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SEO audit is one of the most important stages with which to start building your site's search engine visibility. Thanks to it, we will be able to :
Basic issues
The process of performing an audit consists of several parts:
Assesses the indexation status of the site in the search engine
Google Search Console analysis
Analysis of the site's visibility on key phrases
Technical SEO
SEO onsite
SEO offsite
Google Analytics
From this article you will learn what an audit is and how it should be performed. Why evaluating a website for search engine optimization is important and should be done first when something is wrong with a website.
You will learn the behind-the-scenes work of an audit and how time-consuming it is. What follows is that an audit done professionally cannot be free. It takes time and many hours of analysis of the site and search engine ranking factors to pinpoint potential problems with the site.
What areas should the site auditor check ? Learn about the scope of analysis and audit.
When performing an audit, we focus on several areas of site analysis, which are carried out on the basis of a corresponding check list of tasks. According to it, the auditor processes.
When we get a website for an SEO audit we start by checking its indexation rate in Google, as well as the visibility of the site for key phrases in the search engine.
We can evaluate the degree of indexation in a very simple way. All you need to do is type the command in Google search engine:
site:domainename.com
Result of indexation status analysis
If a list of subpages is returned that agrees with the number of subpages from the site map, it means that the entire site is indexed correctly.
It also happens that they are indexed unnecessarily lowering the quality of the site :
In such a situation, it is worth checking manually the list of indexed subpages or use appropriate programs that list the full list of subpages.
In the event that our site is not on the first page of search results, this could mean:
My site is not in Google results?
If you do not get any results after typing the correct command, it may mean that the site has not yet been visited by a Google robot (in case it is a new domain) and is waiting to be added to the database (the age of the site can be easily checked using https://web.archive.org ).
Failure to return results from the site:domainname.com command may mean :
So it's worth checking right away what the reason for the blocking is and which sub-pages have been blocked. It also happens that the webmaster accidentally blocks the entire domain in this way. If this is the case, then none of our optimization and linking efforts will work.
In the robots.txt file, on the other hand, certain elements should be blocked, like search parameter pages or terms of service.
See what is Google Serch Console.
In the SEO audit, we can not leave out the analysis of the quality and performance of the responsive version of the website. The research is mainly carried out with programs :
Thanks to them, we learn about the structure of the html template and its components, the size of the css and js files and how the code is executed. We will also learn which elements need to be improved and which take too long for the server to execute.
Google's algorithm evaluates two versions of a site-mobile and desktop. However, it is the mobile version that determines the overall performance of the site.
Responsive version and page rejection rate?
A correct and fast responsive version of the website is also important because of the users and the traffic they generate to the website. Failure to fine-tune the responsive version or waiting too long for the page to load are potential losses.
The evaluation of a website can also be negatively affected by too close proximity of clickable elements, which will make it difficult for users to use the site comfortably, as well as blocking some resources of the site in the mobile version. It is also worth noting the size of the font that is displayed in the mobile version.
In this case, you can also use the tool offered by Google https://search.google.comtestmobile-friendly . Remember that you don't have to achieve the maximum score in this test.
Scoring 80 - 90 points in this case will be a really great result that will help optimize your site for both the user and Google ( Mobile First Index).
It's time to get down to website visibility in our SEO audit. If we have access to Google Search Console, we can have some idea of the position of our keywords for which our site is visible, but it is important to remember that we will not be able to compare our results with our competitors. So at this point it is worth using tools such as Senuto, which will allow us to check our visibility in the TOP 3, TOP 10 and TOP 50.
Thanks to this tool, we can also observe the history of changes in visibility, thanks to which we are able to assess how changes made to the site in previous periods affected the position of the page. Senuto charts are also a great benchmark, thanks to which we will be able to demonstrate the effects of our work if we also do positioning of the audited site.
At the visibility check stage, we should compare the audited domain with its biggest competitors. What exactly is at stake? Let's check the common keywords with the competition and analyze for which key phrases we are able to engage in a battle for a better position.
The second step is to check the words for which the competition is visible and the audited site is not. This will give us a set of phrases that we can incorporate into the positioning by adding relevant content to the site and external linking.
One of the basic elements of optimizing a website is the proper adjustment of meta tags. This is a relatively simple audit element for small sites. It can then be done even without tools, just previewing the source code on all pages or using the SEO Quake plugin. For larger sites, however, it will be necessary to use tools. It is worth using, for example, such programs as Screaming Frog ( free up to 500 subpages), Xenu or Sitebulb. The latter is, of course, paid, but allows you to carry out a very detailed check of your site for not only meta tags, but also internal linking, speed, mobile adaptation or errors in HTML, CSS or JS.
At this stage, however, we will need the tool to get a list of all TITLE and DESCRIPTION tags.
What should be the TITLE First of all, it should be unique and match the content that is on the page. We put the keyword in it, but we should be careful that the title itself is natural - because it is the element that is visible in search results. It is assumed that the optimal length of the TITLE tag is 55-60 characters, but Google changes its guidelines in this regard from time to time.
