How to Install vercel-seo-audit: See Your Site the Way Google and AI Bots Do
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Your site looks gorgeous in your browser. Google and AI bots don't care. They read the raw code, and the raw code is where the bodies are buried.
vercel-seo-audit is a free tool that reads your site the way they do. One command, one web address, and it tells you what's missing. It was made for sites hosted on Vercel and built with Next.js, but it works on any site.
We tested it on Nov 2, 2026 on two live sites: a Vercel shop and a Framer site. Both had easy wins hiding in plain sight.
Quick words (one line each):
Command line: the text window where you type commands instead of clicking.
npx: a command that downloads a Node.js tool and runs it in one go.
Vercel / Next.js: a popular hosting service and the website framework that often runs on it.
Alt text: a short description of an image for screen readers and search engines.
JSON-LD: the most common kind of structured data, hidden code that says what the page is.
robots.txt: a small file that tells bots which parts of your site they can visit.
Step 1: Do a 60-second safety check
What we saw when we checked it on Nov 2, 2026:
Licence: MIT. Free, including for client work.
Last commit: Oct 31, 2026 (version 2.19.0).
Stars: 80 (as of Nov 2, 2026). Small, young project (started January 2026).
Account or key: none.
Code read: we read it first. It doesn't run other programs. Its parts are normal web-reading packages.
Bonus: it has a safety guard that refuses to check private network addresses.
Step 2: Install Node.js
You need Node.js 20.18.1 or newer. Install it from nodejs.org if you don't have it. That's the whole install. npx does the rest.
Step 3: Check one page
npx vercel-seo-audit https://yoursite.com
It checks what Google sees without JavaScript, redirects, robots.txt, your sitemap, noindex tags, canonical tags, social share tags, structured data, languages, images, security headers, caching, and whether AI crawlers are allowed in.
Step 4: Check the whole site
npx vercel-seo-audit https://yoursite.com --crawl
The --crawl flag follows your sitemap and checks every page in it.
Step 5: Get a report your AI helper can read
npx vercel-seo-audit https://yoursite.com --format agent
Copy the output.
Paste it into Claude or Cursor.
Ask: "Turn this into a fix list, most important first."
Don't understand a problem code? Run npx vercel-seo-audit explain CODE with the code it gave you.
Want it as a ready-made AI agent skill? Run npx skills add JosephDoUrden/vercel-seo-audit.
Step 6: Read the results (here's what we found)
On a Vercel shop site (Nov 2, 2026):
AI crawlers allowed. Good.
91 images with no width and height, which can make the page jump while it loads.
45 images with empty alt text.
Missing security headers (nosniff, frame and referrer settings).
A sitemap using priority and changefreq tags. Google ignores those. Harmless.
On a Framer site (Nov 2, 2026):
No JSON-LD structured data.
HTML over 1 MB (1,071 KB), full of big inline styles.
67 images with empty alt text.
66 lower-page images not lazy-loaded (lazy-loading means images load only when you scroll to them).
Step 7: Fix in this order
Structured data: add a basic Organization block with your real business facts.
Image alt text: write a short, real description for every product or content image.
Image width and height: set them so the page stops jumping.
Lazy-loading: turn it on for images below the first screen.
Security headers: ask your host or developer to add them.
Step 8: Don't fall for these
"No HTTP to HTTPS redirect." Both of our tests said this. Our test machine runs behind a network proxy that can fake that answer, so it was a false alarm. Check it in a normal browser before you fix anything.
Decorative images. Empty alt text is correct for pure decoration. Check each image before you "fix" it.
Vercel-only checks. On Framer, Wix or Webflow, skip the Vercel and Next.js items.
Version drift. It updates often. In a routine, pin the version: npx vercel-seo-audit@2.19.0 https://yoursite.com
Why the "without JavaScript" check matters
André Pitì on the Candour podcast (Nov 2, 2026): if your content isn't in the HTML response, AI that doesn't run JavaScript can't see it. This tool checks exactly that.
What it costs
Nothing. MIT licence, no account, no key.
Do this today
Install Node.js 20.18.1 or newer.
Run npx vercel-seo-audit https://yoursite.com --crawl.
Add structured data if it's missing.
Fix empty alt text on real images.
Double-check any HTTPS warning in a normal browser.
Related reading
Sources
Don't worry if this seems like it's a pain in the ass for someone who doesn't build websites. That's because it is. The good news: just click the link below, pull the trigger, and we'll take care of the rest.
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