SEO audits are notorious for being time and labor-intensive. There are numerous ways to improve your website’s SEO — from high-authority backlinks to properly-optimized images and website URLs. While an SEO audit can go in different directions depending on a business’ needs, there are some things an SEO audit simply can’t do without.
Mobile First
It’s 2016, and mobile is king — if your website isn’t mobile-friendly by now, you’re going to have a bad time. From Utah to the East Coast, Americans can’t get enough of mobile Internet; 75 percent of Americans now bring their phones with them to the bathroom. Start by taking Google’s mobile-friendly test, utilize a mobile sitemap and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and put a focus on responsiveness.
Data, Data, Data
This is SEO we’re talking about, so data is huge; performing an SEO audit means going through Google Analytics, AdWords data and Webmaster Tools, to name a few. All this data gives you insight into cost metrics, conversion rates, useful keywords, traffic metrics and more. Need to know how much traffic comes in from Utah, the West Coast or from other websites? You got it. Without the support of hard data, your SEO audit will go nowhere.
Tackle 404 Pages and Duplicate Content
You know what good websites don’t have? Error pages and duplicate content. Eliminate or redirect error pages as needed and get rid of duplicate content as soon as possible; duplicate information doesn’t look good to Google, much less to your users.
A Fast Website is a Good Website
Slow loading times can kill Web traffic: not only will users hate you, but search rankings will be negatively affected as well. Run PageSpeed Insights tests, enable browser caching and enable compression to reduce space. And as for any reputable website, finding a good Web host is absolutely essential.
SEO audits are a complicated business, and with all the little details it can be easy to miss the forest for the trees. Whether you’re a small business in Utah or a larger corporation, focus on these essential steps to make your next SEO audit a rousing success.
