SEO audit every six months…whether that’s with your current agency or an outsider they never saw coming.

How much does an SEO site audit cost?
How much does an SEO site audit cost? - Expand

Nothing. Nada. Niente. Nichts. Нічого. শূন্য. They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. But there is such thing as a free SEO audit. 

Is an SEO audit worth it?
Is an SEO audit worth it? - Expand

SEO is a fight for rankings, attention and conversion. The only way to come out on top is to know your strengths and weaknesses, how you compare against your biggest rivals, and what to do next. Still wondering if an SEO audit is worth it? Give your head a wobble.

Do you offer SEO audits for multi-national websites?
Do you offer SEO audits for multi-national websites? - Expand

Yes, we offer SEO auditing services for any site. Whatever the locale, language, infrastructure or CMS, our process works. Ecommerce, lead-gen, WordPress, Magento, Wix, Shopify, we’ve seen it all. The only blind spot we have is tosser industries that target vulnerability – we’re sorry, we don’t have the inclination to crack your websites.

Will your SEO audit uncover why we’re losing traffic?
Will your SEO audit uncover why we’re losing traffic? - Expand

We uncover the reality of your site’s performance to figure out who or what has stolen your traffic, rankings and organic visibility. We also talk you through the tactics we’ll use to reclaim it when you come under our protection. It’s time to take back what’s rightfully yours. 

Experts in action

SEO

20/10/2025

Victoria Roscow

GEO vs SEO vs AEO – What’s the difference?

Organic search is an ever-evolving marketing channel. However, in recent years, SEOs have coined more and more terms to describe the current state of search. Makes ‘em feel special. The newest kids on the block this year are “GEO” and “AEO”, and everyone is getting their knickers in…

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Get a free SEO audit

We’ve been there – tricked into paying for substandard SEO that did jack for our bottom line. That’s why we’ll never trick you into paying for our SEO audit services.

A Dark Horse SEO audit is completely free. No financial cost, no obligations. Don’t like our findings? You don’t have to listen. But you’d be daft not to. 

There’s nothing to lose; except more traffic, rankings and visibility. Contact us to get the ball rolling on your free SEO audit.

No one buys from Page 2.
No one.

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This is where it all begins