SEO is constantly changing, and keeping up requires a thorough audit. These audits help business owners understand how the changes to the algorithms are affecting their website and how they can optimize it.
Competitor analysis is a key part of any SEO audit. Tools like WooRank track keywords so that you can see positive and negative movements over time.
On-Page Optimization
An SEO audit involves a thorough evaluation of your site’s content and on-page elements that impact rankings. This is the best way to discover what you can do to improve your website’s SEO performance.
An on-page SEO audit should include an analysis of the title tag, meta description, and content of each page on your website. The goal is to optimize these on-page elements so that they match search engine user intent, and entice people to click through.
In addition, an on-page SEO audit should also look at the overall user experience of your website. This includes assessing how long people stay on each page, and if your website is mobile-friendly. This is important because Google favors sites that provide an optimal user experience. An SEO audit can help you refocus your online marketing strategy on users, instead of chasing search engine algorithms. This will safeguard your site from applying misguided practices that could ultimately harm its performance.
Off-Page Optimization
Just like a car, your website requires regular maintenance and inspections to keep it running smoothly. And SEO audits are an essential part of that process.
Whether you’re looking for new opportunities, identifying content that needs to be updated or refocusing your SEO strategy on users and conversions, an SEO audit will help you uncover what’s missing. Performing an SEO audit on a regular basis can also make it easier to respond quickly when search engine algorithms change.
Most SEO software tools, such as Ahrefs, Moz Pro and SEMrush have a site crawl tool that can be used to perform an off-page SEO audit. These are usually very comprehensive and come with a range of other tools to help you identify the problems with your site. These can include keyword research, backlink profiling and competitor analysis tools. A lot of these tools also offer free plans that may be enough for smaller businesses on a tight budget.
Link Building
A backlink audit is the process of evaluating your website’s links to find potential issues and opportunities. It can help you improve your search engine visibility and rank higher on SERPs.
A link audit can also help you identify and remove bad backlinks. This can protect you from being hit with a link penalty from search engines like Google. Bad backlinks are links that come from spammy, unnatural, or low-quality websites. These can negatively impact your SEO and hurt your reputation.
A link audit should analyze a variety of factors to determine the quality of a backlink, including the page content, the URL source, and the domain. It should also examine whether the link passes link equity to your webpage. A good link should have a natural structure and not contain keywords in excessive quantity. In addition, the page should contain a good amount of useful information. It should also be easy to read and understand.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is an important component of an SEO audit because it can help you identify keywords that are performing well or not. It also helps you ensure that the keywords you’re targeting align with user intent. For example, the keyword “wedding cake ideas” shows different intent than the keywords “buy wedding cake in Boston” or “wedding cakes near me.”
You can use a variety of free and paid tools to conduct keyword research, including Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Wordtracker, and Ubersuggest. You’ll want to make sure you’re using relevant terms that are both searchable and sharable.
An SEO audit is a great way to find any issues that may be hindering your website’s performance. It can also help you refocus your efforts on what matters most—delivering valuable content to users. And because websites change all the time, it’s a good idea to audit your site on a regular basis. That way, you can keep your site healthy and optimized for the best possible performance.