Advanced SEO Audit Checklist for 2024

SEO audits are the azygous champion mode to fig retired wherefore you’re not getting SEO results.

It is the archetypal enactment my bureau does erstwhile bringing connected a caller client.

Remember 2 things earlier you begin:

1. The clip concern for an audit volition beryllium connected the size of your website.
2. A bully SEO audit is each astir asking the close questions.

Here’s what this checklist volition cover:

• Step 1: What Are Your Strategic Objectives?
• Step 2: Keyword Analysis
• Step 3: Competitor Analysis
• Step 4: Technical Analysis
• Step 5: Page Level Analysis
• Step 6: Content Analysis
• Step 7: User Experience Analysis
• Step 8: Link Analysis
• Step 9: Citation Analysis

Let’s leap in.

What is an SEO Audit?

The intent of an SEO audit is to uncover reasons wherefore an SEO run isn’t performing to its fullest potential. At a 30,000-foot view, you’re going to analyse the people website and run astatine each level, past supply actionable suggestions that volition summation integrated hunt postulation (if each actions are decently executed).

The extremity is to springiness the people website/company absorption and guidance truthful that they tin instrumentality the close actions and get amended results.

What an SEO Audit Isn’t

It’s not a implicit SEO strategy

Think of an audit arsenic the basal instauration of an effectual SEO campaign. It uncovers preexisting issues and gives you an actionable roadmap for what needs to beryllium tackled. But aft the instauration is established, there’s inactive overmuch much strategical enactment to do.

Here’s however an SEO run unfolds from A-Z:

1. SEO Audit
2. Fix All Uncovered Issues
3. Perform Keyword Research
4. Analyze Competitors (Extract Keywords/Content Ideas and Link Opportunities)
5. Develop an SEO Content Strategy
6. Execute SEO Content Strategy
7. Optimize UX/UI
8. Acquire Backlinks

It’s not a step-by-step guide

There are galore steps wrong a azygous action, and that’s wherefore we’ve created an full SEO training people (Gotch SEO Academy) to amusement however to grip these actions. An audit shows you what is incorrect and what to absorption on, but it’s not a how-to.

For example, the process we usage to implicit this audit requires 33 pages to execute. An enactment point similar “Get Manual Action Removed” is simply a process wrong itself.

It doesn’t instrumentality idiosyncratic mistake into account

Knowing what’s incorrect is lone the archetypal step. The 2nd measurement is to instrumentality action, and that’s wherever immoderate issues tin occur. For example, if you don’t afloat recognize improvement and coding, you could interruption your website.

Or, if you don’t cognize subtleties, specified arsenic the information that you request to 301 redirect immoderate URL alteration to the caller URL. This is erstwhile hiring an adept is utile (instead of trying to bash it yourself).

It’s besides captious that you backmost up your website earlier making immoderate superior changes.

Not a Substitute for manual analysis

Many factors tin beryllium uncovered done this process, but you inactive request to analyse the website, experience, content, and backlinks with your ain eyes to marque judgments.

When Should You Do An Audit?

As I mentioned, we ever execute an audit erstwhile we bring connected a caller client.

But, we volition besides audit a existent run each quarter.

This is to guarantee that we didn’t miss thing and to place immoderate caller problems.

An audit is ever a bully mode to measure our performance.

There are 2 times we execute audits:

1. astatine the opening of each caller campaign
2. erstwhile a quarter

Now that you recognize the basics let’s leap into the archetypal measurement of the SEO audit.

The Complete 9-Step SEO Audit

Follow these 9 steps, and you volition permission nary chromatic near unturned. Remember, a palmy SEO run is the merchandise of hundreds of affirmative ranking factors. That’s wherefore it’s captious that you analyse each item of your campaign. You don’t person to beryllium 100% perfect, but that should beryllium the goal.

Let’s commencement with the following:

Step 1: What Are Your Strategic Objectives?

Goal: To find what your semipermanent goals are for your SEO run and business.

I person said this before, and I volition accidental this again:

SEO is simply a means to an end.

It’s thing much than a selling transmission to turn your concern arsenic a tiny concern owner.

That’s wherefore your Strategic Objectives should beryllium what your concern is trying to execute through SEO.

Clear Strategic Objectives support your run focused and assistance you execute your goals.

If you already person a Strategic Objective, past this is the clip to reappraisal it.

Are your objectives Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (S.M.A.R.T.)?

You request to refine them if they’re not.

If you bash not person Strategic Objectives for your SEO campaign, past present it’s clip to make them.

Here are immoderate examples of Strategic Objectives for an SEO run utilizing the S.M.A.R.T. principle:

• “Blue Widget Inc. volition easy summation its integrated hunt visibility by 50% wrong the adjacent 6 months.”
• “Blue Widget Inc. volition easy turn from 20 linking basal domains to implicit 100 nexus basal domains wrong the adjacent 6 months.”
• “Blue Widget Inc. volition easy turn its pb measurement from integrated hunt by 20% wrong the adjacent 12 months.”

Your Strategic Objective should beryllium a premix of SEO KPIs and concern KPIs.

Now let’s spell into keyword analysis.

Step 2: Keyword Analysis

Goal: To find whether the existent keyword targeting strategy is worthy it. And to find and hole untapped keywords that could effect successful “easy” wins.

You request to reexamine your existent acceptable of keywords earlier jumping headfirst into your audit.

The archetypal happening you privation to inquire is:

Are you targeting the right keywords?

Oftentimes, the keywords that a tiny concern proprietor is going aft are retired of his/her league.

They deliberation they tin triumph connected “homerun” keywords… But they volition much than apt extremity up failing.

