Guide · 5-min read

How to read your Flatline SEO audit report

You got a Visibility Score. Now what? Here is exactly how to interpret your findings and what to fix first.

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0 to 40

Low (critical gaps)

41 to 70

Mid (room to improve)

71 to 100

Strong (good foundations)

3 to 6

Findings per typical audit

The three parts of your report

Every Flatline report follows the same structure. Once you understand it, you can read any report in 60 seconds.

Visibility Score and category breakdown

The big number at the top. Below it, you will see how you scored across 7 categories: Performance, On-page SEO, Mobile, Security, Social, Crawlability, and Structured Data.

Findings sorted by severity

Each finding has a coloured badge. Critical (red) means it is actively hurting you. Warning (amber) is worth fixing. Tip (blue) is a nice-to-have. OK (green) is already working.

Actionable next steps

Paid plans include a 'How to fix' section under each finding with step-by-step instructions. Free reports still tell you what is wrong and why it matters.

Important

Not all findings are equal

A 'Critical' finding about page speed affects every visitor. A 'Tip' about missing Open Graph tags only affects how your link looks on social media. Fix Criticals first. Always. The temptation to chase easy wins (tips) instead of hard problems (criticals) is the most common mistake.

Reading your report in 5 steps

1

Check your Visibility Score

This is your overall grade. 71+ is strong. 41 to 70 needs work. Under 40 means urgent issues. The score helps you benchmark against competitors.

2

Find your weakest category

Look at the summary stats below the score. Which category has the most Critical or Warning findings? That is where to focus.

3

Read the Critical findings

Each Critical finding explains the problem in plain English. Example: 'Your page takes 6.2 seconds to load. Most visitors leave after 3.' No jargon, just facts.

4

Pick one thing to fix this week

Do not try to fix everything at once. Pick the single Critical finding with the highest impact (usually page speed or missing meta tags) and fix that first.

5

Re-audit and watch the score move

After fixing your top issue, run another audit. Your score should increase. That feedback loop is the fastest path to a healthy site.

Report reading questions

What if I do not understand a finding?+

Each finding includes a plain-English explanation. If you are still stuck, email us with your report URL and we will walk you through it.

Should I fix all findings?+

Start with Criticals. Then Warnings next month. Tips are optional. OK findings are already healthy. Do not break them trying to optimise further.

How do I share the report with my developer?+

Copy the report URL from your browser. Every Flatline report has a permanent link. Or use the Download as PDF button to send a file.

My score went down after fixing something. Why?+

This usually means the fix introduced a new issue (e.g. removing a meta tag while editing it). Re-audit to find the new problem. It is almost always small.

Time to put this into practice

Run a free audit on your site. Then follow this guide to understand the results and pick your first fix.