As a business owner, ensuring your website ranks high on search engine result pages is a crucial part of attracting and retaining customers. If, for example, your website is listed on the fifth page of Google's search results when users search for one of your key products, it is likely that your search engine results page (SERP) ranking could be improved by conducting an SEO audit of your website. An SEO audit is essentially a complete analysis of all the factors that influence how visible your website is to search engines such as Google. At SalesPlus, we specialise in digital marketing, web design, website auditing, and SEO. Based on our experience over the years with a wide range of businesses, this is our step-by-step guide to conducting an SEO audit of your website.
Step 1: Analyse Your Website’s Structure
Begin by evaluating your website's structure. Ensure it is user-friendly, with a clear and logical navigation path. For example, many websites have a hierarchical structure, much like a family tree, which stems from a homepage before moving to top-level or parent pages and finally subpages or child pages. This structure makes a website easier for search engines to understand and navigate. Also check for broken links and duplicate content, and ensure that all pages are indexed by search engines. The freely available Google Search Console can help you with this. Another useful tool is Screaming Frog (free version available).
Step 2: Evaluate On-Page SEO
Examine your website’s on-page elements. These include title tags, meta descriptions, headers, keywords and image alt text. This is the information that is used by search engines to figure out what each web page is about and to establish how relevant it is to a user's search query. Ensure that each web page has a primary keyword or keyword phrase and that this keyword features in the title tag, meta description, headers (H1, H2 and H3), URL, image alt text and in the body content of the page. Proper keyword placement helps search engines understand your content, improving your page's ranking potential.
Step 3: Assess Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO involves your website’s backlinks. Backlinks are links from one website to another. They are crucial for SEO as they signal to search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy. High-quality backlinks from reputable sites can significantly boost your website's authority and ranking. To use backlinks effectively, focus on earning links from authoritative and relevant websites through content marketing, guest blogging, and building relationships within your industry. Ensure your content is shareable and valuable to attract natural backlinks. Regularly monitor your backlink profile with tools like Semrush, Ahrefs or Moz to maintain a healthy link profile and disavow any low-quality links.
Step 4: Review Technical SEO
Technical SEO refers to the optimisation of a website's infrastructure to enhance its search engine ranking. It involves ensuring that a website is accessible, fast, secure, and easy for search engines to crawl and index.
To audit technical SEO, start by checking site speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights. Ensure mobile-friendliness with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test. Verify that your site uses HTTPS for security. Inspect the website’s crawlability and fix any broken links or duplicate content using tools like Screaming Frog. Regular technical SEO audits help maintain a healthy, high-performing website.
Step 5: Content Audit
Conducting a content audit involves evaluating all existing content on your website to improve SEO and user experience. Start by creating a comprehensive inventory of your webpages using tools like Screaming Frog or Google Analytics. Assess each page for relevance, accuracy, and keyword optimization. Identify underperforming content and refresh it with updated information and relevant keywords. Check for duplicate content and consolidate or remove as necessary. Ensure each page has a clear call-to-action and aligns with user intent. Finally, analyse content gaps and opportunities to create new, valuable content. Regular content audits help maintain a high-quality, SEO-friendly website.
Conducting an SEO Audit: Conclusion
Conducting a comprehensive SEO audit can significantly enhance your website’s performance. At SalesPlus, our experts are on hand to help you navigate the complexities of SEO and achieve optimal results. Why not contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can help elevate your online presence? You may even be eligible for SME grant funding to assist your digital marketing efforts. We can assess your eligibility for such funding and assist you with your grant application. Contact our Digital Strategy Manager, Juliana MacEntee, today to discover how SalesPlus can help you grow your business.