Begin with the page's job
State the reader decision the page exists to support, the business outcome behind it, and the coherent query family it should own. If that is impossible, the first finding is architectural. If two URLs produce the same answer, investigate overlap before improving either one.
Use evidence that can change the decision
Read the offer, facts, proof, queries, impressions, clicks, current result set, page, and neighboring URLs together. The result set can reveal the kind of page currently serving the query. It cannot supply a missing offer or tell you which unsupported claim to add.
Make one page decision
Keep a page that serves a useful, distinct job. Improve it when the job is valid but the answer is incomplete or obscured. Merge pages that serve the same coherent job. Redirect only when a surviving page fully takes over the old one. Remove the page and return a real 404 when neither the job nor a truthful replacement exists.
Use the separate notes when the audit reaches a specific title or snippet decision, or when page ownership needs to be expressed through contextual internal links.
If the decision requires a rewrite, consolidation, redirect, or link change, on-page SEO services can carry it into the site rather than leave it in a report.
Review what changed
Record the old state, the change, the query or outcome it should affect, and the review window. Allow for recrawl and re-evaluation, note concurrent site or demand changes, and do not turn one movement into a universal rule.
Primary references: Google's SEO Starter Guide on useful, organized, current content and its people-first content guidance. They are constraints and diagnostic inputs, not a scoring template.