Did you know that the top three positions in Google Search results receive 75% of the traffic (Source: Backlinko)? So, how often do you audit your SEO? After all, it’s like a visit to the dentist to get your teeth cleaned: your website also needs a checkup from time to time. In fact, if you update your website frequently with new content (i.e., blogs, case studies, etc.), an audit is a crucial part of your content strategy. If you’re new to SEO or search engine optimization in general, then we recommend learning more about online visibility first.
What is an SEO audit?
You can think of an SEO audit as a report card. It grades you on how well your website meets SEO best practices and provides you with action items to help improve your site’s health score. Here are some action items ranked from most to least impactful.
What is included in an SEO Audit?
This can vary slightly depending on the website and is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Here’s a checklist of what you can expect:
☐ Overview
Firstly, this is the section that helps to explain SEO and provides a high-level summary of your site’s current health score.
Another type of SEO that focuses on what takes place outside of your website that can impact rankings in search results. While backlinks are the most important factor, local citations, brand mentions and reviews also play a role.
☐ Keyword Rankings
Here you’ll see a list of your pages paired with one recommended target keyword or topic that best summarizes each page, along with its current position in the search results, monthly search volume, and ranking difficulty. Search intent also comes into play to ensure the keyword on a page matches the purpose of a searcher’s query.
☐ Competitor Keyword Comparisons
Competitor keywords helps to give you an idea of how well your competitors rank in search results for the same keywords you currently rank or want to rank for.
☐ Final Keyword List
A final list to help organize all the keywords we plan to track and optimize for each landing page.
☐ Recommendations
Finally, this step delivers the main action items mentioned throughout the SEO audit and guidance for what to work on first to see the most positive impact.
Why is it important?
To summarize, search engine optimization is not a “set it and forget it” strategy. Industries change. Search engine algorithms continuously evolve. Keyword rankings fluctuate. Nothing stays the same in the world of search engine optimization, either. For that reason, here are three benefits of performing an SEO audit on your website:
Discover current weaknesses to identify areas of improvement.
Learn which keywords you’re actually ranking for and how well they rank.
See what your competitors are doing or not doing.
Need help with an SEO audit? We can help. Give us a call or fill out our contact form and let’s chat!
By Anne Hareid, Digital Marketing Analyst
Anne is a multi-talented digital marketing analyst with a keen eye for detail. She’s our go-to for advertising campaign setup, ad management, keyword research, local listing management and reporting. She’s a savvy digital artist, and when she’s not creating her next masterpiece, she can be found spending time with family.