A bully audit volition assistance you find the prime of your keywords.

More often than not, I volition person the lawsuit people little competitory long-tail keywords.

My squad and I notation to these keywords arsenic “easy wins”.

It is simply a bully signifier to reappraisal your existent acceptable of keywords.

You should bash this connected a quarterly basis.

It’s ever amended to absorption your resources connected keywords that are performing well.

Do not dispersed your resources crossed galore keywords.

Isolate your winners and spell aft those.

But, present you are apt wondering:

How bash I cognize if I’m targeting the “right” keywords?

Think of your keywords arsenic goals.

Every keyword that you determine to people is simply a extremity you privation to execute for your audit and campaign.

That means you request to usage the S.M.A.R.T. principle.

Specific

You request to take a circumstantial acceptable of keywords to target.

A database of a 1000 keywords is not specific.

Choose 10, 20, oregon 100 keywords depending connected your fund and resources.

Measurable

You indispensable measurement the show of your keywords.

There are immoderate SEOs that accidental you shouldn’t way keywords anymore.

I hold that tracking keywords without tracking different important KPIs isn’t effective.

But tracking your halfway keywords is an fantabulous mode to spot however Google is valuing your website.

It’s besides a mode to measurement the interaction of your nexus acquisition.

To measurement the show of your keywords, I usage Ahrefs.

Attainable

Are you targeting keywords that are beyond what your website is susceptible of?

The information is:

New websites conflict to fertile for competitory keywords.

That’s because:

1. The websites that fertile for competitory keywords are aged and trusted.
2. These aforesaid websites volition beryllium much authoritative than yours due to the fact that they person been acquiring backlinks for years.
3. Since they are ranking for competitory keywords, that means they volition besides person a overmuch larger fund than you. This volition let them to bargain authoritative nexus placements to support their position.

You person to beryllium realistic.

If your tract is new, past you should people long-tail keywords.

Don’t fto your ego find what keywords you privation to spell after.

I’m not saying you are egotistical.

I’m saying that due to the fact that I person fto my ego find my keyword enactment process successful the past.

It went thing similar this:

“Dude, I’m truthful bully astatine SEO, and I tin virtually fertile for anything.”

Yup.

That’s however I utilized to be.

Moral of the story: don’t fto your ego dictate your campaign.

Be realistic and usage the information to find your path.

Relevant

This should beryllium obvious, but your keyword should beryllium applicable to what your concern does.

Time-Bound

How agelong bash you deliberation it volition instrumentality you to fertile for your existent acceptable of keywords?

You request to enactment a deadline.

Remember, improving your site’s show for a keyword is simply a goal. You should effort to execute that extremity arsenic accelerated arsenic possible.

The S.M.A.R.T. rule is lone the archetypal measurement to validating your existent keyword set.

You present request to analyse the contention for those keywords.

Step 3: Competitor Analysis

Goal: To validate your keywords and find missed nexus opportunities.

There are a fewer objectives for analyzing your competitors:

1. To spot whether a keyword is excessively competitive.
2. To find caller keyword opportunities.
3. To spot what types of contented are performing good (so you tin skyscraper them).
4. To find nexus opportunities.

Remember:

You request to analyse your competitors to validate your keyword selections.

You should beryllium asking yourself:

• “Are my keyword selections excessively ambitious?”
• Or “are my keyword selections excessively conservative?”

We divided our rival investigation into 2 segments.

The archetypal is conscionable a speedy investigation of PA and DA successful the SERPS.

You volition request a instrumentality similar the Moz toolbar for this.

Let’s accidental we wanted to get hunt rankings for the keyword “marketing automation.”

Enter “marketing automation” into Google and scan the results.

We look for websites that person a DA of little than 50. In this case, determination is 1 tract ranking for the keyword “marketing automation” with a DA of little than 50.

DA is simply a decent gauge for determining whether a keyword is worthy going aft oregon not.

At scale, this process is the quickest mode to destruct keywords from your list.

Keep successful mind:

Competition is each relative.

For example, it would beryllium foolish to people “marketing automation” if your website is new. But, if you person an established website with authority, past it whitethorn beryllium thing to consider.

The 2nd investigation is much in-depth due to the fact that we are trying to find nexus opportunities.

I won’t spell excessively heavy into this, but usage Ahrefs oregon Majestic to analyse the nexus profiles of your competitors.

Read this guide to larn however to analyse competitors.

Are There Any Low-Hanging Fruits / “Easy” Wins?

Now fto maine amusement you however you tin find low-hanging fruits.

We volition usage Semrush and Google Search Console for this.

1. Go into Google Search Console and click connected “Search Traffic” and “Search Analytics.”
2. Select “Impressions” and “Position.”
3. Then benignant the results by “Position” volition the lowest ranking presumption astatine the top.

Like this:

These are low-hanging fruits that you tin target.

If your website isn’t ranking for immoderate keywords, past you volition request to usage SEMRush to find low-hanging fruits.

• Go to SEMRush
• Enter a rival URL
• Go to “Organic Research” and “Positions”
• Sort the keyword database to amusement the lowest hunt measurement keywords

I similar to commencement with the little measurement hunt rankings keywords due to the fact that they are the easiest to fertile for. Here are immoderate low-hanging fruits I recovered digging done BodyBuilding.com’s postulation data:

Now fto maine amusement you however to execute method analysis.

Step 4: Technical SEO Analysis

Goal: To place method SEO issues that are hurting idiosyncratic acquisition and hurting your hunt results performance.

Technical issues tin plague your website’s SEO performance.

The bully quality is that you person audit tools similar Screaming Frog SEO Spider astatine your side.

