What is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit is a way to grade how well your site is performing on search engines. Think of an audit as an in-depth checklist that goes step by step to ensure there are no issues that need to be fixed in order for your site to rank higher on search engines.
You might have a beautiful and updated website, but if search engines can’t easily understand what it’s about, these beautiful pages may not ever rank and be seen by people.
What does a full SEO site audit include?
An SEO audit should include:
Common issues (meta title, meta description, and Google search results preview)
Competitor domain analysis
Keywords test (keywords cloud, common keywords and whether they’re being used in your titles, and related keywords)
Backlinks test
Sitemap test
Speed optimizations
Server and security checks (HTTPS and URL canonicalization)
Mobile usability
Advanced SEO (nofollow tags, custom 404 error page, and structured data)
What are the next steps after the audit?
Since the audit is in-depth, don’t let it overwhelm you. There are plenty of low-hanging fruits when it comes to improving your site’s SEO. There are changes that can be done this week if you wanted. Here are a few:
- Improve page titles
Site page titles should describe the specific topic that will be covered. Add your brand name or slug where it fits.
- Improve user experience
Make sure your site looks good and works well on mobile devices. Fix any spacing or alignment issues. You can also add testimonials and social proof to help establish more credibility and gain users’ trust.
- Submit your XML sitemap to Google
Your XML sitemap helps Google crawl the site more easily. The better Google understands what your site is about, the better job it can do of putting it in front of people who are searching for what you have to offer.
Why is it important to maintain and continue SEO?
Search engines are constantly updating their algorithms, the marketplace is always evolving, and your competitors want to get to the top of search results, too. For these reasons, SEO isn’t a one-and-done type of thing. It’s a continuous process to either improve your rankings or maintain your spot if your site is already performing well.
The bottom line is if you don’t do anything to maintain your SEO, your rankings will drop and your competitors will outrank you.
There’s no magic wand or secret trick that you can do to put out great content and have an amazing online reputation. Establishing your company as a trusted expert in its industry takes time and takes consistent content and strategy to achieve.
