There are many important factors to consider when auditing your website for SEO. This includes on-page factors like title tags, meta descriptions, and keyword density, as well as off-page factors like inbound links and social media signals.
To get started, you’ll need to use a tool like Google’s Webmaster Tools or Bing’s Webmaster Center to submit your site for crawling and indexing. Once your website is indexed, you can use a variety of analytical tools to evaluate its SEO performance.
Some of the most important metrics to look at include:
– Search engine rankings for target keywords
– Organic search traffic levels
– Click-through rates from SERPs
– Bounce rates
– Conversion rates
You should also keep an eye on your website’s backlink profile, as this is one of the most important off-page SEO factors. Use a tool like Ahrefs or Majestic to track your links, and make sure to disavow any spammy or low-quality links that could hurt your rankings.
By regularly auditing your website’s SEO performance, you can identify areas for improvement and ensure that your site is always optimised for search engines. This will help you attract more organic traffic and convert more visitors into leads and customers.
What is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit is a process used to evaluate the search engine optimisation (SEO) of a website or web page. The goal of an SEO audit is to identify any potential problems or opportunities that may exist within the site that could impact its ability to rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs).
The first step in conducting an SEO audit is to submit your website or web page to Google for crawling and indexing. You can do this using Google’s Webmaster Tools or Bing’s Webmaster Center. Once your site is indexed, you’ll be able to use analytical tools like Google Analytics or Moz’s Open Site Explorer to evaluate its SEO performance.
How important is an SEO audit?
The answer may depend on who you ask, but if you want to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), improve your click-through rate (CTR), and/or increase the organic traffic your website receives, then an SEO audit is key.
An SEO audit analyses your website to identify problem areas that are preventing it from ranking as high as possible in SERPs. Once these issues are identified, you can take steps to correct them and improve your website’s SEO.
Areas an SEO Audit will cover
While there are many different ways to perform an SEO audit, this guide will focus on five key areas:
1) On-Page Optimization
2) Link Building & Link Equity
3) Site Architecture
4) Technical SEO
5) Local SEO
On-Page Optimisation
The first step in any SEO audit is to analyze your website’s on-page optimisation. This refers to all the elements on your website that you can control and that affect your site’s SERP rankings.
Some of the most important on-page factors include:
– Title tags
– Meta descriptions
– Header tags
– Keywords
– Body copy
– Image tags
– Internal links
– External links
Link Building & Link Equity
After you’ve optimised your website’s on-page elements, the next step is to focus on link building and link equity. Link building is the process of acquiring new inbound links (backlinks) to your website, while link equity is the value that those links pass on to your site.
There are a few different ways to acquire new links, such as:
– Guest blogging
– Creating informative content (e.g., infographics, guides, etc.)
– Participating in online communities and forums
– Reaching out to bloggers and influencers in your industry
Site Architecture
Your website’s architecture refers to the way its pages are organised and linked together. A well-organised website is easy for both users and search engines to navigate, which can help improve your site’s SERP rankings.
Some things to keep in mind when auditing your website’s architecture include:
– Making sure your website has a clear hierarchy
– Using keyword-rich URLs
– Using breadcrumb navigation
– Creating an XML sitemap
– Adding robots.txt files
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is a bit more complex than the other types of SEO audits, but it’s still important to analyse your website from a technical standpoint. This type of audit looks at your site’s code and infrastructure to identify any issues that could be hurting your SERP rankings.
Some technical SEO factors to consider include:
– Website speed and performance
– Mobile-friendliness
– Indexation issues
– Duplicate content
– 404 errors
Local SEO
If you have a brick-and-mortar business or your website is geared towards a local audience, then you’ll also want to focus on local SEO. This type of optimisation helps you rank higher in SERPs for searches that are specific to your location.
Some things to keep in mind for local SEO include:
– Creating and claiming your Google My Business listing
– Adding your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) to your website
– Optimising your website for local keywords
– Getting listed in online directories
– Encouraging customers to leave online reviews
Performing an SEO audit doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. By focusing on the key areas outlined above, you can identify potential problems and take steps to improve your website’s SERP rankings. If you need help getting started, contact our team of experienced SEO professionals here at Topgun SEO.
