On this page
You ran python -m wire.chief audit for the first time. The terminal filled with symbols, numbers, and commands. This page explains every line.
We will use AutoFix München (45 service pages, German car repair shop) as the example. The audit below is what you see on a real site with real problems.
Run the Audit
python -m wire.chief data # Pull search metrics first
python -m wire.chief audit # Audit all topics
python -m wire.chief audit services # Or audit one topic
The data command must run first. It pulls metrics from Google Search Console. Without search data, the audit cannot detect cannibalization, dead pages, or reword opportunities. See the Guides overview for the full command sequence.
The Four Sections
Every audit produces four sections in this order: HEALTH, ACTION, SEO, INFO. Here is the full output for AutoFix München, annotated.
HEALTH
python -m wire.chief auditEach line is a check. + means clean. - means something needs attention.
What each line checks:
| Line | What it means |
|---|---|
| Search data fresh | Your keyword database was updated within 28 days. If stale, run data again. |
| No dead pages | No page has impressions below max(10, site_median * 0.05) with other pages covering its keywords. |
| 2 keyword overlap(s) | Two pairs of pages rank for the same keywords. Google splits traffic between them, hurting both. |
| No duplicate titles | Every page has a unique <title>. Duplicates confuse Google about which page to rank. |
| 1 duplicate description(s) | Two pages share the same meta description. Less critical than titles, but still wastes the SERP snippet. |
| 3 stale page(s) need news | Three pages haven't been updated within their freshness interval (21 days for services). |
| No pending news to refine | No unintegrated news files sitting in page directories. |
| No orphan pages | Every page has at least one inbound internal link. |
| 4 broken internal link(s) | Four links point to pages that don't exist. Could be typos, renamed slugs, or deleted pages. |
| Source diversity healthy | No page over-relies on a single external domain for citations. |
| 2 underlinked page(s) | Two pages have fewer than 3 inbound internal links. They exist but are poorly connected. |
| No long titles | All titles are under 60 characters. Google rewrites 76% of titles over 60 chars. |
| No long descriptions | All descriptions are under 160 characters. |
| 1 page missing external citations | One page has no outbound links to external sources. |
| H1 tags healthy | Every page has exactly one H1 that matches its title. |
| No thin pages | No page has fewer than 200 words. |
| Heading structure healthy | No skipped heading levels (H1 to H3 without H2) and no numbered headings. |
ACTION
The ACTION section only appears when HEALTH shows - indicators. Each problem includes the command to fix it.
Reading the overlap entries:
bremsen × bremsen-wechsel (4 shared, ratio=0.72, skew=0.81) → MERGE
- 4 shared: these pages rank for 4 of the same keywords
- ratio=0.72: 72% of the smaller page's keywords are shared. High overlap.
- skew=0.81: bremsen gets 81% of the shared traffic. Clear winner.
- MERGE: Wire will absorb bremsen-wechsel's unique content into bremsen and archive the donor
klimaanlage × klimaservice (3 shared, ratio=0.28, skew=0.55) → DIFFERENTIATE
- ratio=0.28: moderate overlap (28%)
- skew=0.55: nearly equal traffic split. Google can't decide which page to rank.
- DIFFERENTIATE: Wire will reword both pages to sharpen their distinct angles and add cross-links
Reading the broken link entries:
bremsen → /services/bremsscheiben/ (not found, fix: bremsscheiben-wechsel)
Wire found a link on the bremsen page pointing to /services/bremsscheiben/, which doesn't exist. It detected a likely match: bremsscheiben-wechsel. The sanitize command will fix this automatically.
oelwechsel → /services/filter/ (not found)
No fix suggested. The slug doesn't match anything. You need to remove this link manually or create the missing page.
SEO
Reading the reword table:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| score | impressions * (1-CTR). Higher = more wasted potential. |
| pos | Average ranking position across all keywords. |
| imp | Total monthly impressions. |
| ctr | Click-through rate. Low CTR at a good position = title/description problem. |
oelwechsel has 1,840 impressions but only 0.4% CTR at position 8.2. The reword command will rewrite its title and headings to better match the search queries people use.
Reading content gaps:
"zahnriemen wechsel kosten" gets 320 impressions but no page owns it. Three pages rank weakly (positions 22-31). This keyword cluster deserves its own page, or the zahnriemen page needs expansion to capture it.
INFO
Summary statistics. Pages "without search data" are either newly created (less than 28 days old) or not yet indexed by Google.
The Fix Sequence
The ACTION section lists problems. Fix them in the order described in the workflow guide: merges first, then differentiation, news, refine, reword, crosslink. Running them out of order wastes API calls on pages that will be merged or rewritten.
Cost of This Entire Sequence
For AutoFix München's 45 service pages:
| Command | Pages touched | Token usage |
|---|---|---|
| sanitize | 4 (broken links) | None (no AI calls) |
| deduplicate | 4 (2 merges or differentiates) | Minimal per pair |
| news | 3 (stale pages) | Minimal per page (web search + evaluation) |
| refine | 3 (pages with news) | Minimal per page |
| reword | ~9 (top 20% full + next 30% light) | Minimal per page |
| crosslink | 2 (underlinked pages) | Minimal per page |
| Total | Minimal, covered by your AI subscription |
The audit itself uses zero AI tokens. It reads from the local search database.
What a Clean Audit Looks Like
After running the fix sequence:
python -m wire.chief audit servicesAll + marks. One fewer page (bremsen-wechsel was merged into bremsen and archived). The site is clean.
Running Audits Regularly
Run audit after every batch operation and at least weekly during active content work:
# Monday morning routine
python -m wire.chief data # Fresh search data
python -m wire.chief audit # Check all topics
Problems compound. A broken link today becomes an orphan page next week. A keyword overlap left unchecked splits traffic for months. The audit catches problems early, before they cost rankings.