What Is a Website Audit and When Should You Do One?

Do the words ‘website audit’ fill you with fear? They shouldn’t because it’s one of the most productive things you can do for your business.

A website audit or content audit is exactly what it sounds like. It is a full check on your website’s accessibility, visibility and SEO success.

If your website isn’t delivering on visitor numbers, a website SEO audit is what you need. If you’re getting the visitors, but not the conversions, an audit is once again the solution.

And if you’re getting the traffic and the conversions, but you want more, you still need an SEO audit!

Let’s make it simple: if you have a website, you should be running regular website audits. In fact, why not start right now?

Is Your SEO Strategy Working?

Search Engine Optimization is very necessary – and getting it right is a skill. Especially when search engines like Google are forever moving the goal posts.

It used to be as simple as adding a few keywords. Not anymore. User Intent is now a key issue and your SEO strategy needs to include longtail keywords and phrases.

Does it? You don’t know unless you conduct regular website audits.

Call In The Experts

So how does it work? Unless you’re an SEO genius, it’s best to call in the experts. In other words, a team that specializes in organic SEO strategies.

Your chosen team will not only check your SEO success but also check for any red flags. And by that, we mean possible penalty issues.

Yes! It’s not only your visitor numbers that could suffer from a poor SEO strategy. You could also receive a penalty from Google!

Your website could be penalized for unethical SEO practices or poor quality content. It could also experience the wrath of Google for not keeping it up to date!

Stay Ahead of Google Updates

As you know, Google updates its algorithms regularly. Your website needs to reflect those changes.

And all that is just one small part of a professional website audit.

Whatever business you are in, from dental to law to real estate, a website audit will deliver.

It’s the only way to know if your SEO strategy is working. And it’s the only way to grow your business.

How’s Your ROI?

You check the ROI on your business, right? So doesn’t it make sense to check the ROI on your SEO investment?

Have you seen those automated SEO audit tools online? Don’t bother! This will give you a snapshot of your situation, but not the full story.

A short report that tells you everything is no help at all. How can you make real improvements without a critical assessment?

Without improvements, your visitor numbers and sales won’t grow.

Check The Statistics

Let’s throw in a few numbers to show you what we mean.

1.5 billion: that’s the number of destinations people visit after searching Google.

76%: that’s the number of people who visit a business within a day of searching for something nearby.

68%: that’s how many people want to use your Get Directions or Call button.

We could keep going but you get the point. It’s a case of being in it to win it. If your website isn’t easy to find and use, you will miss out.

Is Your Content Up To Scratch?

As mentioned, a lot of different elements go into your website audit. It’s not just the number of keywords. It’s about how fast your pages load. It’s about how easy your site is to use.

It’s about your content. Is it well written, original, engaging, informational and non-commercial?

Does everything on your site work? How easy is it to shop on your website? Did you know 60% or more potential customers abandon their shopping cart because it’s ‘too hard’?

Organic Search Results

Most businesses run both organic and paid SEO strategies. That’s a good approach. But your organic search results are very important.

Customers tend to trust unpaid search results more. But they still go for the top rankings. More than 70% will click on the first three organic results.

Your website audit will check how mobile friendly your site is. This is crucial. More than half of web traffic comes from mobile devices.

It will also look at your links, speeds, meta data, and social signals. As we said, it’s no small task.

Improving Your SEO Strategy

The information you get from your website audit will enable you to make improvements. Discuss the results with your SEO team and come up with a plan.

So how often should you audit? This is an interesting one. Some companies get daily reports on the number of clicks their site received, but what does that mean?

Did the clicks convert? Did they bring new customers? Is your traffic actually growing?

In truth, your traffic numbers tell you very little about the success of your SEO strategy. You need to also consider those shopping trolley drop-outs and your bounce rate.

How Often Should You Audit?

Once upon a time we would have said one SEO audit a year was enough. But that was before Google started updating its algorithms every five minutes!

The best approach is to run a website audit every quarter. That gives you long enough to build up a true picture. It also enables you to address any algorithm changes promptly.

Your audit will tell you if your visitors are enjoying the experience. It may show you need a better content writer or a new SEO strategy. It might prompt you to move towards more responsive web design.

In other words, the results may prompt some additional costs, but the payback will be worth it. Without taking these changes onboard, your ROI will only suffer more.

Website Audits for SMBs

The size of your organization is irrelevant. In fact, the smaller your business, the more you should be refining your SEO strategy. Around 26% of SMBs don’t even show up in an online search!

By consistently providing what the user wants, you are building your brand. You will also appear to be an authority in your industry. That builds trust, and trust builds sales.

Are you ready to take the next step? It’s easy. You can even start with a quick online check.

Arrange your full website audit now and enjoy more sales in the future.