We should also include a keyword in the DESCRIPTION tag, and this description should also be unique. It is a good practice to create such description that will help to increase CTR. So we should not forget the Call to Action, which will encourage users to click on our link. The length of the description itself has changed a lot in recent times. Currently, it is accepted that a length of about 120 characters is in the optimum.
In this case, too, it is worth using the tool if you are dealing with a larger site. Each sub-page of the audited domain should have a single, unique H1 header that includes the keyword. We place other relevant mid-headings in lower-level headings according to HTML5 guidelines.
Indexed pages should also have unique content of appropriate length. This applies to both product pages and blog posts. Of course, there is no single guideline for the length and density of keywords in texts, but you can tell with a high degree of certainty when texts are too short. It's a good idea for product descriptions to be at least a few hundred characters long.
In the case of blog posts, the number is usually 3,000 plus. If you want to be more accurate, you can use the Surfer SEO tool, where you can compare the text length, keyword density and number of HTML tags for your competitors' pages that appear in the top positions.
So we can see precisely what content solution has been rated best by Google ( separately from links or domain authority, of course).
Another important element that is sometimes overlooked when creating and developing websites is image alts, or alternative text added to an image. It allows Google to better interpret what is in the image. The alternative text should be consistent with what is in the image.
In addition to evaluating the content of a page, Google also takes into account how and where certain elements are located on the page. First of all, a very important place on the page where the most important information should be located is the so-called "above the fold" box - that is, the place that is visible as soon as the page loads without scrolling down. This is where the H1 header should be placed, as well as at least some of the most important information about your services or products including keywords. This will be optimal from both SEO and UX perspectives.
In URLs, too, we should include keywords relevant to the subpage. They should not include session IDs ( we block such in robots.txt), and they should not be too long.
In an SEO audit, check the uniqueness of the content on the site. There are two types of it. On the one hand, descriptions can be copied from other, external sites. Google may in such a case consider our site as a duplicate of the same content, and thus lower our ranking. This does not have to be the case, there are many examples that contradict this thesis, but it is worth avoiding duplication with external sites for greater security, and to avoid legal problems.
Duplication can also occur within our site. If we have many products, differing only in color, it is worth the temptation to introduce canonical addresses. For long pagination, a good solution is to use rel="prev", rel="next" tags. (Update: Google has announced that it does not consider these tags for a long time).
Another source of duplication could be the www, non-www, http and https versions of the site. It is a good idea to choose the right one and do a 301 redirect from the others. You should also check the index for the site in these several versions of pl, plindex.html or plindex.php.
In our SEO audit, it is also good to include guidelines on the speed of the site itself. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be done manually, as we can find programs on the market that will do this job for us in detail in a free version. First of all, we should check our site with a tool from Google, namely Google Page Speed Insights.
We can use GTM Metrics or Pingdom Tools. This will give us detailed guidelines that we can pass directly to developers for implementation. We should also approach the results obtained in this way judiciously. We don't have to implement all the guidelines we get from the generated reports. After all, some of them may make the site lose too much of its attractiveness or usability. As in the case of the mobile version, a score above 80 will be a really good result.
In a properly hierarchical domain, the main page has the most power in terms of SEO. What should we do to transfer some of that power to the sub-pages? Of course, we should link. Links to all the most important categories should come out of the main page. A good solution, in this case, is a menu at the top of the page, as well as links in the footer. Also, we should include additional links to other subpages. Linking to products from the company blog is a good practice.
If the addresses on the site change, we naturally use redirects to avoid duplicating content or cannibalizing keywords. However, we should remember that these redirect chains should not be too long, as they will limit our crawl budget. So it is worth using 301 redirects then, which are information for Google about the permanent transfer of content from one address to another. With this solution, the content is available in the index at only one address. At the same time, all links that led to the old address transfer power to the new one.
Be sure to check for 4xx and 5xx errors using Search Console. They do not directly affect your site's ranking, but they can effectively discourage users from visiting your site. They also reduce the crawl budget. You can also generate a list of errors in programs such as Sitebulb.
See our google search console tutorial where you will learn the basic functionality and analysis capabilities of your intenret site
After the on-site audit, it's a good idea to check what links lead to our site. This can be done using programs such as Ahref or Majestic. What should we pay attention to? First of all, whether there are extremely poor quality links leading to our site from spammy sites.
Such links are best excluded using the Google Disavow tool. Another thing to keep in mind is the mythical "natural link profile."
So it is worth ensuring that they come from both forums, services or NAPs. It's also a good idea to make some of the links appear as an anchor, some as a regular url, and some as a sub-linked image.
Links should also not only lead to the home page. When planning linkbuilding, it's worth spreading out the number of subpages you want to position. It's also worth making sure to diversify the anchors for the links.
Structured data are tags you can add to your sites' pages to help search engines better understand the content that resides on your domain. Search engines can use the information gleaned in this way to display the content in search results in a useful (and attractive) way.
The correctness of the entered tags can be checked using the structured data testing tool.
If we have access to Google Analytics or Hotjar, it is worth focusing on user behavior in addition. On this occasion, it is a good idea to check on which pages users spend a lot of time, what their paths through the site look like.
