Regardless of the size of your business or industry, in most cases, the website provides an essential element of its marketing strategy. A company’s online presence can significantly impact its success, with most consumers looking online and then at a business’s website before making a purchase.
Just like any element of your business, making sure it works efficiently is essential. The website is no different. If your website is not optimised for search correctly, or if you have not taken the time recently to check if your SEO is up to date, then you could be missing out on a significant amount of search engine traffic. Subsequently, you could be losing a new customer base to competitors who are on top of their SEO game and are outranking your website.
What is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit looks at various elements of your website, its online presence and the essential components that make up its Search Engine visibility, usability, and conversion. Regularly undertaking an SEO audit is crucial to ensure it stays in optimum working health. Many elements make up efficient Search Engine Optimisation, and some are much more technical than others. However, here are a few of the main audit tasks for your website that can help you ensure it is in tip-top working health:
Your website architecture –
Review how many pages are currently visible on your website and how each of these links together. How easy is it to access these pages, and where do they appear in the website navigation process? Ensure that your most important pages are in the most prominent positions and that any relevant subjects, products, or services pages are easily linked from these core topics.
Website Errors –
Do you have any broken pages? Do all your images and videos work? Are there any broken links? Give your website a ‘health-check’ and make sure there are no 404 errors or any re-directions from old pages are working correctly. If you find any broken pages, make sure you put the necessary re-directions in place or repairs to fix these errors. If you are unsure how to do this, seeking assistance from an outside team or whoever manages your website will ensure it is done correctly.
Outdated Content –
Review the current content on your website, along with the services or products you display. Make sure these are all up-to-date and relevant to your business today. Like a shop window needs to ensure it stays current and relevant, so does your website and its content. Make sure that your content reflects your brand and its values and makes the right first impression.
Content Gaps –
Look at your ‘keywords’, which are the search terms you want your website to be visible for in the search engines. Look at your competitors or those that currently outrank you for these keywords and the type of content on their pages. Analysing your existing content and comparing it to your competitors allows you to see where you might be missing valuable content pieces that align with your target audience. You are also likely to find new keyword opportunities that you are not currently taking advantage of.
Technical Elements –
The technical audit may require the assistance of external expertise to help you with this. However, review elements such as duplicate pages, your META page titles, META descriptions, headings, and page speed. Make sure that each META title and description is unique to its page and follows all up to date SEO best practices. Perform a website speed test; you can use tools such as PageSpeed Insights from Google. This will show you how fast your pages are loading and identify any issues the website may be experiencing.
Google Analytics –
Google Analytics is one of the most powerful tools you can use to analyse the performance of your website. It allows you to view a wide range of data about the users of your website. Analytics such as how they behave on each of your pages; where these visitors came from; goal completions (such as how many enquiry forms are completed), and do they leave or visit additional pages? Reviewing these reports can help you identify how well your site is optimised and whether your visitors can access the content you want them to.
Local Search Indicators –
How visible are you in local searches? Do you have a Google My Business page, and does your website appear in the maps section for relevant searches? Keep your directory listings, including your Google business listings, up-to-date and ensure all your relevant business information can be found. Make sure you do not ignore other major search engines such as Bing, including setting up a Bing business listing. Local search is vital, especially for mobile users and including these elements in your SEO audits will help your site performance efforts.
Reviews –
Testimonials and business reviews are fast becoming one of the most crucial elements of SEO. Find out where your customers are leaving reviews, such as Google, Facebook, or Yell, and encourage happy customers to review your business online and ask permission to share their testimonials across social media and on your website. Depending on your industry, you will likely have some specific review sites that you can list your business with.
SEO, content marketing, and SEO audits require continued attention, and these are just a few basic search engine optimisation suggestions. When performed correctly, a full SEO audit can significantly improve your website’s performance, enhance your marketing strategies, and increase goal conversions.
At FireTap Marketing, our online marketing team will develop strategies to help you benefit from the full potential of SEO. We can work with you to keep on top of the changes in search engine best practices to ensure your website is at optimum performance, improves Search Engine Ranking Results, and drives relevant traffic to your website.
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At FireTap, we are a team of expert digital and content marketers for professional services and other businesses, specialising in marketing for law firms and solicitors.
Our approach is flexible, transparent, and engaging.
For excellent marketing for your business, contact us today.