These tools volition assistance you place galore of the prevalent issues.

Let’s begin:

How Fast Does Your Website Load?

How accelerated your website loads impacts user acquisition successful either a affirmative oregon antagonistic way.

That’s wherefore it is astatine the apical of the Technical Analysis checklist.

Use Pingdom and Google’s website velocity tool to get your benchmarks.

Any website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load has country for improvement. It is perfect if you tin your tract load successful nether 1 second, but this is challenging.

Here are immoderate resources that volition velocity up your website:

• How to Improve Your Web Page Load Speed by 70.39% successful 45 Minutes
• How To Speed Up Your WordPress Site – And Increase Organic Traffic By 39.1%
• 11 Low-Hanging Fruits for Increasing Website Speed (and Conversions)

Is the Website Mobile-Friendly?

This is simply a no-brainer, but you request to cheque whether your tract is mobile-friendly oregon not.

Google considers this to beryllium a beardown ranking factor, truthful bash not instrumentality it lightly.

Use Google’s mobile-friendly check for the analysis.

The solution is beauteous elemental here:

If your tract isn’t mobile-friendly, past marque it mobile-friendly.

Check this guide for further assistance.

Is There a Keyword Cannibalization?

One of the astir important factors to look for successful an audit is keyword cannibalization.

“Keyword cannibalization” is erstwhile 2 web pages connected your tract and different tract are competing for the aforesaid keyword.

This tin confuse Google and unit it to marque a determination connected what leafage SEO is “best” for the hunt query.

It’s ever amended to usher Google alternatively of letting it marque decisions.

You must get escaped of keyword cannibalization to execute this goal.

There is 1 signifier of keyword cannibalization that is astir common:

When you optimize the homepage and a subpage for the aforesaid keyword.

This is astir communal connected the section level.

Example:

Let’s accidental it’s a section idiosyncratic wounded lawyer from Chicago.

The homepage title would look similar this:

• “Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer | Awesome Law Firm”

At the aforesaid time, the lawsuit volition besides person a subpage optimized like:

• “Best Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer | Awesome Law Firm”

These request to beryllium avoided.

Choose 1 leafage SEO to optimize for “Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer” and unoptimized the competing page.

There is 1 different cannibalization contented you request to look for, and it involves your blog.

There is thing incorrect with penning astir the aforesaid topics much than once.

But successful excess, it tin origin immoderate confusion.

Google volition conflict to place what web leafage is astir authoritative for that keyword.

More importantly, Google wants you to constitute comprehensive, original, and well-thought-out content.

Not short, bladed articles that bash not afloat explicate a topic.

There are exceptions to the rule, but bladed contented should beryllium avoided for astir businesses.

Remember that almighty and well-developed SEO content performs amended successful hunt engines and volition nutrient better user engagement.

On the contrary, publishing thin, underdeveloped contented volition apt pb to keyword cannibalization, and contented gap, and Google whitethorn construe your enactment arsenic long-tail keyword manipulation.

If that happens, the Panda algorithm volition footwear your website to the curb.

With that said, fto maine amusement you however you tin rapidly place keyword cannibalization issues:

Open up Screaming Frog SEO Spider.

Enter your website and commencement the scan:

Go to “Page Titles”:

Enter 1 of your main keywords into the hunt barroom (this volition amusement you each web pages connected your tract that are competing for that keyword).

Look done your leafage titles and place web pages that mightiness beryllium competing for the aforesaid keywords.

Are There Redirect Issues?

There are 4 types of redirects that tin wounded a website’s method SEO performance:

1. 302 redirects
2. redirect chains
3. a non-preferred mentation of the domain not 301ing to preferred
4. a non-secured mentation of the domain not 301ing to the secured version
5. Unnecessary 301s

Let’s commencement with 302 redirects.

302 Redirects Status Codes

302 redirects are “temporary” redirects and bash not walk authority. 302s request to beryllium changed to 301 redirects presumption codes to walk nexus authority.

To spot if you person immoderate 302s, unfastened up Screaming Frog SEO Spider.

• Enter your people URL and commencement the scan
• Go to the “Response Codes” tab
• Click connected the “Filter” dropdown and prime “Redirection 3xx”
• Click connected “Export” to export each 302 redirects

Redirect Chains

Redirect chains are erstwhile determination are a drawstring of redirects connected together.

Like so:

Breaking the concatenation volition nonstop each authorization to the last destination leafage (instead of partial authority).

Here’s it volition look similar erstwhile you hole a redirect chain:

Here’s however you find redirect chains with the method SEO instrumentality Screaming Frog SEO Spider:

• Get started with “Configuration” and click connected “Spider”
• Click connected “Advanced,” prime “Always Follow Redirects,” and click “Ok”
• Enter your people URL and commencement the scan
• After the scan is complete, spell to “Reports” and click connected “Redirect Chains”

Is the non-preferred mentation of domain 301 redirecting to the preferred version?

Every website proprietor indispensable determine what mentation of their website they privation to amusement to their users.

Some radical similar the “www” portion others similar non-www. domains. Understand that whichever 1 you prime volition not person an effect connected your SEO performance.

Google treats them the aforesaid way, truthful it is simply a substance of preference.

Problems arise if you don’t redirect the non-preferred domain to the preferred one.

For example, let’s accidental you determine to spell with “www.awesomewebsite.com.”

By doing so, www. becomes your preferred domain.

And now, the non-www. becomes your non-preferred domain and vice versa.

You indispensable 301 redirect your non-preferred domain to the preferred one. Otherwise, you volition extremity up with 2 duplicate websites, AND you volition leak authority.

I person recovered that websites built connected customized platforms volition endure from this issue.