Steps of an SEO Audit
Now that we’ve talked about what an SEO audit is, it’s time to get into how you can actually perform one. Here are the steps you’ll need to take:
1. Research your competition. This is an important step in any marketing endeavor, but it’s especially crucial for SEO. You need to know what your competition is doing in order to beat them at their own game.
2. Identify your goals. What exactly do you want to accomplish with your audits? Once you have a good understanding of your goals, you can start tailoring your audit specifically to those objectives.
3. Choose the right tools. There are a lot of different software programs and online services that can help you with your audit. Do some research and choose the ones that will work best for you.
4. Perform a technical audit. This is where you’ll check things like your website’s code, structure, and navigation. You want to make sure everything is optimized for search engines so they can easily index and rank your site.
5. Analyse your content. Take a close look at all the content on your website, from your blog posts to your product descriptions. Make sure it’s high-quality and keyword-rich so it will attract the right kind of attention from search engines.
6. Evaluate your link profile. Inbound links are important for SEO, so you’ll want to take a look at who is linking to you and whether those links are helping or hurting your rankings.
7. Track your progress. Keep an eye on your website’s SEO metrics over time so you can see how well your audit is working and make necessary adjustments. A paid tool such as SEMrush can help you keep track.
By following these steps, you can perform a comprehensive SEO audit that will help you identify areas where you need to improve.
Just remember to be patient; results from an audit won’t happen overnight. it can take weeks or even months to see significant changes in your website’s traffic. But if you’re diligent and consistent with your efforts, you should eventually start seeing the fruits of your labour pay off!
SEO Audit Tools
There are a number of different tools that you can use to perform an SEO audit. Here are some of the most popular:
1. Google Analytics – This is a free tool provided by Google that gives you detailed information about your website’s traffic.
2. Google Search Console – This is another free tool provided by Google that gives you insights into how your website is performing in the search engines.
3. Bing Webmaster Tools – This is a free tool provided by Bing that gives you insights into how your website is performing in the search engines.
4. SEMrush – This is a paid service that provides you with detailed information about your website’s SEO and PPC campaigns.
5. Spyfu – This is a paid service that provides you with detailed information about your competitor’s SEO and PPC campaigns.
6. SEO Minion – This is a free chrome extension that allows you to research keyword difficulty and find low competition keywords.
7. Ahrefs – This is a paid service that allows you to research backlinks and find link opportunities.
8. Majestic – This is a paid service that allows you to research backlinks and find link opportunities.
9. SEOquake – This is a free toolbar that allows you to see detailed information about any website’s SEO.
10. WordPress SEO by Yoast – This is a Free WordPress plugin with a Paid version that provides you with a number of features to help optimise your website for the search engines.
11. Bright Local – This is a paid service that helps you to Optimize your local business listings for the search engines.
12. Google Business Profile – This is a free service provided by Google that allows you to manage your local business listing in the search engine results pages.
13. Sitebulb – This is a paid service that will help you crawl your website and identify technical issues that you can fix.
plus many many more….
Performing the SEO Audit
Now that you have a list of tools that you can use to perform an SEO audit, it’s time to get started. The first thing you need to do is choose which tool or tools you want to use. Once you’ve done that, you can follow the steps below to complete your audit.
1. Select a date range – The first step is to select a date range for your audit. This will help you narrow down the data that you need to analyze.
2. Identify your goals – The next step is to identify your goals for the audit. This will help you focus on the areas that are most important to your business.
3. Collect data – The next step is to collect data from the tools you’ve selected. This data will help you identify areas of opportunity and areas that need improvement.
4. Analyze your data – The next step is to analyze your data. This will help you identify trends and patterns in your website’s traffic and performance.
5. Create a plan of action – The final step is to create a plan of action based on the findings of your audit. This plan should include both short-term and long-term goals.
Conclusion
An SEO audit is a valuable tool that can help you improve your website’s traffic and performance. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can ensure that your audit is thorough and provides you with actionable insights.
