All You Need To Know About SEO Audits
SEO is a pivotal thing that people with businesses and websites use. There are many aspects that go into SEO, and people look to get the best results possible. There are several kinds of SEO that people can use to grow their business, and these SEO tactics are usually employed to get the best results. However, there are times that the SEO isn’t at par with what you were looking to achieve. You can find that you still aren’t ranked after Search engine marketing efforts and many other problems. The only way to move on at this point is to find the source of your SEO problems.
SEO auditing is the best way to do so. An SEO audit goes through the SEO and the pages and finds any issues that may lie within. To find the problems, an SEO audit will go through every aspect of the SEO. There is a checklist of what the audit can look into. From the checklist, the SEO audit can find one or a few problems. From there, you can correct the problems duly.
Times People Can Use SEO Audits
Something that people should know is when people can use SEO audits. You may be in a scenario that needs an audit, but you don’t know. Most challenges that come with SEO can be corrected with SEO audits. It is vital to know the instances that you can use Search engine marketing to know of the best way forward and to have the audit done, and solutions to the problem found. Here are some of the times that people can use Search engine marketing audits.
- Website speed – The speed of the website is crucial. On average, the loading time of a page should be 1-3 seconds. If it exceeds that, the potential clients might move away to other sites as yours has slow speeds. Finding what causes the slow speeds cannot be easy. However, through an SEO audit, the process is made simpler. SEO audits are great for anyone who is looking to uncover what is causing slow website speeds.
- Keyword duplication – Keyword duplication is when a particular keyword has been used too many times in the pages leading to several problems. An audit can find the duplicate keywords. Also, it can be used to find the most popular keywords and how they can be used strategically. SEO audits can find both the good and the bad in keywords used.
- Images and video – People use a lot of images and videos on their sites. Search engine marketing audits can check the impact of the images and videos used on the site. For example, some can cause slow speeds, while some aren’t the best format for use in the website. SEO audit will analyze how the best images and videos can be used in your website.
- Metadata analysis – Metadata analysis is a big part of what audits check into. Metadata includes aspects such as page titles, Meta descriptions, and heading tags. Therefore, metadata analysis plays a crucial role in the success of the Search engine marketing work.
How SEO Audits are Done
There is a big checklist on how SEO auditing is done. If everything that is on the SEO checklist is followed to the last part, then all the problems that your SEO could be having will be solved. There are several items on the checklist. However, the process is not tedious and is smooth flowing completely. Here are some key parts of the Search engine marketing audits checklist:
Make Sure Your Content is Visible:
Making sure that your content is visible in search engines makes a good first step. However, there are several instances that content may not be appearing.
Ensure Your Analytics/Tracking is Set Up:
Analytics tracking should always be on and working properly. This can be done by checking your source code through (ctrl +u).
Check Your Canonicalization:
You can check if you have canonicalization present. Searching for the word “canonical” in your source code is a great way of finding out.
Accessing Google Search Console:
Anyone who owns a website can check for health through the audit tool known as Google search console. The tool is free to use.
Check for Manual Actions:
In your search console, you can check on your manual actions. If your page has a manual action against it, it means that a human and not the Google algorithm has described your website as not being compliant.
Check for Manual Actions:
In your search console, you can check on your manual actions. If your page has a manual action against it, it means that a human and not the Google algorithm has described your website as not being compliant.
Check Your Mobile Friendliness:
Several people use their mobile phones as their primary device for search engine needs. Therefore, you should ensure that your website has a mobile version that is completely mobile-friendly.
Check for Coverage/Indexing Issues:
You should check that your site isn’t caught by any problems that will cause it not to be indexed.
Scanning your site for 404s:
Nothing can annoy more than an error 404 message when a person is entering a site. Your site shouldn’t have dead links or dead pages to avoid this.
Auditing Your Robots.txt File:
The robots.txt file exists to ensure that many robots aren’t visiting your website. Blocking such bots from some places in your site can ensure that you are indexed in pages that you want to be indexed.
Using the Site Command:
Using the site command is a great way to do auditing, and it can show the status of the site’s indexing.
Check that Your Sitemap is Visible:
The next step of the audit is to ensure that the sitemap is submitted correctly and it is visible. They help in faster SEO results and regular indexing.
Secure Protocols & Mixed Content:
By default, a website should be HTTPS if the version exists. The secure protocols must be followed, and any mixed content checked.
Check for Suspicious Backlinks:
Backlinks usually come from several sites. Any suspicious backlinks should be checked and the ones that are threats eliminated.
Security Issues:
The security status of the website is crucial, and it should always be in check. SEO auditing can be used to identify any present security issues.
Checking Schema Markup:
Checking the schema markup is a great way to see if your data is structured and working properly.
