SEO Audit — What’s That?

At Haden Interactive, we offer a free website analysis that looks at basic usability, checks the code at the website to make sure it’s up to date and functional, looks at site architecture and content to make sure that the site will be appealing to search engines and to human visitors, and lists a few major changes we’d make if we were the owners of the site.

The SEO Audit is much more than that.

Taking stock of your website from the point of view of search engine optimization is a sensible step if you’re doing some DIY updates, if you’re trying to decide whether you need a new website, or when you’re dissatisfied with the results your website is getting.

Here are the things we cover:

• Site speed Are there things that are slowing down your website? All things being equal, search engines will choose a faster website, and so will many people. Savvy web masters will hesitate to link to a slow website, and people trying to access the site with a mobile device may give up before your site loads. A site audit will identify changes that can speed up a slow website.
• Site architecture Is your site put together in a logical way that creates a clear path to conversion? Is it easy for your visitors to find what they’re looking for? Are all the pages at your website linked in a way that makes the relationship clear? Can search engines and human visitors tell right away what’s most important at your website, and how to interact with it? Is the navigation simple, clear, and logical? If not, we’ll propose a more usable structure for your website.
• Content Is the content communicating clearly with search engines and your human visitors? Does the site tell your story as well as it can? Are you using the keywords people use to look for your products and services, and are you using them in natural, appealing ways? Is your site free of duplicate content and “thin” content? Is your content clean of spelling and grammatical errors? Are you talking to your target market? If not, we’ll propose content changes and provide new content for pages that need it.
• Design If there are aspects of your design that don’t reflect your company or your brand as well as they could, we’ll let you know. Many design choices are subjective and search engines don’t judge whether your site is attractive, but design choices can also communicate. A design that’s outdated or unpolished makes consumers decide that you’re less trustworthy. Your design should also accurately convey your company’s standing in your industry and speak to your target market. There are also some design issues that affect your value from the point of view of search engines and your conversions. It can be difficult to be objective about your website’s design, so an outside opinion can help.
• Code We check under the hood for bloated code, a high ratio of code to content, and outdated code that can make your website look bad or behave badly. We’ll make sure your site works for mobile devices, too. Search engines will choose an up to date, well-built website over an outdated one, if they’re equal for content. We’ll also check your meta descriptions, make sure your URLs are user-friendly and search optimized, and check your site’s indexing and errors.
• Competitors We’ll check the competitive environment for your website so you know what you’re up against. If the competitive landscape is in your favor, just optimizing your website can put you ahead. If you have a highly competitive environment online, you’ll need ongoing work to keep your place in the rankings.
• Social media Social media is no longer optional in most industries. We’ll see how well your social media accounts portray your company or brand and discover conversations about your product or industry. If we have access to your analytics, we’ll identify the platforms that bring you traffic. We’ll check the integration of your website and your social media.
• Links We’ll have a look at the websites that link to yours, checking both quantity and quality for problems and opportunities. We’ll recommend a strategy for building and earning additional high quality links.
• Analytics If we have access to your web analytics, we’ll examine sources of traffic, visitor behavior, and other metrics to find opportunities for improving website performance. If you do not have analytics installed, we can install Google Analytics for you two weeks before your site audit so we will have some data to work from.

This process provides you with the information you need to make informed decisions about your website. Call Julianne at 479.966.9761 to schedule your suite audit.