How to perform an SEO audit

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of optimising a website so that it appears higher in search engine results. An SEO audit is the process of analysing a website to ensure it meets SEO best practices. Doing an SEO audit can help you identify areas of your website that need improvement, helping you maximise your website’s visibility in search engines and attract more organic traffic. Let’s take a look at how to do an SEO audit.

What does an SEO audit do?

An SEO audit helps you ensure that your website is configured correctly and meets the requirements of search engine algorithms. A good audit will provide you with a detailed report of all the on-page optimisation factors, including keyword research, page speed, meta tags, header tags, content quality, internal linking structure, backlink profile, and more. The audit will also help identify any areas where optimisation can be improved.

Five steps on how to perform an SEO audit for your website

1. Check your indexation status.

A good place to start is with a simple check of the site's indexation status in Google Search Console. In site search, you'll want to look for any variation in terms of title tags and meta descriptions across pages (for example, "title tag" vs. "title tags"). You should also check for duplicate content on individual page copies or redirect chains (for example, one paging linked from another). If you notice any issues here or elsewhere on the site, those are opportunities for improvement!

2. Check internal links, titles, and URLs.

It is important to check your internal links, titles and URLs. You need to check that they are not broken, unique, keyword-rich, relevant to the content that they link to and formatted correctly. You should also make sure that the right keywords are used and that the words are used to convey the meaning of the links correctly.

Afterwards, check their readability level by looking at their length or complexity compared with other pages on your site. If you have too many long or complex sentences, then it could affect how well users understand what's being said, which will mean lower conversion rates.

The next thing you need to do is check your external links. You should make sure that they are not broken and that they go to relevant sites so that you will attain higher conversion rates.

3. Check the speed and performance of your site.

To do this, you’ll want to use some of the most popular tools: Google PageSpeed Insights, Pingdom Tools, GT Metrix, WebPageTest, and YSlow.

Google also offers a free tool called Page Speed Online that can help you diagnose performance issues with your site. You can also try using W3C's Page Speed Online or their HTML5 test (which tests many aspects of a webpage). These tools will show you how to improve your site’s performance, and they can give you a score that will help you see how well your site is doing. The higher the score, the better!

4. Look for 404s and other errors on your website.

Next, you should check for 404 errors on your site. These pages are important because they tell Google that there's something wrong with a particular page. If you don't have a 404 page, it's easy to create one by following this guide from Google Webmaster Tools. A good strategy is to make sure that every link on your website directs users to an actual destination. This means that when someone clicks on an internal link (meaning one within your site), they should be able to reach the correct destination without getting any errors or warnings from their browser or search engine results page (SERP).

5. Check the mobile-friendliness of your site.

To check, there are many tools available that let you test whether or not your site is mobile-friendly. Some of the best include Google's Mobile-Friendly Test and RedBot, a website auditing tool that also checks for broken links, internal linking issues and more.

It matters because no matter how great your website looks on desktop computers (and laptops), if it isn't responsive, then half of all visitors might not even be able to see it properly—and they'll leave!

Improve your website's ranking with our SEO tips!

We hope you've enjoyed our short search engine optimisation blog on the importance of SEO. If you want to read more, check out one of our other blogs: How to optimise your website with SEO for your small business.

We love to hear your feedback, so please leave us a comment and share it with your friends on Facebook or Twitter!

Get started on your SEO project today with Position1SEO!

Call Position1SEO now to start a project with our team of experts. We’ll get the ball rolling on your SEO project so that you can start seeing rank-guaranteed results on page 1 of Google today!

Our team is here to help you every step of the way, from getting started, to making sure you have everything in place to rank higher on Google. Don’t waste another minute! Call now at 0141 404 7515 or visit our homepage at position1seo.co.uk.

Grow your business with the help of Position1SEO

We're a team of search engine optimisation specialists who can help your business grow. At Position1SEO, we offer services like SEO audits that will help you understand how well your website is performing and identify areas for improvement. We also offer content creation services and can provide training for any staff members who need to be up to speed on SEO best practices.

We believe that every business deserves to be found online, and we are committed to helping you achieve your goals.

Everything you need to know on how to perform an SEO audit

What is an SEO audit?

An SEO audit is a comprehensive assessment of your website’s search engine optimisation performance. It typically involves a detailed analysis of your site’s technical elements and content, assessing how the two interact to boost or hinder the visibility of your pages in Google search results. The purpose of an SEO audit is not only to identify optimisation opportunities on-site but also to understand how well you are competing against other sites for organic traffic and conversions.

Is an SEO audit worth it?

Absolutely! An SEO audit is an invaluable tool for increasing visibility and improving website performance. It can help you identify areas of opportunity and suggest strategies to improve your search engine rankings, drive more traffic to your website, and ultimately convert visitors into customers. When conducted properly, an SEO audit provides a comprehensive analysis of your site’s overall health from both a technical (e.g., page speed optimisation) and content (e.g., meta tags) perspective.

How to do an SEO audit in 2022?

When it comes to SEO auditing in 2022, many factors must be taken into consideration such as analysing your website’s current ranking, reviewing your content and structure, assessing site speed and performance, monitoring keyword performance over time, identifying your competitors, fixing technical issues immediately, and monitoring brand mentions frequently.

Can I get a quality SEO audit for free?

Yes! You can get a high-quality SEO audit for free by using several tools and resources, such as Google's Mobile-Friendly Test, SEMrush Site Audit, and Moz Crawl Test. All of these tools are free to use and provide valuable insights into your website’s overall search engine optimisation health. Using the mobile-friendly test from Google will give you recommendations on how to improve the usability of your site on mobile devices.

What is the best SEO audit tool?

When it comes to SEO audit tools, there are many options on the market. However, the best tool really depends on your specific needs. Each tool has its own unique capabilities and features that you may find particularly useful for one purpose or another. Examples of top tools are Screaming Frog, SEMRush, and RavenTools.