By Gecko Studio · updated October 2026
In June 2026 Google did something unusual: it published an official guide on how to evaluate the work of your SEO agency and the tools it uses, warned that third-party tools are not endorsed by Google, and even encouraged people to report to consumer authorities professionals who promise impossible results. In other words, Google has just put in writing what we at Gecko Studio have been explaining to our clients for years.
A 10-point SEO audit delivered in 24 hours for €99 is not an audit: it is an automated tool report with your logo on top. The problem is not the price; it is that these reports stay on the surface and leave out most of what really explains why a site does not rank.
At Gecko Studio we have audited and managed more than 200 client projects since 2017. This article explains what separates a real analysis from a decorative one, and which questions to put to any agency before signing.
Google has just published how to spot a bad SEO (June 2026)
In June 2026 Google updated its help document "Do you need an SEO?" and launched a new guide on using third-party SEO tools, services and advice. Three ideas from that update directly reinforce what you should demand from your supplier:
- Evaluate your SEO's recommendations and tools with judgement. Google asks you to question the advice you receive rather than accept it as absolute truth, especially when it is sold as a guaranteed shortcut.
- Third-party tools are not endorsed by Google. Metrics such as Ahrefs' Domain Rating or Semrush's Visibility Score are estimates by private companies, not official Google data. Useful for comparing, but they are not the reality of your traffic: that lives only in your Google Search Console.
- Beware of "AI SEO" services and inflated promises. Google added a specific section on optimising for generative AI and warns that this optimisation must also follow its guidelines. And, for the first time, it suggests reporting those who use deceptive practices to consumer authorities.
If an official Google guide devotes an entire document to teaching you to distrust automated reports and magic promises, it may be worth knowing what separates a real audit from a filler one.
A real SEO audit starts earlier and ends later
At Gecko Studio an audit does not begin by looking at your website: it begins by looking at your market. Before analysing a single URL we study who you are talking to and who you are competing against: a market and competitor study (who appears at the top for what you want to rank for, and why) and buyer personas (which customer you are aiming at and what they look for at each stage).
Only then does the technical and content analysis begin: more than 150 specific points covering crawling, Core Web Vitals by device, internal linking, keyword cannibalisation, real indexing in Google Search Console, backlink profile, structured data, E-E-A-T and AI visibility.
And it does not end with a list of problems, but with what you need to do: an action plan prioritised by impact (not a dump of errors), a content strategy with an editorial calendar (what to publish, for which search and in what order) and a results projection so you know what to expect and over what timescale.
That is the difference between a 10-point report and an audit that moves the needle: it starts earlier, in your market, and ends later, in a plan you can execute. And if the agency has not asked for access to your Google Search Console before handing you anything, the audit is blind: it has no real data from your site, only estimates from third-party tools. That is exactly what Google now asks you to watch for.
Warning signs of a decorative SEO audit
The first indicator is delivery time. A 10-point audit can be generated in 30 minutes with Semrush or Ahrefs in free mode. If it is handed to you in under 48 hours without anyone asking for access, that confirms it is automatic.
The second indicator is the absence of first-hand data. A serious report distinguishes between real organic traffic (Google Search Console) and tool estimates (Ahrefs DR, Semrush Visibility). If you only see third-party metrics, nobody has looked at your account.
The third indicator is generic recommendations: "improve speed", "add more content", "get backlinks". These phrases are not actionable. A real recommendation says: "The /services page takes 4.2 seconds to reach LCP on mobile because the hero image weighs 1.8 MB uncompressed; reducing it to a 200 KB WebP would bring LCP below 2.5 s".
The fourth indicator, increasingly common, is the promise to "rank you in ChatGPT and in AI" without explaining how. Visibility in AI is real and measurable, but it also follows rules. We explain it with a concrete case in why your website may be invisible to ChatGPT without you knowing.
You can see how we apply this approach on our SEO audit page, where we detail what each phase of the analysis covers before we start.
The questions that separate serious agencies before you buy an SEO audit
Question 1: How many hours of manual work does the quote include? If they do not answer with a specific number, the work is automated.
Question 2: Which tools do you use and which version? Screaming Frog is the standard for technical crawling. Ahrefs or Semrush for backlinks. Google Search Console for real data. If none of them appears in the answer, there is no real technical analysis.
Question 3: Will you analyse competitors? An audit without a benchmark of the top 3 results for your keywords does not know where you stand against the market. In Ibiza, for example, the hospitality sector has competitors with a Domain Rating of 40 to 60; without that figure no action can be prioritised.
Question 4: Does the report include prioritisation by impact? A medium-sized site has between 40 and 150 technical errors. Without a ranking of which to correct first, the report is a list with no strategic value.
If you want to see how a different kind of SEO deliverable is built from the ground up, see our SEO services. And if you need more information, get in touch and we will advise you with no commitment.
Frequently asked questions about SEO audits
What does the price of an SEO audit depend on?
On the real scope, not on a fixed fee. The size of the site matters (50 pages is not the same as an ecommerce store with thousands), as does whether it includes only the technical analysis or also market research and content strategy, and how many hours of manual work lie behind it. The warning sign is not the price itself, but that nobody explains what is included or asks for access to your data before charging.
How long does a real SEO audit take?
Considerably longer than the few minutes a tool takes to produce an automatic report. A serious audit is manual work by a specialist over several days, and grows with the size and complexity of the site. The practical rule: if it is delivered within hours and without anyone asking for access, it is automatic, however much it costs.
Can an agency carry out an SEO audit without access to Google Search Console?
Not in any valid way. Without GSC, the agency cannot see which keywords generate real impressions, which URLs are excluded from Google's index, or which crawl errors exist on your specific domain. It can only estimate with third-party tools, which have a 30 to 50% margin of error on organic traffic for small and medium sites. Google's own guide from June 2026 reminds us that those tools are not endorsed by Google.
Which tools mark out a professional SEO audit?
The three essential tools are: Screaming Frog (technical crawling), Google Search Console (real indexing and keyword data) and Ahrefs or Semrush (backlink and competitor analysis). Any report based only on the free versions of these tools has severe limitations: the free Screaming Frog crawls a maximum of 500 URLs.
What should I ask before hiring an SEO agency in Ibiza?
Three specific questions: (1) How many hours of manual work does the quote include? (2) Will you analyse the top 3 competitors for my main keywords? (3) Does the report include a prioritised action plan with estimated impact? If any of those answers is vague, change agency. Through our contact page you can ask for an initial diagnosis at no cost to learn what level of analysis your case needs.
