SEO is a complicated task to do and many website owners leave it up to the experts to control on their behalf. There are many factors that is taken into account when “SEOing” a website and a SEO Audit is one of them.
What is done during a SEO Audit?
A SEO Audit gives both the client and the SEO Strategist an insight into a websites ability to rank naturally in Google and other search engines.
Google’s algorithm determines a websites Search Engine Ranking Positions (SERPs) based on how a website is setup and maintained. SEO setup and maintenance is based on four key areas.
- Technical analysis
- On-Page analysis
- Off-Page analysis
- Competitive analysis
- Keyword research
Technical analysis
Firstly, we find out if the website is working correctly. This is done through a technical analysis that focuses on two areas.
- Accessibility
- Indexability
Accessibility
Is your website accessible by search engine crawlers as well as users? Search engine crawlers and users must be able to easily access your website and find the information that they are looking for. The same is applicable when new content is added to your website.
It is also important to check is if a website is accessible by mobile devices as this is a major ranking factor in a search engine.
Indexability
Can a search engine index your website? If a search engine cannot crawl a website, it will not rank. Robots .txt files and XML sitemaps have to be setup correctly to ensure accessibility. Other factors such as Google penalties, malware and viruses on website files have to be also be taken into account.
On-page analysis
On-page analysis looks at two core areas:
- General content issues
- Individual page issues
General content issues
A content assessment is done on targeted pages that looks at the following:
- Reading ease
- Spammy content
- Duplicate content
- Keyword stuffing
- Quantity of content
- Relevance
Individual page issues
In addition to general content checks, we look at each page’s technical requirements such as:
- Meta titles
- Meta descriptions
- Image ALT tags
- URL structures
- Visible content
- Keyword use and placements
- Internal links
- External links
Off-page Analysis
An off-page analysis accesses various factors that influence your webpage ranking. These include:
- Links to the website. (Quantity, Quality and Relevance)
- Social Media signals
- Website reviews/ratings
- Website mentions
- Online reputation
Off-page analysis should display how users react to your website.
Competitive Analysis
It is important to know what your competition is doing. This information often helps with decisions and strategy for your website. This analysis looks at:
- What keywords are they using
- What their content they are using
- What search terms are they ranking for
- What websites are linking to them
Keyword Research
Knowing what keywords to target in a SEO campaign is important. Keyword analysis completed based on the products or services that are on offer.
We research the popularity of a keyword and how often it is searched. Without this research, it is possible to target a keyword that is not searched.
Conclusion
An SEO audit is a crucial process for any website that a client wants to rank naturally in Google.
The audit allows us to discover potential issues on a website and it gives us value information to run successful SEO campaign.
For more information about our SEO services, please feel free to email us at info@idealservices.co.za.dedi1249.jnb2.host-h.net. Alternatively, send us an online enquiry.
