What is an SEO Audit?
In its simplest terms, an SEO audit (sometimes referred to as a tech audit or site audit) is a full website health check that lets you know if your website is performing as expected and if the search engines are driving traffic to your site as intended.
What is included in an SEO Audit?
An SEO Audit is a comprehensive examination of everything from client-facing and on-page SEO elements to the nitty-gritty backend components that are only visible to search engines and their crawlers. We run the website through multiple online tests and review the on-page, technical, and off-page SEO elements of your website. We finish by helping you develop an action plan to improve your site’s SEO.
Benefits of an SEO Audit
In today’s online world, your potential customers might choose any combination of words in a web search. If your company is the right fit for their needs, they should find your website. An SEO audit will help ensure your site will appear for customers in need of your products or services.
Most businesses would prefer to avoid an audit of any kind, but an SEO analysis is a positive thing and can drastically improve your website and it’s organic search rankings. If your website isn’t performing as well as it should, use an SEO audit to diagnose the issues.
You may also be using outdated SEO practices that are penalizing your website in the rankings. Once you address the issues, search engines will find your site friendlier and boost your online reach.
In addition to improving the overall performance of your website, the right SEO strategies can draw in the customers you’re targeting and convert web surfing to leads and sales.
There are so many elements in SEO design, and it’s possible to introduce barriers without even realizing it. The ideal time to consider SEO is during website development or redevelopment, so that visual design, site architecture, and content can all be optimized. That said, if your site is already developed, it’s never too late to conduct an SEO audit.
How an SEO Audit works
The beauty of an SEO audit is that you can widen or narrow the scope—it is fully customizable to your business needs. Bluetrain will work with you to design a website audit that will give you the information you need to make better business decisions.
The key components of the audit process include:
- Discovery: We’ll sit down with you before diving into your website to get a full understanding of the site’s history, your business goals, etc.
- On-Page Audit: We look at the structure of your site and the SEO elements on your pages. This will include headings, internal links, image file names and ALT tags, formatting, and any other element that affects how a search engine reads your site.
- Technical Audit: A technical audit identifies technical problems that prevent search engines from crawling through your site.
- Off-Page Audit: This part of the audit looks at the number and quality of websites that are linking back to yours. It also provides an analysis of the pages that are being linked to.
- To-Do List: Once all the pieces of the audit are completed, it’s time to create a list of tasks that need to be done to achieve your online SEO goals. Be detailed about the task order, who is responsible, and how tasks will be completed.
What we need from you
To get started on an SEO audit, Bluetrain needs a few things that you likely have at your fingertips:
- A description of your business goals
- A history of your website, including any redevelopment or strategies that are in place
- An understanding of your goals for this audit and what you hope to learn
- Access to the relevant systems and reports, such as your CMS and web analytics. (If you don’t have a plan for web analytics, you’re missing an important business opportunity.)
SEO Audit outcomes
Once the audit is complete, you’ll get an SEO report that includes findings and recommendations, including a to-do list that outlines the next steps.
What you choose to do with the information is up to you, but Bluetrain is available to help you act on the recommendations. Your site might need a small tweak or more extensive redevelopment. Whatever the direction, we’re not successful unless we can help you improve your SEO.
Now is a great time for an SEO Audit
If you rely on your website and digital marketing to help you meet your business goals, you can’t afford to not conduct an audit.
Contact one of our digital marketing experts to give your website a health check.