Is Your Website Costing You Customers?

When was the last time you thought about optimizing your website? Many brands overlook the fact that launching a website is just the beginning of building a strong online presence. With 76% of consumers researching a company’s website before engaging further, your site must not only meet but exceed their expectations. However, plugins stop working, links break and typos happen—even to the best of us. While these issues might seem minor, they can significantly impact your audience's experience. A broken link or slow-loading page could be all it takes for a potential customer to click away and choose a competitor. 

That’s why regular SEO audits are essential.  

 

What is an SEO audit?  

If you’ve ever trained for an athletic event, you know it’s not a one-time endeavor. Real progress comes from consistent training, switching routines and targeting different muscle groups for balanced results. The same goes for launching a website—it’s not the finish line but the start of a marathon.   

An SEO audit is like a comprehensive fitness evaluation for your website. It reviews your site’s performance against SEO best practices, identifies issues and uncovers opportunities to improve visibility in search engine results. Just as an athlete ensures they’re in peak condition before competing, an SEO audit helps ensure your site has a solid foundation for optimal performance. 

 

Why is an SEO audit important? 

If you’re training for a marathon, you could just start running and hope for the best—but having a clear understanding of what you need to work on significantly boosts your chances of success. Maybe you’ll bring in a running partner or hire a personal trainer to guide you, helping you stay on track and reach your goal faster and more effectively. 

An SEO audit is like a personal trainer for your website. It pinpoints weaknesses and provides a tailored roadmap to strengthen, optimize and improve performance. Regular SEO audits ensure your website stays optimized, competitive and capable of delivering the best possible user experience. Key benefits include: 

• Improved search engine rankings: Regular audits help identify and fix issues like broken links, outdated content or keyword gaps, boosting your site's visibility and ranking in search engine results. 
• Beat the competition: SEO is constantly evolving. Regular audits help you adapt to algorithm updates and industry trends, keeping you one step ahead of competitors. 
• Increase in conversion rates: A faster, more user-friendly website with optimized content leads to higher engagement and better conversion rates, turning visitors into customers. 

• Early detection of technical issues: Regular audits catch technical problems, like crawl errors or misconfigured settings, before they escalate and impact your site's performance. 
• Enhanced site health: Technical issues such as broken links, slow loading times and mobile-friendliness can significantly impact user experience and search rankings. An SEO audit identifies these problems, enabling you to fix them promptly and enhance overall site performance. 
• Maximizing ROI: By keeping your SEO strategy on track, audits ensure your efforts yield the best possible return, making the most of your investment in digital marketing. 

 

What does an SEO audit involve? 

Now that we’re clear on what an SEO audit is and why it’s essential, let’s dive into the different aspects of SEO audits you should be conducting. While it may initially feel overwhelming, remember that this is just your starting assessment—a way to create an improvement plan. Like athletes training for a goal, you don’t have to tackle everything at once. Instead, break it into focused sessions, addressing one area at a time.  
 
Here are a few key areas to include in your audit: 

1. Technical SEO Assessment 

Technical SEO focuses on the foundational elements of your website that impact its performance and search engine visibility. This audit ensures search engines can effectively crawl, index and understand your content. Think of it as a general doctor’s check-up—you need to confirm you’re in good health before diving into a major athletic event. Without a solid technical foundation, it’s difficult for your site to perform at its best, no matter how great your content is. 

Key areas to evaluate in a technical SEO assessment include: 

• Site speed: Analyze your page loading times and optimize them to improve user experience and rankings. 
• Mobile-friendliness: Ensure your site is fully responsive and functions seamlessly on mobile devices. 
• Crawlability and indexing: Verify that search engines can access and index your pages without issues (e.g., no broken links or crawl errors). 
• URL structure: Review URLs for clarity, consistency and keyword relevance. 
• HTTPS security: Check for SSL certificates and ensure all pages load securely. 

 

2. Content Analysis 

Content analysis focuses on evaluating the quality, relevance and performance of the content on your website. Just like an athlete reviews their diet to ensure they’re fueling their body correctly, this audit ensures your content is optimized to meet user needs and align with search engine best practices. 

Key areas to assess in a content analysis: 

• Relevance and value: Does your content address the questions and needs of your target audience? Is it up-to-date and aligned with current trends? 
• Keyword optimization: Are your keywords naturally integrated and relevant to the intent of your audience’s searches? 
• Content gaps: Can additional content be created to address missing topics or enhance coverage of existing ones? 
• Engagement metrics: How well does your content resonate with users? What are your metrics for items like bounce rate, time on page and social shares? 
• Duplicate content: Do you have any repetitive or redundant content that could hurt your SEO efforts? 
• Internal linking: Does your content include relevant internal links to guide users and help search engines understand your site’s structure? 
• Accessibility: Is your site usable by people with disabilities? Does it include proper alt tags for images and ARIA labels for navigation? 

 

3. On-Page SEO 

On-page SEO focuses on optimizing individual pages to maximize their search performance. Just as athletes fine-tune their form and technique to improve performance, on-page SEO ensures each page is primed for users and search engines. On-page SEO includes:  

• Meta tags: Ensure title tags and meta descriptions are unique, engaging and optimized for keywords. 
• Header tags (H1, H2, etc.): Verify proper use of headers to structure content and improve readability. 
• Image optimization: Check file sizes, alt text and filenames for SEO best practices. 
• Schema markup: Review structured data to enhance search engine understanding and improve rich results. 

4. Off-Page SEO 

Off-page SEO focuses on factors outside your website that contribute to its credibility and authority. Just like an athlete benefits from strong endorsements and a solid reputation, your website’s success depends on how it’s perceived across the web. 

• Social signals: Evaluate mentions and engagement across social media platforms. 
• Brand mentions: Assess unlinked brand mentions and opportunities to convert them into backlinks. 
• Local SEO: For local businesses, ensure directory listings (e.g., Google My Business) are accurate and optimized. 

 

Invest in Your Website’s Success 

Don’t let your website fall behind in the competitive online space. Ready to optimize your site for maximum success? Our SEO professionals are ready to help you take the first step toward a stronger online presence. Let’s connect!