The baseline: pages worked on the wrong hostname
The audit recorded 109 distinct pages returning HTTP 200 on www.localseo.ca. Their canonical URLs pointed to localseo.ca, while ten sampled requests to the apex homepage returned HTTP 404. The sitemap also used the apex hostname. This disagreement was the highest-priority discovery issue.
| Observation on September 5 | Why it mattered | Correction to verify |
|---|---|---|
| 109 pages served on www; canonical URLs used the apex | Preferred URLs needed to resolve successfully | Working primary hostname with aligned canonicals and sitemap |
| Ten apex homepage samples returned HTTP 404 | Visitors and crawlers could reach an error page | Domain routing and certificate status, then a valid page response |
| Several old paths required two redirects | Additional hops complicated URL migration | One permanent redirect to the final relevant page |
The next issue: useful pages needed clearer paths
Source review found that the related-link component limited every directory to eight links. A directory should expose its relevant child pages so visitors can browse the offering. The correction gives service, industry, resource and location directories complete links to their published child pages.
Answer quality needed page-specific attention
The crawl found two generic questions repeated on 100 pages. The revision removes that repeated block from templates and adds questions where they help explain a specific service or decision. Pricing compares the free review with separately quoted paid work; AEO guidance explains the limits of schema and AI visibility claims.
The enquiry path is part of the audit
Source review found a form handler that tried to reset an event target after an asynchronous request. That could show an error after a request had already been saved. The correction keeps a stable form reference and displays success only after the server confirms a saved request. Website addresses are normalized and validated before storage.
How to interpret this example
Technical corrections are checked through response, redirect, rendered-page and form-handling tests. Indexing, rankings, traffic and qualified enquiries require separate observations after launch. This example does not substitute implementation checks for business results.