Search & indexing
Can Google find the important pages? Are titles, headings, sitemap, canonicals and basic search signals sensible?
Free website & SEO report
Before you spend money on your website, find out what actually needs fixing.
We spend around 20–30 minutes reviewing your website, SEO and wider setup, using professional audit tools alongside a human review. Then we send you the important findings in plain English — prioritised by what is genuinely worth doing.
100% free initial reportNo sales call required firstNo passwords needed
Quick enquiry
Need help with Website MOT?
Send us the website and a short description. We’ll take a look before we reply.
A proper first look
What we check in a free Website MOT
It is wider than an SEO score and more useful than a giant automated PDF nobody wants to read.
Technical health
SSL, broken links or functions, obvious server errors, redirects and other technical issues visible from outside the site.
Speed & mobile
Page weight, loading clues, oversized media, mobile usability and obvious performance bottlenecks.
Conversion & usability
Is it clear what the business does, where it works and what the visitor should do next?
WordPress maintenance
Where WordPress is publicly detectable, we look for visible version and plugin-maintenance clues and can use our free checker too.
Ownership & access
Domain, website, hosting and account-control concerns based on what you tell us and what can be established publicly.
Local SEO
For local businesses: location relevance, Google Business Profile considerations and consistency of important business information.
Content & credibility
Service coverage, thin or duplicated content, trust signals, contact routes and obvious gaps that may be holding the site back.
Human review + professional tools
Not a 70-page automated report full of red warning symbols.
Automated audit tools are useful, and we currently use established services such as Ahrefs and Semrush where they help. But software can flag hundreds of things without telling a business owner which five actually matter.
The free Website MOT is deliberately a focused 20–30 minute review. We use tools to gather evidence, then a person decides what deserves your attention.
We are developing our own audit system too, but the principle will stay the same: the output needs to be useful, not merely large.
The useful part
We prioritise the findings
Instead of handing you a list of 50 issues, we tell you what order we would tackle them in.
Urgent
Problems genuinely hurting the website, security, enquiries, availability or search visibility and worth dealing with first.
Worth fixing
Changes with a sensible business or SEO benefit that should be planned after the urgent work.
Nice to have
Improvements that could help but should not jump ahead of more important work or budgets.
Do not waste your money
Things somebody could sell you, but that we do not believe are justified for your particular website.
Why is it free?
Because good advice is the easiest way to show you how we work.
We hope that if the report uncovers work that needs doing, you will consider asking Smarter Search to help. That might mean support, hosting, a provider switch, a repair or a larger project.
But the recommendation is based on what benefits the customer — not what produces the biggest invoice.
If we find something
The MOT points to the right next step — not automatically a rebuild.
Request your free report
Give us enough information to investigate before we contact you.
You do not need to book a sales call first. Tell us about the business, the website and what concerns you. We can then carry out the initial review and send the findings by email.
✓ No login credentials required✓ No obligation to use Smarter Search✓ Suitable for WordPress and non-WordPress websites✓ Use the report with any provider you choose
Please do not send passwords. If a later review genuinely needs authenticated access, that can be arranged separately.
Questions
Website MOT FAQs
Is the Website MOT really free?
Yes. The initial Website MOT and SEO report is free. We normally spend around 20–30 minutes reviewing the public website and the information you provide, then send a prioritised summary of what we found.
Do I have to buy anything from Smarter Search afterwards?
No. We may recommend Smarter Search, another provider, or no paid work at all. The report is intended to help you make a better decision, not force you into a package.
Is this a full technical SEO audit?
No. It is a focused first-stage review designed to identify meaningful issues and priorities. Larger websites, complex migrations and detailed SEO projects may need a deeper paid audit after the initial report.
What do you check?
We look at search visibility, technical basics, usability, conversion, mobile presentation, performance clues, WordPress maintenance where publicly visible, ownership and access concerns, and local search signals where relevant.
What tools do you use?
The review is manual, supported by established website and SEO tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush where useful. We are also developing our own audit system for future reports.
Do you need my WordPress password?
No. Please do not send passwords through the report form. The initial MOT is based on the public website and the access information you tell us you have. If a later authenticated review is needed, access can be arranged securely.
How long does the report take?
The audit itself is designed as a focused 20–30 minute review. Delivery time can vary depending on demand, but the form gives us enough information to start investigating without first booking a sales call.
Can I use the report with my existing web designer or SEO company?
Yes. You are free to use the findings with your existing provider, another provider or Smarter Search.