Why Regular SEO Audits Are Essential for Your Website’s Success
An SEO Audit is an in-depth website review that analyzes basic technical SEO “table stakes” as well as on-page content, metadata, page speed and user experience. An SEO Audit should be performed regularly to keep up with search engine algorithm changes and to optimize websites for conversions.
From free tools to enterprise-level marketing suites, there are a multitude of software options to perform an SEO Audit. We prefer Ahrefs for their robust functionality and ease-of-use among premium tools.
On-Page Optimization
There are a variety of on-page SEO factors that influence your website’s ranking in search engines. These include keyword targeting, content optimization, page titles and descriptions, internal linking, meta tags, URLs, page load speed, page structure, user experience and more.
A good on-page audit will evaluate all of these elements and determine how well they are working for you. This is a critical step in making sure your SEO strategy is aligned with your goals and objectives, both current and long-term.
The goal is to use a mix of smart keywords (with proper density and placement) throughout your content, while also providing a great user experience. This includes using tools like LSI graph and related searches to identify the most relevant keywords, and optimizing title tags and meta descriptions so that they are both keyword-focused and enticing to click on in SERPs. Often, on-page audits will uncover low-hanging opportunities for boosting conversions. These could be anything from rewriting pages to focus on the right keywords, or changing content strategies to better align with buyer personas.
Backlinks
Backlinks are one of the most important factors in SEO, and you need to keep an eye on them to ensure that they’re coming from high-quality sites. It’s also a good idea to remove broken links or those that point to pages that no longer exist (i.e. 404s). A site audit tool such as Semrush can help identify these and other types of issues, as well as provide suggestions for fixing them.
Additionally, it’s essential to understand the impact that toxic backlinks can have on your domain authority. Google’s PageRank algorithm is based on the number and quality of incoming links to a webpage. Therefore, a page with 10 high-quality backlinks will rank higher than another with only 1 high-quality backlink. This is why it’s so important to regularly perform a backlink audit using tools like Ahrefs and SEMRush. In addition, you can use Google Search Console to monitor backlinks and other key metrics.
Site Architecture
A website’s architecture is crucial to its SEO, as it determines how search engines crawl and index pages. It’s also important for ensuring that the site has an optimal user experience and is easy to navigate.
A good site architecture is based on a clear hierarchy that reflects the relevance and importance of each page. It should also have a proper internal linking structure, so that the most authoritative pages pass authority to their neighbors.
The audit checks the internal links and analyzes their quality, quantity and structure. It also identifies any technical problems, such as slow loading speed and improper meta tags, which can negatively affect SEO.
It’s also a good idea to carry out an SEO audit after major changes to your website, such as a redesign or a migration. This helps you uncover unintended issues and correct them before they have a negative impact on your rankings. The audit also evaluates the format of each page, including its title and header tags, content, images and metadata.
User Experience
A great UX can help users find what they’re looking for and easily convert on a site. This leads to better customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
User experience also impacts search engine performance, including page loading times and indexing. A UX audit can evaluate your website’s navigation, information architecture, and content structure. This helps improve user experience and SEO.
A UX audit can also include a comparison with competitors. This identifies the gaps in your site and gives you an idea of how to approach fixing them. Once you’ve identified the areas for improvement, create an action plan that includes responsibilities, deadlines, and stakeholders. This will ensure the insights from your UX audit are implemented. If you don’t have time to perform a full SEO audit, there are several tools that can crawl your website and identify technical issues. Semrush and Ahrefs are two popular options that offer a free trial and affordable plans. They also provide a detailed report of issues that can be difficult to detect manually.