Is Your Website Roadworthy? The Health MOT Every Site Needs
Why Your Website Needs an MOT Too
You wouldn’t drive your car for years without an MOT (well… you shouldn’t). Your website is no different. It may look fine on the outside, but under the bonnet there could be hidden problems slowing it down, locking customers out, or making search engines grumble.
That’s why we run a Website Health MOT a comprehensive scan that highlights technical issues, content gaps, and SEO opportunities. Think of it as diagnostics for your digital engine.
“But I’m on the First Page of Google!” (Are You, Though?)
We hear this a lot. And while it sounds reassuring, here’s the problem: when you Google yourself, you’re seeing a personalised version of Google.
- Google tailors results to your location, browsing history, and past searches.
- Just because you see your site on page one doesn’t mean your potential customers do.
- Real rankings can vary wildly between people, places, and devices.
This is why independent tools like SEMrush are so valuable. They show your true rankings, free from personalisation, and highlight opportunities you’d never spot just by “Googling yourself.”
What’s Included in a Website Health MOT?
Here’s what we typically check (and plain-English explanations so you know what it means):
1. Crawlability (Can Search Engines Get In?)
- Sitemaps – are they present, working, and up-to-date?
- Robots.txt – are you blocking or allowing the right pages?
👉 Dive deeper: Our blog on sitemaps | Our blog on robots.txt
2. Site Performance (How Fast Do You Go?)
- Page speed (desktop and mobile).
- Unminified JavaScript and CSS.
- Oversized images.
- Caching and compression opportunities.
👉 Related read: Unminified JavaScript & CSS
3. Links & Redirects (Are There Dead Ends?)
- Broken links (404 errors).
- Redirect chains (the scenic route nobody wants).
- Internal linking structure.
4. Mobile Friendliness (Does It Work on the Go?)
- Responsive design.
- Readable text sizes.
- Tap-friendly buttons and links.
5. Security (Do Visitors Feel Safe?)
- SSL/HTTPS in place?
- Mixed content warnings?
6. Accessibility (Can Everyone Use It?)
- Alt text for images.
- Proper heading hierarchy.
- Colour contrast.
👉 Check out: Website Accessibility: Why Inclusive Design is Good for Business (and SEO)
7. On-Page SEO (Are You Saying the Right Things?)
- Page titles and meta descriptions (unique, the right length, keyword friendly).
- Duplicate content checks.
- Schema markup (structured data). 👉 Read our guide to Schema markup
Why SEMrush?
Because it’s one of the most comprehensive SEO tools in the world. We use it to:
- Benchmark your site’s health score (anything below 80% needs urgent attention).
- Spot hundreds of issues at scale — from broken links to bloated code.
- Track progress over time, so you can see improvements after fixes.
And here’s an important point: anyone can run a SEMrush audit. The tool is publicly available, and it will happily churn out a long list of issues.
But here’s the catch: would you understand the results?
For many business owners, an audit report looks like alphabet soup — HTTP errors, redirect chains, missing meta, duplicate H1s. Knowing what matters, what’s urgent, and what can safely be ignored is the difference between panicking over nothing and actually improving your site.
That’s where we come in. We don’t just hand you a scary-looking spreadsheet — we translate it into plain English, prioritise the fixes, and (if you like) roll up our sleeves and get them sorted.
Help With Improving Your Website Health
A Website Health MOT isn’t about nit-picking — it’s about giving you peace of mind that your site is safe, fast, findable, and welcoming.
Much like your car, a little preventative care saves a lot of headaches (and expensive repairs) later. With SEMrush, we get the data. With our expertise, we make sense of it and help you to rectify the issues.
Not sure when your website last had a health check? At The Last Hurdle we run full Website Health MOTs with SEMrush. You’ll get:
- A clear health score.
- A prioritised list of issues explained in plain English.
- A roadmap to fix them and keep your site running smoothly.
Book your Website Health MOT today and keep your digital engine firing on all cylinders. Call us on 01604 654545 or email hello@thelasthurdle.co.uk