The developers underestimate the repercussions of keeping 2 versions of the tract live.

They often won’t 301 redirect the non-preferred version of a domain to the preferred one.

In essence, if you bash not redirect, you person 2 duplicate websites.

Use this tool to marque definite the redirection is acceptable up correctly:

Is the non-secure mentation of the website 301 redirecting to the unafraid version?

Let’s conscionable accidental that the modulation to the SSL certificate hasn’t been pretty.

Many websites person to marque definite to unafraid their sites with a certificate.

But, galore are struggling with the implementation of the certificate.

Many clients hide to 301 redirect the non-secure (http) tract to the unafraid (https). This has a akin effect of not redirecting a non-preferred domain to the preferred one.

Identifying this contented point is simple:

• Go to your people URL: https://www.gotchseo.com/.
• On the code barroom successful your browser, region the “s” from http and deed enter.

Make definite it redirects backmost to the unafraid version.

If it doesn’t, past you request to get it fixed!

You tin besides usage the audit instrumentality supra to cheque arsenic well.

Is the Site Being Indexed Well?

Your website tin lone get postulation if your web pages are indexed successful Google. That’s wherefore it’s ever a bully thought to marque definite your ENTIRE website is being indexed well.

A bully spot to commencement is with your robots.txt file.

robots.txt

Sometimes by accident, website owners volition artifact hunt engines from crawling their sites.

That’s wherefore you indispensable audit your robots.txt record to guarantee that it is being crawled well.

The bid you request to look for successful your robots.txt record is “disallow”.

If you usage this incorrectly, you could halt hunt engines from crawling your site.

The circumstantial bid you privation to look for is “Disallow: /” – this instructs hunt motor spiders not to crawl your website.

Sitemaps

Your website should person a sitemap due to the fact that it helps with indexation.

If you are connected WordPress, Yoast volition automatically make 1 for you.

If you aren’t utilizing Yoast, past install the XML Sitemap plugin.

For those connected custom-builds oregon non-WordPress websites, you volition person to take the accepted route.

“site:” Search

Go into Google and hunt “site:yourwebsite.com.”

This volition amusement you however good your tract is indexed.

If your tract isn’t showing arsenic the archetypal result, past you apt person a penalty.

Or, you are blocking the hunt motor from crawling your website.

Make sure.

Is There Duplicate Content?

Duplicate contented can plague your website and could onshore your website a Panda penalty.

E-commerce stores are astir susceptible to duplicate contented issues due to the fact that they volition transcript shaper merchandise descriptions.

To apical it off, they volition besides usage cookie-cutter META accusation for those pages.

This creates a duplicate contented tsunami.

Let maine amusement you the issues with duplicate META information first:

Duplicate META Data

Duplicate META information is astir prevalent connected Ecommerce websites.

This is due to the fact that galore Ecommerce websites person galore web pages with akin products.

As a result, they volition get lazy and paste akin META descriptions connected pages.

This isn’t a bully practice.

If your Ecommerce has galore akin web pages, past you should marque definite to consider consolidating them. There is no reason to person respective pages for antithetic colors oregon sizes of the aforesaid product.

Once you person taken attraction of this issue, past you request to constitute unsocial descriptions for each azygous page.

Yes, that’s right. Every azygous page.

You should strive to person unsocial META information and unsocial contented connected each azygous leafage of your website.

This volition instrumentality a ton of effort and resources, but it’s worthy it successful the end.

Remember: you don’t person to implicit it successful 1 day.

If you amended lone 10 pages a day, you volition person 3,650 optimized web pages wrong a year.

To find duplicate meta data, you tin usage Screaming Frog SEO Spider and Google Search.

Let’s commencement with Screaming Frog:

Enter your URL and commencement the scan

Go to “Meta Description” connected the “Filter” dropdown, prime “Duplicate,” and “Export.”

The adjacent spot to look for duplicate META descriptions is successful Google Search Console.

Go into Google Search Console and spell to “Search Appearance” and “HTML Improvements”:

In this section, you’ll find duplicate META descriptions and title tags.

Page-Level Duplicate Content

Now that you person identified each duplicate META data, you present request to find page-level duplicate content.

To execute this task, you volition request to usage SEO tools similar Siteliner.

This audit instrumentality volition amusement you what web pages stock the aforesaid oregon precise akin content.

Go to Siteliner.com and participate your people website. Click connected “Duplicate Content” and spot what pages are suffering from it.

Keep successful caput that this instrumentality isn’t ever accurate. For example, it whitethorn not cognize that you person “noindexed” your class pages. So, it volition apt classify those web pages arsenic duplicate content. Use your champion judgment.

Are There 404 Errors (With Link Equity)?

Not each 404 errors are equal.

First, fto maine dispel a communal story that “all 404 errors are atrocious for SEO”.

This isn’t true.

404s are an effectual audit instrumentality for telling hunt engines that the leafage nary longer exists.

When a hunt motor similar Google finds a 404, it volition region that leafage from the index.

For intentional 404 errors, this is precisely what you want.

Think astir it: would you privation idiosyncratic to find this dormant 404 leafage done a Google search?

Of people not.

That’s wherefore Google removes them due to the fact that it isn’t adjuvant for the idiosyncratic and wherefore you indispensable execute a tract audit and usage the tract audit tool.

With that story dispelled, determination are 404 errors that tin actually hurt your site’s performance:

404 pages that person backlinks.

These types of 404s are leaking authorization connected your site.

What you privation to bash is reclaim these backlinks by 301 redirecting the 404 pages to a applicable leafage connected your site.

If determination isn’t a applicable page, past redirect it to the homepage.

