The Internet has made it easier than ever for businesses to reach new customers and grow their businesses. However, to take advantage of the opportunities the Internet provides, businesses need to have a well-optimized website. An SEO audit is one of the most important tools business owners can use to ensure their website is as optimized as possible. In this blog post, we will discuss what an SEO audit is, how it can help your business, and some tips for conducting an SEO audit on your website.
What is an SEO audit?
An SEO audit is a way to evaluate your website and its rankings to see how you can improve your website in the search engine results pages. The SEO audit analyses various elements of your website, such as title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, images, content, links and more.
The audit is an in-depth look into how you can improve your website’s rankings. Special tools are used to ensure this can be done correctly and efficiently. SEO audits are a necessity as SEO is always changing and SEO specialists need to keep up with those changes. SEO analyses from our SEO experts can provide you with the information you need to improve your SEO, therefore increasing your website’s rankings.
The thing to remember with SEO and its accompanying audits is that your competitors are constantly trying to get to number 1 and stay there.
What do SEO experts look for in an SEO audit?
When an SEO specialist performs a search engine optimisation audit they will be looking at many things within your website, including:
- How many pages on your website have been indexed and show up on Google.
- Backlinks – The number of websites that link back to you.
- Keyword research – What search queries do people use when trying to find your service.
- Any issues that might cause the website to not be shown in Google. An example is indexability issues.
What is analysed in an SEO audit?
- Links – these include broken links, backlinks and internal links
- On-Page SEO
- Off-page SEO
- Indexability of the website
- Redirects
- Submitted XML Sitemaps
- What are the current Organic rankings and search traffic
- Google Search Console (GSC), Google Analytics (GA4), Page Speed Insights.
- Duplicate Content Check – Using a tool like Siteliner.
- Is the website Mobile Friendly?
- Website security such as SSL certificate and Wordfence
What should you expect from an SEO audit (before and after)
An SEO audit will help you to identify any areas of your website that need improvement. It will also show you what you are doing well and what you can continue to do to improve your website’s SEO. You should expect to receive a report detailing the findings of the SEO audit, as well as recommendations on how to improve your website. Depending on what is “wrong” or needs to be “improve” will depend on how your website is impacted. An SEO specialist will help you to understand these findings, what they mean for your website and how to improve them.
SEO audits are a necessary part of SEO. It can also help detail a “road map” to your website’s success. By understanding what is analysed in an SEO audit you can be better equipped with what to expect from an SEO audit and how it will impact your website. SEO experts use various tools and techniques to perform a search engine optimisation audit, which can help you identify any areas that need improvement on your website. With the ever-changing landscape of SEO, it is important to keep up with the latest changes and audits are one way of doing so.
The before and after may take weeks or months to get right before the results are evident.
How often should you audit a website?
This is a fairly routine question to ask. It can depend on the website and its competitors more than anything else. SEO audits aren’t necessarily something you should be doing regularly, but SEO audits are necessary to ensure that your SEO is successful. We like to evaluate our progress every month, however, an in-depth assessment should be done every 3 months depending on your competition.
How long does an SEO audit take?
An SEO audit can take anywhere from two weeks to several months depending on what needs to be done and the website’s current SEO status. It will depend entirely on the website being analysed, its SEO history and how well it is moved through previous SEO audits. However, most SEO audits tend to take around 8-12 weeks maximum. This includes the audit, changes and the impact it has made. In rare cases, the impact can be seen months down the line.
Should you use an SEO checklist:
Yes, every business should use an SEO audit and a checklist to ensure nothing is missed. SEO audits and SEO checklists often go hand-in-hand. We have a large spreadsheet that we use to check off any issues we come across. The checklist is used in connection with Tools to ensure everything is audited correctly and nothing is missed. The goal is efficiency, accuracy and effectiveness.
Tools we should use and why?
- Screaming frog
- MOZ
- SEM rush
- Ubersuggest
- Google Search console
- Siteliner
If you require help with your SEO, consider our SEO service in order to get a better understanding of what we do and how we help businesses.
