SEO audit – what is it for? What is included in it?
An SEO audit involves a detailed analysis of a website to show how well the site meets search engine requirements. SEO audit concerns both visible and invisible for user elements of the website. It constitutes a kind of a guideline on how to achieve high position of the website in the search list. The audit may also include the company’s marketing strategy. Performing an audit is a complicated process that requires knowledge and experience, access to paid tools and the ability to use them.
SEO audit – benefits for your company
Conducting an SEO audit, contrary to appearances, brings visible and measurable benefits for your company. Results in increased profits in the long run. Financial effects are noticeable thanks to a well-functioning website, willingly visited by potential customers.
Necessary elements of an SEO audit
The content of an SEO audit depends on the type of page it will concern. Different elements will be in the audit, which will analyze the blog, and others if it is to be done for an online store. What it will include also depends on the structure of the site and the budget allocated for positioning. The essential elements of an SEO audit that are subject to analysis are m.in.:
- keywords – their distribution on particular subpages,
- meta tags – their length and quality,
- internal linking,
- content – its uniqueness and saturation with key phrases,
- URLs,
- page load speed,
- graphics and their descriptions,
- HTML code – its readability for Google robots,
- Correct indexation of the website,
- User Experience – the functionality and user-orientation of the site, examined on the basis of the user’s behavior on the site,
- link building.
When to perform an SEO audit?
SEO audit should be performed in several situations described below.
Process of creating a website
Before making a company website, it is worth performing an SEO audit. This is necessary because it allows you to eliminate unnecessary errors already at the stage of creating a website.
Launching the website
This is the most common situation when an SEO specialist has to analyze a newly created website. The main objectives of such SEO audit are technical issues.
Making modifications to the website
If the website is to be extended or enriched with new functionalities, it is a good time for SEO audit. It will allow to examine in what condition the website is, and then verify how the introduced changes will affect its position in search results. Such an audit is mainly based on identifying threats and opportunities in relation to the website.
Exclusion of the website from the Google index
Inappropriate actions on a site can get it removed from Google’s index. SEO audit in such situation is a diagnosis of a problem, leading to defining a way of solving it.
Change of SEO agency serving the company
Most often, entrusting the positioning to another specialist involves the verification of the actions of predecessors. SEO audit in this case is really an analysis of the visibility of the website in search engine and against competition.