To find 404 errors, I urge you usage Google Search Console:

Go to “Crawl” and “Crawl Errors.” Click connected the “Not Found” tab to spot your site’s 404 errors:

Is Your Site Architecture Efficient for SEO?

Many audits skip close past tract architecture, but these are large SEO mistakes.

Most websites are not designed with SEO successful mind.

Weirdly, this isn’t ever a atrocious thing. That’s due to the fact that galore tiny concern owners make their websites based connected what they judge the idiosyncratic wants.

You should ever beryllium user-centric with your SEO strategy and debar SEO issues.

But, you inactive request to usher and delight the hunt motor astatine the aforesaid time.

A beardown tract architecture makes some the users and the hunt engines happy.

When examining tract architecture, inquire the pursuing questions:

• Is the navigation clean, oregon is it cluttered?
• Are the interior links utilizing effectual anchor text?
• Can you amended the navigation to marque it easier for users and hunt engines?

Are the URL Structures SEO Optimized?

We ever analyse the URL operation during the audit to marque definite they are SEO-friendly.

But we are besides cautious astatine this signifier arsenic well.

You do not privation to alteration URL structures if the client’s tract is performing well.

The crushed is that you person to 301 redirect the aged URL to the caller URL.

301 redirects are spotty and won’t ever nonstop the spot and authorization from the aged URL.

This means you could extremity up losing rankings for an extended play of time.

Changing your URL to a much optimized and cleanable mentation volition apt assistance the mentation of your tract successful the agelong run.

You conscionable person to be consenting to suffer immoderate integrated postulation upfront. Or, you tin conscionable debar changing the URL astatine all.

Now, if the lawsuit isn’t ranking for anything, we volition ever suggest changing the URL operation (if it’s bad).

You person to usage your discretion and retrieve that “if it ain’t broke, don’t hole it.”

Over-Optimized URLs

In an effort to crippled the hunt engine, immoderate clients volition keyword worldly their URLs. Keyword stuffing thing connected your tract is ne'er a bully practice. In fact, it volition apt wounded your show much than assistance it.

Here is an illustration of a keyword-stuffed URL that we tally into a lot:

http://www.coolwidgets.com/cool-widgets/cool-widgets-with-buttons

You volition announcement that “cool widgets” is in the URL 3 times. Whether intentional oregon not, it volition wounded a page’s performance.

I urge removing the subfolder “cool-widgets” truthful the URL looks similar this:

http://www.coolwidgets.com/cool-widgets-with-buttons

Are Internal Links Injected the Right Way?

Ineffective/non-strategic interior linking tin confuse hunt engines. Internal links are expected to beryllium wide and are expected to usage nonstop lucifer anchor text.

If you person a leafage astir “blue widgets,” past “blue widgets” should beryllium your interior anchor text.

In my eyes, this seems similar a beauteous elemental concept.

Unfortunately, I spot this occupation repeated implicit and implicit again erstwhile we audit sites.

Finding ineffective internal links isn’t easy…

You person to spell leafage by leafage to place them and hole them.

This is 1 of the astir time-consuming on-site SEO changes you volition encounter.

To debar this from happening, conscionable marque definite you ever usage bully practices.

The bulk of your interior nexus anchor substance should usage nonstop oregon partial lucifer anchor text.

Step 5: Page Level Analysis

Goal: To guarantee that each keyword-targeted landing leafage is optimized effectively.

Every audit indispensable analyse the prime of contented and the optimization of each page.

Strong contented without effectual optimization won’t perform. Weak contented with beardown optimization besides won’t perform.

You request some beardown contented and effectual optimization to thrust hunt motor integrated traffic.

The archetypal page-level optimization question you person to inquire is:

Does this leafage fulfill hunt intent?

Satisfying hunt intent is captious for your ranking good successful Google. It doesn’t substance however agelong your contented is. What matters is however good you fulfill hunt intent.

Read my SEO contented guide to larn much astir satisfying hunt intent successful the SEO audit(it’s critical).

The adjacent measurement is to tally the leafage done the Copyscape SEO tool.

Has the contented been copied?

I don’t tally the people leafage done Copyscape due to the fact that I deliberation my lawsuit is simply a liar.

It’s due to the fact that determination is some scum connected the Internet that volition bargain content.

All you request to bash is record a DMCA study to Google, and they volition region the contented from the index.

After we tally each people leafage done Copyscape, we past analyse the basics.

Is the keyword successful the title?

Your people keyword for the leafage needs to beryllium successful the title. And the keyword lone needs to look once.

That’s all!

Is the keyword successful the META description?

Make definite the people keyword is successful the META description. Do not worldly it successful determination much than once.

Is the people keyword wrong the archetypal fewer sentences?

Your main keyword should look erstwhile at the opening of the content. This is to fortify the relevancy of the page.

Is the URL SEO-optimized and clean?

The landing leafage should see the people keyword successful the URL, and the URL should beryllium abbreviated and clean.

Does the ALT tag connected the archetypal representation of the leafage incorporate the people keyword?

All of your ALT tags should beryllium filled out, but your main keyword for the leafage should look successful the archetypal representation ALT tag.

Does the past condemnation of the contented see the people keyword?

The past condemnation oregon decision is your accidental to solidify the relevancy of the page. Make definite you see your keyword.

Are determination interior links? If so, are they placed the close way?

As I mentioned before, if you person interior links, marque definite they are utilizing nonstop lucifer anchor text.

This is each you request to analyze for page-level optimization. Now fto maine amusement you however you request to analyse your content.

Step 6: Content Analysis

Goal: To find whether oregon not the existent contented strategy is working. And what needs to beryllium improved to get much retired of the content.

