An SEO audit is a process of evaluating how well a website is optimized for search engines. This includes everything from keywords to website speed and content.
The best SEO tools will have a dedicated audit feature or be part of a larger suite. The product should also offer multiple metrics that are relevant to SEO, such as keyword saturation and page speed.
Keywords
A good SEO audit helps you diagnose issues and opportunities for improving your site’s search engine optimization. By identifying and correcting any misguided or poorly executed SEO practices, you can help search engines understand and crawl your pages more effectively, which will ultimately boost visibility and organic traffic.
Performing an audit can also help you keep up with competitors as they roll out new tactics, and ensure that your site is well-optimized for all of the keywords it’s targeting. An audit can also help you prepare for Google algorithm updates by revealing any weaknesses that could cause your rankings to plummet.
A comprehensive SEO audit should examine the following areas:
On-Page Optimization
An SEO audit is an in-depth analysis of the factors that can improve or hinder your website’s organic search ranking. It’s usually done quarterly or monthly to ensure that you are constantly up-to-date on the latest algorithm updates and new opportunities for improvement.
Title tags, meta descriptions, URLs, content length, keyword usage, re-directs, and other technical factors are analyzed during the audit process. Then, the strengths, weaknesses, and competitive gaps are determined to inform an action plan for optimization.
Page speed remains a top priority for SEOs because Google’s user experience scores heavily on the quality of the site’s performance. According to Portent, reducing page load times by just a few seconds can result in double the conversion rate.
A website can also be slowed down by too many images and JavaScript applications. This is why a comprehensive SEO audit should look for duplicate content, 404 errors, and broken links. A great tool to use for this is SpyFu.
Link Building
In the SEO world, a backlink audit is an important part of an overall SEO checkup. It helps identify opportunities to improve your link building strategy and find ways to build more quality links.
A good backlink audit should also evaluate your competitors to see what kinds of linking strategies are working for them. If they are getting a lot of links from specific domains, or types of sites, you can try to emulate those strategies to get some of the same benefits.
An SEO audit should also include an examination of your analytics and tracking tools to ensure that they are set up correctly. This includes ensuring that Google Search Console and Google Analytics are configured properly. It also involves analyzing and optimizing your mobile experience, as mobile-friendliness is now a ranking factor for some search engines. Lastly, an SEO audit should look at your reputation management efforts to see if there are any reviews or mentions of your site that need to be addressed.
Content
Just like your car, your SEO needs regular inspections. By doing so, you’ll identify problems before they become bigger and uncover opportunities to improve performance. SEO audits are a way to ensure your website’s technical foundation is strong, stay ahead of the competition, and capitalize on new search engine optimization strategies.
A quality SEO Audit should highlight any on-page optimizations, content gaps, or other areas that need attention. This allows you to prioritize your fixes and set realistic expectations with clients.
The best tools for conducting a quality on-page SEO audit include Screaming Frog, Site Bulb, and more. Reviewing basic on-page optimization elements like URLs, page titles, meta descriptions, and copy helps search engines understand and rank your pages.
In addition, evaluating internal linking structures to ensure they’re distributing link equity appropriately is critical. This can be done by identifying any links that are too weak or redirecting too much traffic, which can lead to a loss in overall authority.