The performance of your SEO depends hugely on the search engines. The algorithms behind the search are constantly updated. So if your goal is to redirect huge traffic to your WordPress website, then you need to constantly update your SEO strategies, just like you update apps when there is an update available for it. This is where SEO audits play an important role.
An SEO audit is the process of examining if a website is performing at its maximum efficiency by looking at various markers. By doing this, we can determine what SEO strategies are currently responsible for the site’s performance. This can help us fine-tune various parameters to bring out maximum efficiency. You can have a look at some website building tips to cover the basics before getting started on the audit.
SEO audits have to be performed at regular intervals. On the outside, it might look like a complicated task. But there are tools to make it easier and of course, you have this tutorial.
So, put on your auditor cap and let’s get sniffing.
There are 2 ways to perform SEO audit.
1. Using SEO Audit Tools
Performing an SEO audit on your website will require a lot of data. Here is a list of tools that will help you collect it and analyze it to derive new decisions.
Screaming Frog — It is a downloadable tool that is free to use for up to 500 URLs. It works like a search engine’s spider and crawls through your whole website to retrieve important SEO data.
It scans for certain parameters like content, images, tags, URLs, titles, sitemaps, and other errors. Screaming Frog requires Java to work. While Google Search Console and Analytics will have their data available already, Screaming frog requires us to run the crawl first before we get any data. Run the program, enter your website address in the search bar and click Start.
The advantages of a Screaming Frog paid license includes the ability to make changes like setting up your preferred user agent, configuring cookie handling, JavaScript, and other internet technology.
Google Search Console — Formerly called Webmaster tools, they offer the closest glimpse of search engine technology. They provide loads of information about the indexing status, visibility level, health, and optimization level of your site which will help you a lot in auditing. People generally go for Google webmaster tools. But if you are interested in using a different search engine, say Microsoft’s Bing, then you can try Bing Webmaster Tools.
Google Analytics — The number of visitors is good information to have. You can determine a lot of information about your visitors from your site’s analytics report. Even though there are many solutions for this out there, Google Analytics embraces Google and hence it is the most relevant.
Moz Crawl Test – A complete audit tool if there ever is one. It prepares a diagnostic report containing a list of errors, bugs, and glitches which it eventually fixes effectively. If you wish, it will also generate a weekly report with all the data.
BuzzSumo – If content marketing is your niche, BuzzSumo this is your perfect tool. It identifies the type of content that works in a particular niche.
SEMrush – It is a vital element of the core technical SEO sphere. SEMRush will trace the backlinks, keyword research & ranking, etc. Even, it will get you acquainted with the competitors’
tactics also.
2. Manual Method
The manual method involves the evaluation of some critical elements on the relevant pages. It is directly involved with your website and the factors affecting your SEO audit.
HTML – The data present in this markup language is essential to SEO. The theme we use generally takes care of this. So select a top-notch one. A good theme generally gets constantly updated thereby keeping you in the safe zone.
Titles – Make sure it is clear, crisp and unique. They must be relevant to the content of your website and have appropriate keywords.
Meta Description – It should have a maximum of 165 Characters as per the suggestions from top SEOs. It should be unique and relevant to each page. Try to include a few keywords.
URLs – It is the permalink of a post/page. URL’s should be short, crisp and user-friendly. Check if they include keywords. To make it clear, Hyphens can be used for separating the words.
Headings – Multiple Heading tags play a crucial role in structuring content and making it scannable. Each page can have one H1 tag.
Content – Content is key. It should be informative, unique and relevant. The placement of keywords in the content is quite important. However, keywords stuffing should be avoided.
Images –Alt tags and titles are key SEO markers for images. Make sure they contain keywords and are descriptive.
Links – As the website keeps growing, the chances of having dead links keeps increasing. Therefore, the relevancy of links has to be consistently checked to prevent SEO failure or leak. To help you with this, there are some WordPress plugins and dead link checking tools available.
Keywords – Yoast SEO detects all the keywords for you and hence simplifies the audit process. It is better to optimize only one page per keyword.
Duplicate Content –A simple method to check duplicate content is, Google Search Console -> Search Appearance -> HTML Improvements. If you are fond of tools, “Siteliner” is a powerful tool for detecting duplicate content
Errors and Bugs – Use Google Search Console to crawl your website and unmask technical errors. The “404 error” is of great use to optimize your website easily. Once done, redirect the URLs correctly and to links with relevant information.
There is no correct time for conducting SEO audit. It mostly depends on the performance of your site. However, if things are going well, it is still advisable to conduct regular audits once in 2 months or so as a preventive measure. Hope this article helps you overcome the myths of SEO audits and conduct effective audits.
SEO audit by TemplateMonster Service Center
Do you need your website be visible to your target audience in search engines and you don't know where to start? SEO audit is the first step to creating an online marketing strategy that really works. You will get the analysis and guidelines on how to implement the given recommendations within your website.
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