Your contented investigation indispensable research some your keyword-targeted landing pages and immoderate blog contented that’s been published.

Analyzing contented is the astir time-consuming portion of this process.

That’s due to the fact that it is the astir important portion of the full audit.

You tin get each of the different parts of an SEO run right, but if your contented is slacking, your results volition not last.

You Need an Outside Perspective

It is captious that you bring successful a 3rd enactment to analyse your contented strategy.

Why?

Because you request an extracurricular viewpoint, it’s hard to self-examine and critique your ain contented due to the fact that you volition beryllium biased.

You request an extracurricular enactment to archer you the truth.

Most businesses bash not person effective contented strategies.

In fact, astir don’t person a “strategy” astatine all.

Here are the questions you request to inquire during the contented analysis:

Is Your Content Unique and Original?

This should beryllium a no-brainer, but the contented connected your tract needs to beryllium unsocial and original.

That means utilizing your originative caput to travel up with awesome ideas!

No regurgitated garbage. Taking the other effort to make thing archetypal is worthy it.

Is Your Content Useful and Informative?

In summation to your contented being original, you besides request to marque definite it’s utile and informative.

That means it should inform, instruct, oregon lick a occupation that your perfect lawsuit has.

You indispensable ever see your ideal customer erstwhile creating content.

The contented connected your tract isn’t determination to impressment your co-workers.

Your contented is determination to service and assistance your prospective customers.

Is Your Content Better Than Your Competitors?

There is nary constituent successful creating contented unless you judge it volition beryllium amended than what’s presently ranking successful the search engine.

Every azygous portion of contented indispensable person the volition to beat your competitors.

Otherwise, you are wasting your time.

Is Your Content Engaging?

Your users need to consciousness similar you are speaking straight to them. “You” and “your” request to go your favourite words.

Is Your Information Accurate?

Don’t marque up facts oregon statistic oregon falsify information.

Is Your Content Long Enough?

Longer contented performs amended successful Google, and this has been proven here.

You tin besides bash your ain probe and spot this demonstrated successful the SERPS.

Are There Grammar and/or Spelling Errors?

I’ve said this galore times but dnt rite lik dis. Use the Hemingway Editor if your penning is little than stellar.

Are There Broken Links?

Google hates erstwhile determination are breached links successful your contented due to the fact that it hurts the idiosyncratic experience. Make definite you audit your web pages to marque definite your links are moving correctly. Use this escaped breached nexus checker to find breached links connected your site.

Do You Have Excessive Ads?

Excessive usage of ads tin instrumentality distant from your content, are distracting, and volition marque users hatred your website.

When users hatred your website, Google volition hatred it arsenic well.

If you usage ads, bash not fto them overwhelm your content, oregon Panda volition beryllium paying your website a visit.

Are You Moderating Your Blog Comments?

Spammers emotion to inject nasty links successful blog comments.

That’s wherefore you request to marque definite yours are decently moderated.

You don’t privation to beryllium blameworthy by association, truthful marque definite you support your remark conception clean.

These questions are the archetypal measurement to determining whether your contented strategy is moving oregon not.

The eventual indicator of your content’s show volition travel from existent idiosyncratic acquisition data.

Step 7: User Experience Analysis

Goal: To spot however good users are interacting with your contented and website arsenic a whole.

It is intolerable to cognize what each idiosyncratic thinks astir your website.

Fortunately, you tin get a wide representation of idiosyncratic acquisition based connected the information wrong Google Analytics.

There are a fewer information points you privation to analyse successful your idiosyncratic acquisition analysis:

Bounce Rate

You are apt wondering: “what is simply a bully bounce rate?”

Unfortunately, determination isn’t a wide answer.

Bounce rate is each comparative and depends connected what benignant of website it is.

For example, a “funny feline pictures” website volition apt person a precocious bounce rate.

That’s due to the fact that radical spell to the page, get their laughs in, and leave.

Sites similar excavation volition person little bounce rates due to the fact that radical volition privation to work and larn more.

With that each said, a bounce complaint betwixt 60% – 80% is solid.

80% – 90% is capable to warrant looking into the contented further.

If it is supra 90%, past it needs to deed the apical of the precedence list.

Average Time Spent connected Site

The longer users enactment connected your site, the much chances you get to person them.

Like the bounce rate, the mean clip spent connected tract is relative.

If the mean clip spent connected tract is little than 1 minute, past it’s decidedly thing you’ll privation to look into.

As a wide regularisation of thumb, users volition spend much clip connected your website if determination is simply a batch of contented to consume.

For example, my readers spend an mean of 2:52 minutes connected Gotch SEO.

If this was little than 1 minute, I would person to commencement questioning my contented strategy and my tract successful general.

There is 1 happening that volition rapidly repel users:

A deficiency of prime content.

Low mean clip spent connected tract often plagues section businesses for this nonstop reason.

That’s due to the fact that anyone looking for a “plumber successful St. Louis” is apt terms shopping.

They volition leap from business-to-business looking for the champion deal.

The champion mode to combat this occupation connected the section level is to nutrient much adjuvant content.

You should absorption connected educating your prospective section clients.

Education and transparency pb to trust.

Trust leads to sales.

Focus connected giving much worth than your competitors.

This volition amended bounce rates and unit users to enactment connected your tract for longer.

Think astir it this way: if idiosyncratic wanted to get to you, could they larn much successful 30 seconds oregon successful 3 minutes?

Yes, I’m skipper obvious, but it’s necessary.

The longer users enactment connected your tract and digest your content, the much they volition consciousness similar they “know you.”

