What is an SEO Audit?
January 7, 2022
An SEO audit is the process of analyzing how well your web presence relates to best practices – it is the first step to creating an implementation plan that will have measurable results. The purpose of the audit is to identify as many foundational issues affecting organic search performance as possible
The SEO Audit Process
This step is where you will define what you expect to be done. An SEO audit is not a 5 minute job – it should take at least an hour or two of your time and the scope is crucial to a successful audit. Will you: Compare your SEO strategy to Google’s algorithms? Test unique search phrases? Review all your links to find out if they are on-page or off-page? Examine all your internal page URLs? Review all the ways your audience can find you online?
Begin with On-Page SEO
The first step to any SEO audit is to analyze your website with a familiar web analysis tool. Google Webmaster Tools (or other online analytics tools) are the best starting point for identifying the core areas that you want to investigate. For example, if you’re using Google Analytics you’ll want to create a query that will report on On-Page SEO (SEO). If your query results in a report that is not enough to inform you of what you’re experiencing then you may need to leverage the advanced search tools in your webmaster tool of choice. SEO audit results on Google Webmaster Tools are updated daily. And you can use these insights to map what is going on with your site and to develop a strategy that can improve your performance over time.
Audit Off-Page Links for Credibility
The first step in an SEO audit is to determine your website’s URL structure. If you have purchased some off-page links, you may be surprised to learn that these links are not the most valuable to your overall search rankings, as compared to all other SEO factors. They should be evaluated for credibility in that they may generate visibility, but won’t directly contribute to your search engine rankings. For example, does the webpage lead to the one URL, or does it lead to many others, including an external site that doesn’t reflect your brand or link to your main site? If you have purchased external links, make sure you properly evaluate the destination (e.g., depth of site authority).
Make Performance Optimization
Most SEO audits are conducted by hiring an external SEO firm. However, if you are in a corporate environment, such as a startup or agency-based company, you may find the time to perform the audit yourself and generate a report using existing resources. This can free up your team members to handle the hard work of creating great content and services. As an alternative, you could hire a software company or individual to conduct the audit. Choose a Scoring Method There are a few possible scoring methods for your audit: Search traffic audits . There are three main types of SEO audits: Visitor analysis and channel analysis.