A search engine optimisation (SEO) audit is an important component of any online business’ SEO strategy. It pinpoints the weaknesses in a website, and most importantly, it provides a detailed outline regarding how to get the best rankings on Google. It also identifies the tricky areas which require improvement and can help keep your website updated with all the latest developments, patches, and site upgrades. So, if you are ready to unlock the true potential of your website, keep reading:
What Is An SEO Audit?
An SEO audit is the process of evaluating the overall robustness of a website with regards to a number of search engine optimisation areas. The auditor will check the website against a checklist (the 8 components mentioned below) and come up with appropriate recommendations or solutions regarding what needs to be corrected and what needs to be replaced to enhance the performance of your website and increase its rankings on Google.
In simple words, an SEO audit is a comprehensive website analysis, which helps businesses assess the performance of their websites and off-page/on-page activities. For example, SEO audits can help businesses analyse whether or not they are including Alt Txt or tags for on-page images and earning ‘qualified’ links from reputable websites. (You can perform the audit yourself or hire a professional company to do it for you)
The Components of an SEO Audit
An SEO audit features the following eight components:
- Content Audit Analysis: This analysis helps businesses determine whether they have included relevant and unique title tags, SEO-Friendly URLs, Meta keywords, and Meta descriptions and other content on their website.
- JavaScript Test Analysis: This analysis helps businesses assess whether or not their content still appears on their websites when JavaScript is disabled.
- Duplicate Content Analysis: This analysis helps you eliminate all duplicate content from your website and determines whether there is more than one version of your webpage being indexed by Google.
- Social Sharing Button Analysis: As social media has become an integral component of SEO and marketing, it is imperative you include relevant social sharing buttons on your web pages. This analysis helps you determine whether you have added the relevant icons or not.
- Site Speed Analysis: As the name implies, this analysis helps businesses evaluate the overall speed of their website and also provides steps on how to improve it.
- Poisonous Link Analysis: As the name suggests, this analysis determines whether you are receiving poisonous links from spam directories or link farms.
- Content Keywords Analysis: Keywords are an important part of your SEO strategy. This analysis helps determine how Google interprets your keywords based on the content provided on your site.
- Backlink Competitive Analysis: Backlinks play a vital role in directing leads to your website. This analysis helps assess the quality of backlinks and compares them with top competitors in your industry.
The Benefits of SEO Audits for Businesses
- Addresses online reputation management
- Improves your existing social media presence
- Increases site visitor lead or sales conversions
- Enhances relevant keyword rankings
- Assesses the health of your online presence
So, if you want to improve the overall SEO efforts of your website, perhaps it’s time you conduct a professional SEO audit as well.