How to Perform an SEO Audit

One of the most complex parts of performing an SEO audit is knowing where to start. This article will share five tips for performing an SEO audit.

Audits don’t need to be hundreds of pages long, nor should they only be accessible and understood by the most technical people. 

An excellent SEO audit should effectively communicate a prioritised action list that lays out the steps that need to be taken to improve organic search performance.

What is an SEO Audit, and Why is It Important?

An SEO audit identifies issues that could prevent your site from ranking on Google and other search engines. It’s an opportunity to improve organic search performance by improving the technical infrastructure of your website and optimising on-page content.

Additionally, they can help you improve your website’s visibility and organic search traffic.

The Tools You Need

Throughout the audit, you only need four tools:

• Website Crawler
  
• Google Analytics
  
• Google Search Console
  
• PageSpeed Insights

1. Website Crawlers

Many website crawlers are available; you can use anything from open source to commercial crawlers. Some popular snails include Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Moz crawl and Deepcrawl.

2. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic.

3. Google Search Console

Google Search Console (previously known as Webmaster Tools) is a free online tool that helps website owners track their website’s presence in Google search results.

4. Page Speed Checker

Google’s PageSpeed Insights is a tool that measures the loading time of a web page and identifies opportunities to improve page load times.

Now that you have the tools let’s get started with the audit!

Tips for Performing an SEO Audit

Step 1. Identify Internal and External Links

The first step of the audit is to identify your site’s broken links and internal links that need updating. Internal links pass link equity within your pages, while Broken links are links that don’t work.

You can use a crawler to scan your website for 404 errors and identify broken links. A 404 error is when a user tries to access a page on your site that doesn’t exist.

You can also use Google Search Console to find broken links. 

1. In the “Crawl” section, click on “Crawl Errors.”
2. Under “Not Found,” you’ll see a list of all the broken links on your website.

To identify internal links that need updating, you can use a website crawler to scan your website for outdated links or no more extended points to the correct page.

You can also use Google Search Console to find internal links that need updating. 

1. In the “Links to Your Site” section, click on “Internal Links.”
2. Under “Links Not Followed,” you’ll see a list of all the internal links on your website that haven’t been updated.

Step 2. Identify Improvements in the Information Architecture

The next step of the audit is to identify improvements in the information architecture. The information architecture is the structure of your website and how it appears to search engine crawlers.

To identify improvements in the information architecture, you can use a website crawler to scan your website for duplicate pages, orphan pages, and low-quality pages.

You can also use Google Search Console to find duplicate and orphan pages. 

1. In the “Index Status” section, click on “Duplicate Pages.”
2. Under “Orphan Pages,” you’ll see a list of all the orphan pages on your website.

To identify low-quality pages, you can use a website crawler to scan your website for runners with low word count, low-quality content, and high bounce rate.

You can also use Google Search Console to find low-quality pages. 

1. In the “Search Analytics” section, click on “Pages.”
2. Under “Avg. Time on Page,” you’ll see a list of all the pages on your website with the lowest average time on the page.

Step 3 . On-Page Technical SEO Checks

The next step of the audit is to identify on-page technical SEO checks. On-page technical SEO optimises your website’s code, structure, and content for better search engine visibility.

To identify on-page technical SEO checks, you can use a website crawler to scan your website for duplicate titles, missing titles, meta descriptions, and meta keywords.

You can use any website crawlers like Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Moz crawl and Deepcrawl.

You can also use Google Search Console to find duplicate titles, missing titles, meta descriptions, and meta keywords. 

1. Click on “HTML Improvements” in the “Search Appearance” section, click on “HTML Improvements.”
2. Under “Titles,” you’ll see a list of all the pages on your website with missing titles. 
3. Under “Meta Descriptions,” you’ll see a list of all the pages on your website with missing meta descriptions.
4. Under “Meta Keywords,” you’ll see a list of all the pages on your website with missing meta keywords. Note that “meta keywords” refers to a specific kind of meta-tag found in the HTML code of a Web page and can assist search engines in determining the website theme or topic.

Step 4. Check site speed and performance

The next step of the audit is to check site speed and performance. Site speed is the time it takes for a page to load on a user’s browser.

To check site speed and performance, you can use Google Page Speed Insights to analyse the load speed of your pages.

Step 5. Check Analytics and Site Metrics

The last step of the audit is to check analytics and site metrics. Analytics is the measurement of website traffic and how it’s performing.

Site metrics measure website engagement and how users interact with your website.

To check analytics and site metrics, you can use Google Analytics to measure website traffic and Google Search Console to measure websites.

Once you have completed your SEO audit and have identified the issues holding back your site, you can prioritise your SEO strategy.

Prioritising your SEO strategy will allow you to determine what changes you should make first to get the most out of your effort and resources. 

If you’re looking to improve your website’s SEO, it’s vital to perform a periodic audit. The tips we’ve shared should help you get started, but if you want a more thorough analysis of your website’s SEO, our SEO specialists are more than happy to help. 

Contact us today for a free consultation, and we’ll be happy to perform a thorough SEO audit of your website.