Why do you need an SEO audit?
If you are looking for SEO services, your site is probably not ranking well and you are not getting the customers your business deserves. An in depth SEO audit uncovers the issues which are holding back your website from success.
I’m not talking about output from one of those free SEO audit report generators online.
I deliver a document, typically over 20 pages long, with specific problems outlined and my recommendations for solving them. In addition, I highlight which issues are of the highest priority and need to be addressed immediately.
What do I assess during an SEO audit?
Here is a checklist of some of the areas I assess during a typical technical site audit
Indexation
Robots.txt errors
404 errors
XML sitemap
Pagination
Top level navigation
Site architecture
URL parameters
Meta tags
Thin content
Image size
Redirect chains
301/302 Redirects
Internal Linking
Keyword Analysis
Backlink analysis
Competitor analysis
Penalties
SEO Audits in a little more detail:
A typical audit consists of technical analysis, page level analysis, link analysis, content analysis and competitor analysis. Options include user behaviour analysis (if access to Analytics is provided), keyword analysis and social media marketing analysis.
Technical analysis
In the technical analysis, I look at over 100 factors on your site which might be affecting your rankings. This includes indexation, site speed, redirection errors, site architecture and URL parameters. I use Screaming Frog and your Google Search Console account to audit your site. Any problems are highlighted with specific screenshots to clarify the data. Recommendations and priority levels are included at the end of every section.
The page level analysis dissects your homepage and one other main page on your site. I look at your title tags, meta description, H1, images and other on page factors which are critical to your ranking success.
Link analysis
Using Ahrefs, I inspect the links pointing to your site. Does your link profile consist of mainly low quality directories and blog comments? Are your links relevant to your industry? What proportion of your links use exact or partial anchor text? Are you using brand name and URL anchor text? How many unique websites link to you and how does this compare to your competitors? Do you have a mixture of no follow and do follow links?
Content analysis
In the content analysis, I look at your main product and service pages and your blog. Is key content in the correct location on the page? Are your pages thin with less than 300 words on the page? Is your content valuable and engaging or are you creating filler pages in an attempt to rank for numerous keyphrases? Are you stuffing your content with keywords? Do you have large amounts of duplicate content on your site?
Competitor analysis
After selecting three or four of your top search competitors, I evaluate their backlink profiles for relevancy, unique referring domains and diversity. I also assess the quality and length of the content on their site and take a brief look at their social media presence. Essentially, I get a clear picture of what it will take for your site to surpass theirs in the search engine results.
Keyword analysis (optional)
I check how your site is currently performing in the search results. I look at the rank of your target keyphrases and then conduct research to discover other keyword opportunities. I focus on both “buyer intent” keywords and “information” keywords which you can rank for in a reasonable amount of time. All keyphrases, search volume and current rankings are reported.
User behaviour analysis (optional)
When you receive more organic traffic to your site, will this traffic convert? If given access to your Google Analytics account, I provide a brief user behaviour analysis. What is the typical user experience on your website? I look at the bounce rate on your pages, the average time a user spends on your site and the number of pages they visit. Do you have goals correctly set up in your account and are you receiving goal completions? This information helps you determine if there are additional changes you need to make to your copy or layout which could affect rank and conversions.
Social media analysis (optional)
In your social media analysis, I investigate the current social media channels you are using. Are you using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram because everyone else is or are you focussing on the channels where your target market are engaging? Do you have a strategy for each channel or are you just reposting information on them all?
How it works
Contact me with your URL, your business goals and your top 3 competitors. After I have looked briefly at your website, I will send you an email confirming price and expected deliverable date.
I will need access to your Google Search Console account. If you don’t have a GSC account, I can help you with the setup. If you want the user behaviour analysis included in your audit, I will need access to your Google Analytics account. Each site audit takes about 7-10 days days to complete depending on the size of your website. The audit is typically 20 pages long and delivered as a PDF document. After you receive the audit, you can schedule a call with me to discuss the data.
You can hand the document over to your own development team to start making the changes. Or I can help you with some of the specifics.