If your website is not getting enough traction and your business is not benefiting from your online presence in any way, that’s an indication that your website could do with an audit. A website audit is not only restricted to websites that are not quite reaching expectations, but well-performing sites as well. It could improve your website’s current performance and keep it up to date with the standards of the ever-changing search engines.

What is a website audit?

It is an in-depth and detailed analysis of all the factors that affect a website’s visibility in search engines. Its main purpose is to establish weak aspects in a website that are affecting it’s web performance negatively. Essentially the end goal is to increase your visitors and improve your user experience and crawling experience for search engines.

Now that we are all on the same page, let’s jump straight into it. Having a nice looking website is great! But you need to be assured that your site is benefiting your business and not working against you in the race to rank higher. If you have never implemented SEO practices, a website audit will reveal where you should begin. But, if you have implemented SEO practices and just not achieving satisfactory results from your efforts, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does my navigation make sense?
• Is my website mobile-friendly?
• Is my website fast?
• Do all my links work?
• Am I targeting the right keywords?

If you are not confident that your website is meeting these standards, an audit is probably in order.

If you want some insight on how your website is currently performing, you could use the following FREE tools to receive a basic website audit report:

• Google Analytics
• SEOptimer
• SEO Site Checkup
• Woorank

These are just a few of the many tools available to the public. The majority of these sites also offer a paid-for service, which outputs a more detailed analysis of the site provided, which is optional, as it would depend on your needs.

Types of comprehensive website audits

Website performance

This type of assessment focusses on how users navigate your website. The design and overall navigability of your website is taken into account. Your website should essentially correspond with what your visitor is looking for, whether it be products, pricing, related information, testimonials, etc.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) assessment

SEO looks over the entire website’s data and content contributing to the overall SEO score. Analysing factors like keywords, link profiles, traffic behaviour, goal conversions, image/video optimisation and metadata.

Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) assessment

This type of assessment assists businesses with understanding how people go about their website, converting web traffic into leads and just seeing how people engage with on the website.

Technical assessment

Technical audits focus on the best practice for site visibility and ensuring that all websites meet all search engine requirements for crawling and indexing. This type of audit tackles aspects such as inconsistent XML sitemap, Google bots, content duplication, keyword cannibalism, robot file blocking and nonexistent backlinks to name a few.

Website security audit

This assessment identifies any vulnerabilities to security breaches and prevents compromising sensitive information of its visitors.

Social media presence

Social media presence audit evaluates your social media presence and analyses which channel performs the best. Having a social media strategies can drive more targeted traffic to your site. It also contributes to your online visibility and improves engagement.

Competitor analyses

This is the process of auditing your competitors’ sites. Taking a peek at your competitors’ websites gives you some insight on where your website is currently at. You’ll also pick up some tips that you can implement effectively in your strategy. This is the way to go if you want to stay ahead in your industry.

Want us to help improve your website’s ranking? Although online audits are free for the most part and give reasonably accurate high-level insight into your website’s performance, they are generic, simple and can be misleading or confusing to somebody without the expert guidance to properly rectify any issues they bring up. So If your website is not receiving favourable results, contact us and receive a quote for a comprehensive website audit.