How to Perform an SEO Audit: A Step-by-Step Guide

An SEO audit is the process of evaluating a website for adherence to best practices for on-page optimization and off-page optimization. It can be used as a tool to improve the visibility and ranking of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO audits are an important part of any comprehensive SEO strategy, and should be done regularly to ensure that your website is always performing at its best. In this blog post, we will outline how to perform an SEO audit, using a step-by-step guide. We will also provide you with some essential tools that you will need in order to complete the audit. Let’s get started!

What Is an SEO Audit?

As we mentioned, an SEO audit is the process of evaluating a website for best practices in on-page optimization and off-page optimization. This evaluation can be used to identify areas where your website needs improvement, so that you can take steps to improve your visibility and ranking in SERPs. An SEO audit should be conducted regularly, as your website’s optimization needs may change over time.

Why Are SEO Audits Important?

SEO audits are important because they can help you to identify areas where your website is not performing as well as it could be. By taking steps to improve the areas that need attention, you can increase your visibility and ranking in SERPs. Additionally, SEO audits can also help you to keep track of your website’s progress over time.

Tools Needs for an SEO Audit

The tools needed to perform an SEO audit will vary depending on the size and complexity of your website. However, there are some essential tools that you will need, which we will outline below.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free tool that allows you to track your website’s traffic. This is essential for understanding how your website is performing, and for identifying areas where you need to improve.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is another free tool from Google that allows you to track your website’s performance in SERPs. This is essential for understanding how your website is being found by users, and for identifying areas where you need to improve.

Google Pagespeed Insights

Google Pagespeed Insights is a free tool that allows you to check your website’s speed. This is important for SEO, as faster websites tend to rank higher in SERPs.

Crawler

A crawler is a tool that allows you to crawl your website, in order to collect data about your pages and links. This data can be essential for understanding your website’s structure, and for identifying areas where you need to improve. Screaming Frog or DeepCrawl are examples of crawlers that you can use.

Comprehensive SEO Tool

Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush offer a comprehensive suite of SEO tools that can be used for tasks like keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitor analysis. These tools can be essential for understanding your website’s SEO, and for identifying areas where you need to improve. They are extremely helpful when performing a full-site audit.

How to Do an SEO Audit

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics, let’s get into how to actually perform an SEO audit. As we mentioned, there are a few essential steps that you will need to take, which we will outline below.

Benchmark Your Rankings and Understand Your Competitors

The first step in performing an SEO audit is to benchmark your rankings, and to understand your competitors. This will give you a good starting point for understanding where your website currently stands, and what you need to do to improve. You can use a tool like SEMrush to benchmark your rankings, and to research your competitors.

Check for Duplicate Versions of Your Site in Google’s Index

The next step is to check for duplicate versions of your site in Google’s index. This can be done using the ‘site:’ operator in Google search. If you find that there are multiple versions of your site in the index, you will need to take steps to resolve this issue.

Check Your Site’s Indexed URLs

After you have checked for duplicate versions of your site, you will need to check your site’s indexed URLs. This can be done using the ‘site:’ operator in Google search. If you find that there are pages on your site that are not being indexed by Google, you will need to take steps to resolve this issue.

Analyze Your Site’s Speed

The next step is to analyze your site’s speed. This can be done using the Google Pagespeed Insights tool. If you find that your website is slow, you will need to take steps to improve its speed. Pagespeed insights provides recommendations on how to improve your website’s speed.

Confirm That Your Site Uses HTTPS

After you have analyzed your website’s speed, you will need to confirm that your site uses HTTPS. This can be done by checking the URL of your website in the browser. If you find that your website does not use HTTPS, you will need to take steps to add it.

Check for Mobile-Friendliness Issues

After you have confirmed that your website uses SSL, you will need to check for mobile-friendliness issues. This can be done using the Google Mobile-Friendly Test tool. If you find that your website is not mobile friendly, you will need to take steps to improve its mobile friendliness. The Google Mobile-Friendly Test provides recommendations on how to improve your website’s mobile friendliness.

Analyze and Resolve Further Indexation Issues

After you have checked your website for mobile-friendliness issues, you will need to analyze and resolve any further indexation issues. This can be done using a tool like DeepCrawl. If you find that there are pages on your site that are not being indexed by Google, you will need to take steps to resolve this issue.

Audit Your On-Page SEO

After you have resolved any indexation issues, you will need to audit your on-page SEO. This can be done using a tool like Screaming Frog. If you find that there are issues with your on-page SEO, you will need to take steps to fix them. Screaming Frog provides recommendations on how to improve your on-page SEO.

Fix Broken Internal Links

After you have audited your on-page SEO, you will need to fix any broken internal links. This can be done using a tool like Xenu’s Link Sleuth. If you find that there are broken links on your website, you will need to take steps to fix them.

Clean Up Your Sitemap

After you have fixed any broken internal links, you will need to clean up your sitemap. This can be done using a tool like XML-Sitemaps. If you find that there are pages on your website that are not being indexed by Google, you will need to take steps to remove them from your sitemap.

Check Your Redirects

After you have cleaned up your sitemap, you will need to check your redirects. This can be done using a tool like Redirect Detective. If you find that there are pages on your website that are being redirected, you will need to take steps to fix them.

Find and Fix Duplicate Content

After you have checked your redirects, you will need to find and fix any duplicate content. This can be done using a tool like Copyscape. If you find that there is duplicate content on your website, you will need to take steps to fix it.

Identify Thin Content

After you have fixed any duplicate content, you will need to identify any thin content. This can be done using a tool like Screaming Frog. If you find that there is thin content on your website, you will need to take steps to improve it.

Fix Orphan Pages

After you have identified any thin content, you will need to fix any orphan pages. This can be done using a tool like Xenu’s Link Sleuth. If you find that there are orphan pages on your website, you will need to take steps to fix them.

Run a Backlink Audit

After you have fixed any orphan pages, you will need to run a backlink audit. This can be done using a tool like Majestic. If you find that there are backlinks pointing to your website, you will need to take steps to remove them.

Final Thoughts

By following these steps, you will be able to perform an SEO audit of your website and take steps to improve your website’s SEO. These steps will help you improve your website’s rankings in Google and attract more traffic to your website.

Are you looking to improve your website’s SEO? Reach out today to discuss a custom SEO strategy for your business!