What do you check first when you take over a client?

sharifawan

sharifawan

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Always find something the last lot left behind. Last one I picked up had a phone number on half their listings that stopped working in 2023, nobody had noticed because the main ones were fine.

I go straight for the stuff thats out of their control now, old accounts, logins nobody has, anything set up on an email address that doesnt exist anymore.

Whats your first check?
 
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I usually start by checking access, tracking, and technical issues. After that, I look for anything outdated or overlooked by the previous team.
 
I check tracking first. Bad GA4 or broken conversion events can make every later decision wrong.
 
First thing I check is who actually owns everything the domain, hosting, Google Business Profile and the emails tied to them. Bad data is fixable; being locked out is where the real headaches start.
 
I usually start with GSC GBP and the backlink profile. It quickly shows whats actually bringing visibility and whether there are any obvious issues or missed opportunities from the previous work.
 
backlink profile first, whats pointing at it and whether those pages still exist. last one i took over had 300 links in the report and about 40 still live
 
I usually start with the technical basics analytics, search Console, indexing, rankings and backlink profile then check existing content and on-page issues. This gives me a clear picture of what's working and what needs attention first.
 
first thing id want to know is whats already working

which pages bring leads, which campaigns make money and where the real traffic comes from. fixing broken stuff matters but breaking something profitable while “cleaning things up” is even worse
 
sharifawan said:
Always find something the last lot left behind. Last one I picked up had a phone number on half their listings that stopped working in 2023, nobody had noticed because the main ones were fine.

I go straight for the stuff thats out of their control now, old accounts, logins nobody has, anything set up on an email address that doesnt exist anymore.

Whats your first check?
Click to expand...
I start with access and tracking. GSC, GA4, GBP and the important SEO tools first making sure everything is accessible and the data is actually working. Then I check indexing part tech part issues before changing anything.
 
sharifawan said:
Always find something the last lot left behind. Last one I picked up had a phone number on half their listings that stopped working in 2023, nobody had noticed because the main ones were fine.

I go straight for the stuff thats out of their control now, old accounts, logins nobody has, anything set up on an email address that doesnt exist anymore.

Whats your first check?
Click to expand...
before making any changes to their account or website i will take note of their current configuration their site access, analytics data, domains, significant pages nd any active campaigns. comparing this to what they have been told is being managed reveals some interessting information.
 
I usually check access and account ownership first, including website, Google Analytics, Search Console, hosting, and important business listings. Then I check technical SEO, tracking, backlinks, and old settings that could cause problems later.
 
My first verification step is always access and ownership GA4, GSC, CMS, hosting, GBP, and important SEO tools. After that, I verify any technical problems, tracking, and any previous work to make sure that nothing is missed.
 
I usually start with access, tracking and technical basics , Search Console, Analytics, CMS, key logins, indexing and any obvious site issues.

Then I check for old or unused accounts, broken integrations, outdated information and assets nobody is managing anymore.
 
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