Just what is an SEO audit? If you have been looking into SEO practices lately, this is probably one of the top questions in your mind. Get your answer here!
Did you know that 92% of all search traffic comes from results on the first page? What’s more, people rarely venture past the first page of search results.
That’s why it’s so important that you do everything in your power to strengthen your company’s SEO strategy.
But before you can improve things, you’ll need a baseline understanding of where you’re at. That’s where SEO audits come in.
So what is an SEO audit, and how can it help your business grow? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!
What Is an SEO Audit?
The 12 most important elements of a technical SEO audit
An SEO audit is like a physical for your business. An audit will tell you how your current search strategies are performing, as well as show you some areas that you may want to improve.
In its simplest form, an SEO audit is an in-depth analysis of how well your business is adhering to the best search engine marketing practices.
Though there isn’t a hard and fast rule as to when a company should perform an audit, your best bet is to perform one before launching a new marketing campaign. Likewise, you may want to check in if you notice major drops in traffic or every quarter.
Why Are SEO Audits Important?
There are plenty of reasons why businesses should undergo search audits on a regularly.
For instance, search engine standards change all the time. Accordingly, the strategies that helped you generate traffic last quarter might hinder your progress this quarter. It’s best to keep an eye out on upcoming algorithm changes so you can stay ahead of the curve.
SEO audits are also a great way to find out more about ways in which your site can improve. No site is ever perfect and sometimes making a few quick changes can result in a major shift in the SERPs.
What to Expect During Your Audit
How to Perform a Technical SEO Site Audit in Just One Hour
The first thing you’ll need to do is determine whether you’d like to perform the audit in-house or outsource to a third-party marketing firm. Both strategies have their benefits.
A third-party’s audit is often more thorough, and you won’t have to spend any time or energy conducting the audit. In contrast, there are plenty of great free seo audit tools that simplify the process.
You can expect your audit to focus on several key areas. These include:
- Usability
- Site crawlability
- Content optimization
- Keyword density
- Redirects
- Link usage
- Off-page optimization
It’s a complex but worthwhile process. Without understanding your site’s issues, you’ll have a hard time improving.
Wrapping Up
As we start wrapping things up, let’s go over what we learned today. What is an SEO audit? One-part analysis, one-part marketing aid.
Performing SEO audits — whether you do them yourself or enlist some help — every so often is a great way to ensure that your site stays competitive. So now that you know all about SEO audits, why not try it for yourself?
And when you’re done, make sure to come back and check out our blog for even more great content.