It's also a good idea to focus on which pages generate a high rejection rate (Bounce Rate). Perhaps these pages contain some errors or it's worth working on the content on them.
These are, of course, only some of the most important elements that you should remember to check during an SEO audit. However, these are certainly the elements you should start with when analyzing your site. In addition, you can add to such an audit such elements as user behavior on the site or structural data.
See also:
A lot of information, right? Fortunately, we have a brief summary for you so you can more easily perform a basic SEO audit.
Comments on our community's entry :
An xml map of the site 🙂 It's also worth remembering to create a site map and add it to GSC, this will definitely help your site get indexed by Google's robots. And yes it's very cool tips, mostly simple to implement, so even someone with no experience will manage.
KARIN
The steps outlined are not at all difficult to implement and yet many website and online store owners are unable (or perhaps unwilling) to implement them. Tracking user behavior is an interesting option, as it allows you to optimize your site well and ultimately increase conversions. A moment of time spent on these activities can pay off surprisingly well in the future
ADRIAN
Everything beautifully cacy, but in my opinion, more attention should be focused on content, appropriate saturation with keywords and sufficiently comprehensive publication. Of course, it is not always possible to implement this, mainly with stores, but in my opinion these are the most important elements when auditing. Of course, I also agree with what you wrote, but as I mention, my opinion is slightly different. By the way valuable entry, specific and veryoo long....
TOMASZ
I have a question. From where to get links with images. Where to insert them?
ADFEN
The worst thing is that many people who want to position their sites have no idea that there is such a thing as an SEO audit. It's a pity because this type of action should be implemented before doing anything about SEO.
ŁUKASZ
It is worth adding a piece about outbound links and rel="nofollow" attribute. Any post pointing out the importance of site optimization in the SEO process a plus!
AFTERWEB
It is also worth remembering to update the content on the website or blog.
MICHAŁ
It is very good that more and more posts like this one regarding SEO audits are being written on the web. Unfortunately, many people downplay their importance and make the assumption that if they contract someone to 'take care of their website's SEO' then an audit is unnecessary for them. What is often overlooked is the fact that in order to conduct SEO improvement activities (or any other activities to improve anything) well, it is good to have an action plan prepared for this purpose. In order to create it, an SEO audit of a site is an invaluable source of knowledge and data that can create such a plan and for those who like to control everything, it can be a good part of keeping a watchful eye on what the agency/freelancer is doing in general. And not necessarily to 'shout' why it's not being done, but to be able to ask the question: what about aspect X are we acting on that, when why and why in that order?
SEOIT
All the points raised are as ok as possible. However, if we are analyzing internal linking and external linking, it would be worth adding a paragraph about the role of Google Search Console in the audit. It is not always possible to access it, but if it is available it becomes a mandatory tool in the auditor's hand.
Michał Pater
grupa-tense.pl
A site audit is the first step we should take when we start the SEO process. Unfortunately, most clients and sometimes even "SEO specialists" do not realize how important this element is in the overall strategy.
KORDIAN MINKINA
Lots of basics about SEO auditing. However, individuals and companies thinking about SEO should outsource an SEO audit to a specialized company. You will then avoid many mistakes that can result from misinterpretation, and you will also save time that can be used for business development.
SEMPIRE
SEO is certainly important, and being in the top10 should be a priority for anyone - who does business online.
JUNIOR
It is worth checking speed and technical optimization also on other sites to audit the health of the site. Sometimes long tail is also more sensible for SEO.
ROBERT Z ADLANCERS
Of course, it is always necessary to start work with a concrete reconnaissance of the area. Not having an audit is a kind of blind approach. Maybe it used to be effective. It was enough to stuff keywords into the meta and the problem somehow solved itself. Today, we have too many ranking factors that need to be properly optimized to achieve any results without these measures.
INNVEO
Thank you for the useful knowledge on doing an audit. I was especially interested in the information on content, so I will definitely start putting it into practice. Greetings!
PAULA
"Check Google Search Console for 4xx errors or 5xx server errors on your site. You can redirect 404 from the right page. Server errors can indicate that the server is overloaded."
Redirect yes, but let's first make sure it makes sense. Maybe the easiest thing to do is to simply remove non-functioning pages because they fatally affect positions.
JANEK
"Indexed pages should also have unique content of appropriate length. This applies to both product pages and blog posts. Of course, there is no single guideline for the length and density of keywords in texts, but you can tell with a high degree of certainty when texts are too short."
Too much keyword density is also not a good idea, and when it comes to length, it is known that the richer the text the better, but the most important thing, however, is that it should be unique. According to an old Highlander saying: it is not quantity, but quality that counts.
MIKOŁAJ
It seems to me that further links are on a par with content. In addition, I have the impression that no follow links also give a lot.
INTER
Good morning.
I guess no self-respecting SEO person would do a solid audit of a website for SEO for free? After all, time is money and no one works for free.
Greetings
Artur
Hello.
A good site audit is essential before starting SEO. And according to me, it cannot be done well and for free at the same time. And to the question: is SEO so important, I answer that it is not important if we want to spend all our lives on paid Google Ads and we don't mind.
DAMIAN
thank you ;)
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