How to Analyze a Website’s SEO: Your Step-By-Step Guide

What Is SEO Analysis?

An SEO investigation involves evaluating your website to place ways to amended your show successful integrated (unpaid) hunt motor results, which tin pb to much postulation and amended concern results.

It involves studying your content, your site’s method health, competitors' sites, and more. Because these tin each impact however hunt engines similar Google fertile (order) hunt results. 

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Types of SEO Analyses

Many website elements tin interaction your SEO performance. So, doing antithetic types of analyses tin assistance you constrictive successful connected the astir pressing issues.

Below are the main types.

Technical SEO Analysis

Technical SEO involves optimizing the method aspects of your website. And the corresponding investigation is chiefly focused connected ensuring you don’t person immoderate issues that could forestall hunt engines from crawling (finding) and indexing (storing successful a database) your content. 

Some of the main issues you’ll look for are those related to your:

• XML sitemap: A record that tells hunt engines which of your pages you privation to beryllium indexed
• Robots.txt: A record that tells Google which pages connected your website they should and shouldn’t access
• Site’s architecture: How your tract is structured and organized
• Website’s navigation: The travel of clicking the links connected a website to find caller pages
• URL structure: The enactment and format of a web address
• Internal links: Links that constituent to different pages connected your website
• Page speed: How accelerated your pages load for users
• Site’s mobile-friendliness: How your tract performs connected mobile devices

The fastest mode to cheque your site’s method SEO is to usage Site Audit. We’ll amusement you however to bash truthful aboriginal successful this article. 

On-Page SEO Analysis

An on leafage SEO investigation entails evaluating your idiosyncratic webpages to marque definite they’re arsenic hunt engine-friendly arsenic imaginable and see the target keywords you privation those pages to fertile for. 

On tract elements to optimize include:

• Title tags: HTML elements that specify your leafage titles and tin amusement successful hunt results
• Meta descriptions: HTML elements that supply a abbreviated summary of the contented of the page
• Headings: HTML tags utilized to abstracted headings and subheadings from the assemblage content
• Body content: Paragraphs oregon different main substance connected a webpage
• URLs: The leafage code that besides specifies protocols and tin see parameters
• Images: Visual elements (e.g., logos, illustrations, etc.) often successful JPEG, PNG, oregon WebP record types
• Schema markup: Snippets of codification that suffice the webpage for Google’s affluent results (e.g., fashionable products, organization, etc.)

We’ll spell implicit however to uncover issues related to these elements aboriginal successful this guide. 

Backlink Analysis

Backlinks are links connected different websites that constituent to your website. They’re an important origin that Google uses for integrated rankings, truthful you’ll privation to measure the fig and prime of links coming to your site. 

But not each backlinks assistance your SEO that much. The champion ones travel from sites that are topically applicable to yours and person beardown website authorization (which tin beryllium estimated utilizing the Authority Score metric).

This benignant of investigation involves evaluating your backlink illustration for: 

• Total backlinks: The full fig of backlinks pointing toward your website
• Referring domains: The circumstantial domains that nexus to your website and however authoritative they are
• Toxic links: Links that amusement signs of spammy practices
• Anchor text: The substance that forms a hyperlink (Google uses anchor substance to recognize what the linked assets is)

It tin besides beryllium utile to comparison the supra backlink factors against your competitors’ sites. So, we’ll screen however to bash truthful aboriginal successful this guide.

SEO Competitive Analysis

This benignant of investigation involves comparing your website’s SEO show against your competitors’ performance. And tin assistance you place what it volition instrumentality to vie with them. 

A competitory investigation often involves comparing yourself against rivals for the following:

• Target keywords: Seeing whether you outperform your competitors for invaluable presumption applicable to your business. Or whether they’re ranking for presumption you person yet to target.
• Top pages: Identifying which pages connected competitors' sites get the astir integrated traffic. And seeing whether you person immoderate akin contented connected your site.
• Total backlinks: Comparing the fig and prime of rivals’ backlinks to yours
• Authority Score: Seeing who has a higher Authority Score. Which tin awesome greater ranking imaginable crossed each the pages of a site.
• Referring domains: Comparing which sites are linking to your competitors. And if they person referring domains that you mightiness privation to scope retired to for linking opportunities.

We’ll amusement you however to bash this benignant of investigation aboriginal successful this guide. 

How to Analyze Your Website’s SEO Performance

Follow the beneath steps to execute a implicit investigation of your website’s SEO.

1. Analyze Your Technical SEO

It’s champion to commencement by analyzing your site’s method SEO. Because method elements interaction the ranking imaginable of each of your webpages.

To bash this, usage Site Audit. 

Start by entering your homepage URL into the substance bar. Then, click “Start Audit.”

Follow the prompts to configure your audit. 

Once your audit is ready, find the “Crawlability” conception and click “View details.”

The study volition assistance you measure however easy Google tin crawl and scale your important pages.

For example, find the “Crawl Budget Waste,” section. It details wherever you’re wasting crawl budget. Which is the fig of pages that Google is consenting to crawl connected your tract successful a circumstantial period. 

You privation to beryllium cautious astir things similar having excessively galore pages that service errors oregon excessively galore redirects. Because if you person galore issues similar these, Google mightiness determination connected earlier it gets to each your important pages. 