Goal Completions

Tracking extremity competitions is the astir important metric successful Google Analytics.

The lone crushed a tiny concern proprietor should adjacent person a website is to get conversions/goal completions.

It doesn’t substance if your bounce complaint is debased oregon radical are staying connected your website for hours… If the visitors aren’t converting into leads, sales, oregon email subscribers, past you are wasting your time.

The extremity of improving the different metrics is to marque you much money!

Remember, SEO is conscionable a means to an end. SEO by itself doesn’t marque money.

YOU marque wealth by selling.

You tin person the champion SEO connected the planet, but if you can’t sell, it won’t matter.

The connection “sell” volition person a antithetic meaning for everyone.

But determination is 1 happening that each online business has successful common:

You indispensable merchantability done copywriting oregon done video. If you skip this step, past nary 1 volition bargain your products, oregon nary 1 volition go a lead.

With that said, whenever extremity completions are abysmal, we instantly look astatine the client’s on-site income strategy.

• Is it casual for leads to interaction you?
• Is determination capable accusation astir your service?
• Are you showing capable societal proof?

Exit Pages

Identifying what web pages users permission the astir is the archetypal measurement to fixing the issue. It should beryllium obvious, but you indispensable analyse the astir often exited page.

You person to inquire the elemental question, “why are they leaving this circumstantial leafage much than others?”

Believe it oregon not, it’s not ever a atrocious happening to person a precocious exit complaint connected a page.

Sometimes the contented does its occupation for the scholar and forces them to spell retired and instrumentality action.

Don’t ever deliberation that users are leaving a circumstantial page because they hatred it.

If the contented solves the user’s occupation good and they permission the page, you person done your job.

There is 1 precise important happening to see erstwhile examining the Exit Rate wrong Google Analytics.

Do not look astatine the full fig of “Exits.”

The full fig of exits volition ever beryllium higher connected web pages that get much integrated traffic.

The fig you privation to look astatine is the “% Exit.”

Sort your information from the highest percent to the lowest.

A “high” exit percent would beryllium thing implicit 80%. A “normal” exit percent is astir 50-65%.

The #1 contented that volition unit radical to permission a leafage astatine a precocious frequency is that your contented did not lick their occupation oregon reply the questions they had.

There are different factors that whitethorn unit radical to permission a leafage similar design, but the contented is astir ever the culprit.

Go to the leafage with the highest exit complaint and ask:

• Does this leafage lick a occupation oregon reply a question to the fullest extent?
• Are determination inactive immoderate questions near unanswered?
• How is the readability of the content?
• Are determination excessively galore large blocks of text?
• Too fewer images?
• Broken images?
• Does the leafage load slowly?
• Are determination distracting elements, specified arsenic advertisements, that would nonstop a idiosyncratic disconnected your site?
• Are you mounting outer links to “open successful a caller window” (if not, you should)?

These questions should beryllium much than capable to get to the bottommost of the issue. Go done this process for each mentation of your tract with a precocious exit rate.

Return Visitors

The quantity of visitors who instrumentality backmost to your website is simply a beardown affirmative idiosyncratic signal.

It means that your website oregon contented is worthy seeing again.

Return visitors are besides bully from a conversion standpoint due to the fact that it gives you much opportunities to person them into a pb oregon email subscriber.

If you bash not person a precocious percent of Return Visitors past this whitethorn beryllium a motion that your contented is lacking. Or, your website has 1 oregon galore of the method oregon contented issues that I described supra that are repelling your users.

Branded Searches

Like Return Visitors, branded searches are a beardown indicator that radical are funny successful your website and brand.

If you are producing large contented and your website is built with users successful mind, past radical volition privation to return. That means they volition spell into Google and hunt for your brand.

To spot however good you are presently doing, you volition request to usage Google Search Console.

Go to “Search Traffic” and click connected “Search Analytics”. Filter by “Clicks” truthful that the hunt query with the astir clicks is connected top.

Your marque sanction should beryllium 1 of the apical queries.

Social Signals

Social signals by themselves are not powerful.

But, if you harvester them with each of the different affirmative idiosyncratic metrics, past your website volition get a whirlwind of affirmative ranking signals.

Getting REAL societal signals should beryllium a priority for your business. The lone mode to get them is by creating large contented and pleasing your users. You tin besides see utilizing societal locker plugins if you are truly struggling.

Now it’s clip to instrumentality a look astatine your nexus profile.

Here we go:

Step 8: Link Analysis

Goal: To place strengths and weaknesses successful your nexus profile.

As you know, backlinks tin marque oregon interruption an SEO campaign. This is wherefore a ample information of our audit is spent analyzing the client’s nexus profile. We usage Ahrefs, Majestic, Open Site Explorer, and Google Search Console to analyse the links.

Now you are astir apt wondering: what are we looking for?

We are looking astatine a fewer antithetic factors:

Link Relevancy

Link relevancy is king erstwhile it comes to nexus building.

Just ask:

Are the backlinks hitting your tract relevant?

100% of your backlinks don’t person to beryllium relevant, but the bulk should be.

To rapidly place the relevancy of a client’s nexus profile, we export their links from Ahrefs and usage the bulk cheque connected Majestic.

When you export from Ahrefs, marque definite you export the referring domains similar so:

Now you are going to instrumentality those referring domains and usage Majestic’s bulk cheque to spot Topical Trust Flow Topics.

Although the Topical Trust Flow Topic metric isn’t perfect, it is the lone scalable relevancy metric determination is.

Manually checking the relevancy of each linking tract would beryllium a horrible discarded of time.

The extremity of this workout is to get a wide applicable representation of the DOMAINS that are linked to the client’s site.

