Perform an SEO Audit in 4 Easy Steps

If you are like most people, you are confused about where to start as it relates to SEO.  Search engine optimization is and has been a buzzword for a while now, but what does it all mean and how do you know if you need it?

In this quick post we break down the SEO audit process into five easy steps anyone can do.   If you answer no to any of these questions, you need help with SEO:

Use a Tool to Look at Your Website’s SEO

The quickest way to audit your website’s seo, is using our free SEO score analyzer tool.  Enter a web page and the keyword you want that page to rank in the searches and see the score.  Now this could be your home page or a sub-page like a service or product.  Just make sure if you are a local business you add the keyword and your city.  Check your score here: https://seodigitalgroup.com/seo-score/

Search Google for Your Main Keyword

Seems pretty obvious, but go to google.com and type in your main keywords or phrases.  If you are a local business search for your main business type plus your city/town.

Look at the first page of results.  Is your website listed on the first page?  If not, then your website did not pass this first step in the audit.

Did you know the majority of people searching google never click to the 2nd page of results?  Ranking at the top of the first page results is the best way to generate more traffic and leads.  The first listing usually receives 20%+ of the clicks for the search and even the 10th spot only earn 1%.

Look at Your Website in the Eyes of Google

Going to google.com again, type in a search for your own domain, but add site: in front of your website address.  It will be all one string like site:yourdomain.com with no spaces.  This screenshots shows what it looks like when we search our website:

The search modification produces results only for the website being search.  You will see all the pages google has indexed for your website and how wells they are optimized.

The important part is checking the page titles in the results.  Your home page especially should have “Who You Are + What You DO + Where you are Located” in the title.  You never want to see the word “HOME” in your page title.  that means your page has not been optimized.

For our site it is:

Audit the Links to Your Website

In order to rank high in the search results you need to be a trusted website.  Google’s algorithm determines a website’s trust and authority by how many other reputable websites link to yours.

There are paid services like Moz and Majestic which might allow you to do one link audit for free before signing up.

You can also set up google search console and they will show you all the links Google is detecting to your website.

It is important to audit the links and make sure they are all quality links.  you don’t want links from bad sources which could hurt your website’s reputation.

Search console is free and also great for seeing the keywords you rank for and the positions, clicks and volumes of each.

Conclusion

It is best to start your SEO efforts with an audit.  You should use available tools and take advice for helping to improve your seo score.  The more you know about your current status, the better equipped you are to make the right choice in how to proceed.