What is SEO Audit?
Conducting regular SEO audits is essential for maintaining and improving a website's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). When these regular checks are conducted, it ensures that your website aligns with the latest SEO best practices and achieves better organic traffic.
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What is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit is a thorough check of how well a website shows up in search engines. It looks at different parts of the website to find:
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What's working well?
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What needs fixing?
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Ways to make the website easier to find online
This helps website owners understand how best to improve their site so that more people can find it when searching the internet.
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+72% more visitors are buying after just two tests
Average order value went up by +$28.45
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Claimed 17% more sales through abandoned carts
Why Businesses Should Conduct SEO Audits
Businesses should conduct SEO audits to gain a comprehensive understanding of their online presence and improve their search engine rankings. An effective audit examines crucial areas that impact a website's visibility.
It assesses technical aspects like site structure and loading speed, which affect user experience and search engine crawling. On-page elements such as titles and meta descriptions are reviewed to ensure they're optimized for relevant keywords.
SEO Audit also evaluates off-page factors like backlinks, which influence a site's authority. Content quality and relevance are scrutinized to ensure they meet user needs and search engine standards. For local businesses, a local SEO review is essential to improve visibility in location-based searches.
Businesses can benefit from competitor analysis so they can understand their position in the market and identify opportunities for improvement. By conducting regular SEO audits, businesses can uncover weaknesses, capitalize on strengths, and develop strategies to enhance their online visibility and attract more potential customers.
Key Aspects of an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit involves a thorough examination of technical SEO, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, content quality, user experience, local SEO, and competitor strategies. The table below explains each aspect and its key components, along with the tools to achieve them:
Technical SEO Audit
Examines technical elements to ensure search engines can crawl and index the site effectively
Key Components:
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Check site architecture in terms of crawl ability, index ability, mobile-friendliness, and page speed
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HTTPS for secure communication
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Google Search Console
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Screaming Frog SEO Spider
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SEMrush
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Ahrefs
Tools:
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Google Search Console
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Screaming Frog SEO Spider
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SEMrush
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Ahrefs
Content SEO Audit
Assesses the quality and performance of website content
Key Components:
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Check content quality and freshness
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Ensure target keywords usage are included in naturally
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Identify content gaps
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Remove duplicate content
Tools:
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Google Analytics
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SEMrush Content Analyzer
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Clearscope
Competitor Analysis
Examines competitors' SEO strategies and performance
Key Components:
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Identify competitor target keywords
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Competitor content analysis
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Competitor backlink analysis to find link-building opportunities
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Compare with competitors for on-page optimization, social media presence
Tools:
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Ahrefs
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SEMrush
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Moz
On-Page SEO Audit
Focuses on individual pages to optimize for specific keywords and user experience
Key Components:
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Ensure that clean, descriptive, and relevant keywords are in the title tags, meta descriptions, headings and URL structure
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Optimise all internal links, keywords and images.
Tools:
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Yoast SEO (WordPress)
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SEMrush On-Page SEO Checker
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Moz On-Page Grader
User Experience (UX) Audit
Evaluates user interaction with the website to enhance satisfaction and engagement
Key Components:
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Clear intuitive menu
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Visually pleasing design and layout
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Readability
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Engagement metrics and bounce rates
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Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
Tools:
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Hotjar
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Google Analytics
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Crazy Egg
Off-Page SEO Audit
Examines external factors affecting rankings, primarily backlinks
Key Components:
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Check the quantity and quality of backlinks
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Check backlink anchor texts for variety and naturalness, examine social media presence and engagement
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Determine brand mentions that can be turned into backlinks
Tools:
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Ahrefs
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Moz Link Explorer
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SEMrush Backlink Audit
Local SEO Audit
Focuses on improving visibility for local searches, crucial for businesses targeting local audiences
Key Components:
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Optimized and complete Google My Business (GMB) Listing
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NAP consistency
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Check local citations and directories
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Encourage positive reviews and ratings
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Target local content and needs
Tools:
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Google My Business
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Moz Local
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BrightLocal
Benefits of SEO Audit
Understanding the benefits of SEO Audit can significantly enhance your content strategy. Here are some key advantages:
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Improved Search Engine Rankings
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Identifies and addresses issues hindering your website's ranking potential.
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Ensures compliance with the latest search engine algorithms.
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Enhanced User Experience (UX)
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Optimizes site structure and navigation, making it easier for users to find information.
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Improves page load times, mobile-friendliness, and overall site usability.
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Increased Organic Traffic
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Helps identify and target relevant keywords more effectively.
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Improves visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), attracting more organic visitors.
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Better Content Quality
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Highlights content gaps, and opportunities for creating new, valuable content.
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Ensures existing content is up-to-date, relevant, and aligned with user intent.
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Higher Conversion Rates
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Improves on-page elements such as calls-to-action (CTAs) and user journey optimization.
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Enhances overall site performance, leading to better user engagement and conversions.
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Identification of Technical Issues
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Detects and resolves technical issues such as broken links, crawl errors, and duplicate content.
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Ensures search engines can crawl and index the site effectively.
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Stronger Backlink Profile
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Analyzes the quality and quantity of backlinks, identifying opportunities for high-quality link building.
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Helps remove or disavow harmful backlinks that could affect site ranking.
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Competitive Advantage
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Provides insights into competitor strategies and performance.
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Helps identify gaps and opportunities to outperform competitors in search rankings.
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Cost-Effective Marketing
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Optimizes organic search efforts, reducing the need for expensive paid advertising.
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Delivers long-term results with sustained improvements in search visibility and traffic
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Data-Driven Decision Making
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Analyzes the quality and quantity of backlinks, identifying opportunities for high-quality link building.
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Helps remove or disavow harmful backlinks that could affect site ranking.
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Improved Local SEO
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Enhances visibility in local search results, crucial for businesses targeting local audiences.
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Ensures consistency of local listings and improves local citations and reviews.
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Increased Site Security
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Identifies vulnerabilities and ensures the site is secure, such as by implementing HTTPS.
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Protects the site and users from potential security threats.
Do's and Don'ts for SEO HARO
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How to Measure the Effectiveness of an SEO Audit
To measure the effectiveness of an SEO audit, track key metrics before and after implementing audit recommendations. This includes monitoring keyword rankings, organic traffic, bounce rate, and dwell time using tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
Another way is to assess page load speed improvements with Google PageSpeed Insights and check for increased conversions.
You can also analyze changes in your backlink profile with Ahrefs or SEMrush, and ensure technical SEO issues are resolved by reviewing crawl errors and indexing status in Google Search Console.
Mobile usability enhancements and local SEO performance can be evaluated through Google My Business and content engagement metrics.
Heatmaps and session recordings are also excellent tools for assessing user experience improvements and regular security checks are essential to verify your site's security measures.
By consistently monitoring these metrics over time, you will be able to gauge the success of your SEO audit effectively.