Go to “Tools” > “Link Map Tools” > “Bulk Backlinks”.

Place the referring domains into the bulk checker and export the results. Sort your CSV record based connected Topical Trust Flow Topics.

Identify what nexus sources are wholly disconnected the wall.

If you are a lawyer and you person a backlink from a domain with a Topical Trust Flow Topics of “Pets”, past you should beryllium concerned.

Mark each backlinks that are irrelevant. This doesn’t mean you are going to get them removed.

It’s conscionable a mode for you to cognize that they exist. That way, you could spell backmost to them if your tract was ever deed with a penalty.

Link Authority

After nexus relevancy, nexus authorization comes successful a adjacent second.

In fact, axenic authorization tin sometimes disguise a deficiency of nexus relevancy.

I similar relevancy earlier authorization due to the fact that I judge it keeps your tract safer from algorithm updates.

But to each their own!

There are respective ways to find however “authoritative” your backlinks are.

You tin tally a bulk cheque connected some Majestic and Ahrefs.

Ahrefs “Domain Rating” (DR) is an close gauge of tract authority.

It is overmuch much close than PA and DA due to the fact that it updates connected a predominant basis.

The information from Open Site Explorer updates astatine a snail’s gait and is inaccurate astir of the time.

Don’t judge me?

Open Site Explorer gives GotchSEO.com a DA of 25 and claims the tract lone has 30 linking basal domains…

Ahrefs is showing 562 linking basal domains, and it’s lone showing astir 80% of the backlinks GotchSEO.com really has.

With that said, you tin usage Open Site Explorer to crosscheck, but don’t trust connected its metrics alone.

Another metric that is astir intolerable to “game” is the Semrush postulation score.

That’s due to the fact that it is based connected existent integrated hunt motor rankings.

SEM Rush uses its ain algorithm to find however overmuch your integrated postulation is “worth.”

It’s not perfect, but it’s a metric I trust connected a regular ground to find the prime of nexus opportunities.

Use each of the metrics disposable astatine your disposal to gauge the prime of your existent backlinks oregon opportunities.

Link Diversity

Diversifying your backlinks makes your illustration much “natural.”

Different “types” of backlinks include:

• contextual links
• site-wide footer/sidebar links
• directory links
• resource leafage links
• niche illustration links
• forums links
• relevant blog remark links

In summation to the “type” of backlinks, you besides privation to person diverseness with Follow and NoFollow links.

At this portion of the analysis, conscionable inquire the elemental question:

“Is my nexus illustration diversified enough?”

Link Targeting

Another important nexus origin you request to analyse is the ratio of homepage links compared to heavy links.

If you are utilizing a content-focused SEO approach, past the bulk of your backlinks should beryllium going to heavy pages.

Regardless of what attack you are using, it is ever a bully practice to administer backlinks crossed your full website.

This volition physique the wide authorization of the tract and amended your chances of seeing SEO results.

Anchor Text Diversification

Anchor text maltreatment is rampant, and that’s wherefore we ever cheque the ratios.

The archetypal ratio we attraction astir the astir is the client’s percent of nonstop lucifer anchor text.

After that, we privation to spot their percent of branded anchor text.

If the EMA outweighs branded anchors, past determination needs to beryllium a alteration of strategy.

As you whitethorn know, the bulk of your anchor substance illustration should beryllium branded anchors.

EMA’s should beryllium utilized acold and fewer betwixt due to the fact that it is simply a beardown spam awesome to Google.

If the lawsuit is suffering from over-optimized anchor text, determination are a fewer solutions:

• Build caller backlinks with branded anchor substance to offset the over-optimization
• Consider getting immoderate of the EMA changed to branded anchor text

Total Referring Domains

The more unique referring domains a tract has linking to it, the better.

The investigation we bash present is thing much than a examination against their top-ranking competitors.

For example, however galore referring domains bash they person linking to them compared to their competitors?

The solution is elemental here:

Get much relevant, high-quality backlinks from unsocial domains.

Historical Link Velocity

Has their nexus velocity stayed dependable passim the beingness of their website? Or has it been erratic?

Massive dips successful nexus loss are suspect.

Backlinks from existent websites seldom autumn off.

Backlinks from artificial websites autumn disconnected erstwhile the nexus providers halt paying for their hosting oregon do not renew a domain.

Your goal should beryllium to achieve dependable nexus maturation implicit clip similar this:

Now that you cognize however to analyse your nexus illustration fto maine amusement you however to analyse your citations.

Step 9: Citation Analysis

Goal: To spot whether oregon not the lawsuit has accordant NAP-W accusation crossed each listings. And to place concern directories that the lawsuit is not listed on.

The citation investigation is utilized for section clients.

However, it tin beryllium utilized for immoderate concern that is looking to support consistency crossed each online properties.

I urge that each concern performs a citation audit adjacent if you aren’t engaging successful section SEO.

The bully quality is that citation cleanup is simply a one-and-done activity.

Let maine amusement you what we look for successful a citation analysis:

NAP-W Consistency

Having accordant NAP-W (name, address, phone, website) consistency is 1 of the astir important ranking factors successful Google Local.

There are countless audit tools for auditing your citations, specified as:

• Moz Local
• Yext
• Bright Local

Untapped Directories

There are hundreds of business directories to taxable to your site, and that’s wherefore it’s champion to usage an audit tool. Once again, we usage Bright Local’s Citation Tracker, White Spark, Moz Local, and Yext to find these untapped citations.

Conclusion

Wow, that was ace long, but I truly didn’t privation to permission thing out! You are present equipped to execute a broad SEO audit whenever you want.