Change. This is one of the only constants online – things are always changing. To keep up, it’s crucial for business owners to do an annual SEO audit to ensure that their website isn’t missing out on valuable web traffic due to changes in how search engines rank sites. While “SEO audit” might sound overwhelmingly technical, we’ve listed some of the best areas to target when performing your own SEO audit, to make the process as simple as possible.
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Check On-Site Optimization
This is one of the simplest ways to quickly determine what’s working and what’s not on your website. Review title tags to make sure they have relevant keywords and are no longer than 65 characters. Take a look at your meta description (the preview to a webpage on a search engine) to ensure it is clear and interesting enough for users to want to read more. This can also be a great opportunity to review your website content and determine if it flows well and is still engaging to your audience.
Remove Broken Links
Do a quick sweep to remove any old, “dead” pages and broken links that have been deleted from your website. There are tools available that will review and notify you whenever a broken link is found. If that’s not the best option for your website, there are several free services available on the web that will run a quick check for broken links.
Check Your Backlink Profile
Take a look at the number and kind of links to your website from around the Web. Use one of the several link explorer tools that are available. Once you’ve seen your website’s backlinks, determine if those links are reputable and how they relate to your content (if at all). If any of these links seem low quality or spammy, it’s your responsibility to “disavow” the links, as they can penalize your website. Then, take a look at some of your competitors’ backlink profiles to identify any SEO opportunities you should be taking advantage of.
Optimize Your Speed
No one ever wants to wait thirty seconds to open a website. The faster a website loads, the better it is for usability and for SEO. Determining where your website stands through a speed test is a great way to better understand areas for improvement. Want to compare with other sites and understand how you might improve your speed? Google’s Page Insights tool will likely be helpful in figuring out steps to boost your speed to an optimal level.
Performing regular SEO “check-ups” on your website is a great way to maintain steady traffic and build momentum. You want to capture as much traffic as you can. With all the changes taking place on the web, you won’t do that unless you stay on top of your website’s SEO performance. So plan to pay attention to the details that matter – such as how fast a page loads or whether the meta description is clear. That way, your site will be running to its full potential, and you’ll be growing your business.
Want to learn more? Contact Ballantine today and find out what we can do for your company’s website traffic and sales.
I'm the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned and operated direct mail & digital marketing company based in New Jersey. and started in 1966 by my great uncle!
