SEO Audit Service
SEO Audit Services
Not All SEO Audits Are Created Equal
The spectrum of what defines an “SEO audit” is vast. Some SEO consultants solely rely on software to pull data and assemble key findings. And while such tools are undoubtedly useful, an auto-generated PDF called an “SEO audit” doesn’t always fit the bill.
These automated SEO audits are often mere attempts to pinpoint common technical issues found on a site. Rarely do they uncover the entire story, or interpret the data into a plan of action. Conversely, SEO audits conducted by experienced SEO consultants will often involve a combination of information, perspective, and a strategic course of action.
While the spectrum of SEO specialists is vast, few and far between are the experts who offer the holistic perspective required for a comprehensive SEO audit. I offer a decade of well-rounded experience in the SEO profession having worked with various business types to assess and analyze their organic search presence.
A proper SEO audit requires a delicate balance of both left-brained analysis and right-brained creativity. While most SEO consultants are equipped with tools like Ahrefs, Google Analytics, SEMRush and Screaming Frog, it’s the perspective and interpretation that stands to be a profound difference-maker in acquiring actionable insights, not just data. Among the elements I evaluate as part of my website SEO audits include:
Content SEO Audit
- Site Architecture
- Content Optimization
- Meta Data Optimization
- URL Structures
- Cross Linking
- Image & Video Optimization
- Ongoing Content Strategy
Technical SEO Audit
- HTML Markup
- JavaScript Usage
- Breadcrumbs
- Use of Structured Data
- Twitter Card & Open Graph
- CMS Platform
- Site Load Speed
Off-site SEO Audit
- Domain Age
- Domain Authority
- Backlink Analysis
- Social Metrics
- Structured Citations
SEO Audit Processes: What to Expect
While Google’s search results continue to evolve nearly every year, several important variables remain consistent in getting a site ranked. Below are some of the core elements I analyze when undergoing an SEO site audit.
Indexability + Site Health
Among the foundational elements of SEO is ensuring a site’s overall indexability and good health. With the help of tools like Screaming Frog, SEMRush, and Google Search Console, we can analyze URLs to ensure they’re both crawlable and accessible, enabling Google to seamlessly parse and index a site’s content.
Keyword Analysis
Employing keyword research enables you to pinpoint relevant words and phrases that searchers use to discover answers to the problems you’re working to solve. Considered SEO best practices by myself and other experts in the search marketing community (namely Rand Fishkin, former CEO of Moz), optimized pages should target one primary keyword phrase and a set of related secondary keywords that have shared user intent.
SERP + Competitive Analysis
Alongside keyword analysis, it’s just important investigate the SERPs of your prospective keyword targets. Not only does this provide insight into the overall search landscape and who your competition is, but this part of the SEO audit process helps to align your chosen keywords with what Google believes to be relevant to the searcher.
On-page SEO
With data and insights earned from keyword research, SERP and competitive analyses, you’ll then have the intelligence required to properly approach on-page SEO. Here we’ll want to craft a compelling title, Meta description, URL, and other elements that can appear in the search results snippet. Further, this information enables us to mindfully employ primary, secondary, and related keywords in the page’s copy.
Technical SEO
There are a number of technical SEO elements that can impact search engine rankings and snippet visibility – many of which are over-the-head of the common marketer. To begin, we’ll want to optimize URLs to load fast and render clearly on every device and browser. Additionally, web properties need to made secure (HTTPS) while leveraging canonicalization, open graph, and structured data markup. Where relevant, we’ll integrate schema markup and rich snippets to enhance visibility potential.
Content Strategy
While many have a plan of action for the latter fundamentals, few employ a thoughtful content strategy onoging. Although there are many ways to go about executing a content strategy, one of the most efficient and effective approaches is to have the most credible and amplify-able members of your team create content that serves the goals of your target searcher and helps solves their problem better than one else on page one.
Off-site SEO
There’s no questioning the value of links, mentions, and other off-site SEO variables that drive domain authority and search rankings. And yet, this too is one of the most perplexing aspects of SEO. As a core component to my SEO audit process, not only do I assess the health and strength of your site’s backlink profile, but I also help brands plan and execute individually-tailored strategies to amplify content and organically spread word-of-mouth across the web and social networks.
While these are some of the primary components to the SEO audit process, keep in mind that every project is unique and amidst different stages of the ranking process. For sites undergoing redesign or redevelopment, it can be an ideal time to assess the sitemap and navigation to better support the brand’s SEO objectives. Further, usability elements like content structure, layout, conversion funnels, and the overall user experience can offer to the greatest opportunities for improvement. How users interact and engage with your site can profoundly impact SEO, so it’s crucial to embrace SEO audits with holistic, adaptable perspective.
Ready to Get Your Website SEO Audit Started?
Whether you operate a small business or service a global brand, SEO audits are universally applicable to any entity looking to grow and enhance its search engine visibility.
I am here to help peel the onion and reveal the major weaknesses and opportunities associated with your web properties.
Contact me to get an SEO audit of your site today.