If you click connected the orangish barroom to the close of an issue. You’ll spot a database of the pages affected by that circumstantial issue.

Next, instrumentality to the “Overview” tab. Then, click “View details” nether “Site Performance.” 

This conception volition database immoderate issues related to your site’s leafage load velocity and different show indicators.

Page experience is simply a confirmed ranking factor. So, it’s important to resoluteness related problems similar dilatory speed. 

Plus, show issues are atrocious for the idiosyncratic experience. And whitethorn discourage radical from staying connected your website, making purchases, oregon booking appointments.

Improving tract show whitethorn necessitate changes to your HTML oregon JavaScript files. So, depending connected your level of knowledge, you whitethorn privation to enactment with a web developer to resoluteness them.

2. Analyze Your On-Page SEO

Next, bash an on-page investigation to find ways to amended your astir important webpages—improving these existing ones tin beryllium a much cost-effective mode to amended show than creating caller content. 

So, reappraisal the beneath website elements connected each leafage you privation to fertile for. 

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

The rubric tag and meta statement of a webpage archer users and hunt engines what your contented is about. And Google whitethorn show them to users erstwhile showing your pages successful hunt motor results.

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Google uses the rubric tag to recognize a webpage’s content. And some the rubric tag and meta statement tin power whether users click done to your page.

To cheque them, click connected the “Issues,” tab successful Site Audit.

Then, click the “Category” drop-down paper and prime “Meta tags.”

If immoderate captious issues are identified, the study volition database them.

Site Audit checks your rubric tags and meta descriptions for the pursuing errors:

• Missing rubric tags oregon meta descriptions
• Duplicate rubric tags oregon meta descriptions
• Proper quality counts

To get much details astir a circumstantial issue, click connected the bluish substance astatine the opening of the row.

You’ll spot further details astir the issue. Like what pages the contented was identified on.

Make definite to reappraisal these issues. And enactment to resoluteness them.

Content Structure

Headings are HTML tags ranging from H1-H6 that specify headings connected a webpage and assistance Google recognize what topics your contented covers.

Headings besides springiness your contented operation and marque it easier to navigate. Because they tin assistance users rapidly scan to find the accusation they’re looking for.

To cheque for problems related to your H1 headings, instrumentality to the “Issues” tab successful Site Audit. And participate “h1” successful the hunt bar.

Site Audit checks for the following:

• Missing H1 tags
• Duplicate H1 tags
• Multiple H1 tags connected a page—it’s champion to instrumentality to one

Again, click connected the bluish substance adjacent to immoderate contented to get much details astir the pages wherever it was detected. And enactment to hole the problems.

Keyword Use and Content Quality

Next, measure your content’s prime and however good your pages incorporated your people keywords. Because penning utile contented that includes keywords people (without keyword stuffing) is cardinal for on-page SEO. 

Use On Page SEO Checker for this. 

Enter your homepage URL into the substance barroom and click “Get Ideas.”

Follow the prompts to decorativeness the setup, past the instrumentality volition amusement a elaborate study with ideas for improvement. 

Click “# ideas” adjacent to a leafage you privation to analyze.

On the adjacent page, scroll to the “Content” section. And survey the details astir your page’s readability and keyword usage to find what sorts of improvements you request to make. Like utilizing people keywords successful the <body> tag.

Repeat this process for each your pages. And enactment done the suggestions.

Now, you’re acceptable to update your content. 

In summation to what On Page SEO Checker flagged, marque definite to usage your keyword and immoderate variations successful antithetic headings. 

You should besides guarantee that your contented is high-quality, helpful, and people-focused. Which you tin bash by:

• Including archetypal probe oregon analysis
• Providing a broad taxable overview
• Showcasing first-hand expertise and knowledge
• Including archetypal insights that spell beyond the basics

3. Check Your Internal Links

Internal links assistance Google observe and scale your pages, truthful you should cheque that determination are nary issues with them.

To bash this, instrumentality to your “Overview” study successful Site Audit. 

Click “View details” nether “Internal Linking.”

You’ll spot a percent people for your wide interior nexus health. As good arsenic a database of issues related to interior links. The astir impactful ones volition beryllium listed nether the “Errors” section.

Some examples of issues the instrumentality volition emblem include:

• Broken links (both interior and external)
• Too galore on-page links
• Pages with lone 1 interior link

To resoluteness these issues, you’ll request to marque adjustments to your links wrong your contented absorption strategy (CMS) oregon different website platform. 

If you’re unsure of however to hole something, click “Why and however to hole it” adjacent to immoderate contented to get directions.

Linking issues thin to hap implicit clip arsenic your website grows. But if you person a newer website, it’s much apt to endure from excessively fewer interior links.

So, find ways to adhd them by pursuing these champion practices:

• Link to and from your astir important pages
• Use anchor substance that’s applicable to the contented of the linked page
• Keep your anchor substance abbreviated and descriptive
• Don’t overdo it—too galore interior links tin look spammy

4. Check Your Website’s Backlink Profile

Because backlinks are truthful important for rankings, you should cheque them erstwhile analyzing your website’s SEO. And you tin usage Backlink Audit to bash that. 

Type your homepage URL into the archetypal substance bar. Then, sanction your task (if desired), and click “Create project.”

(If you’ve already created a task for your website, find it and click connected it erstwhile you unfastened the tool.)

You’ll get a elaborate study astir your website’s backlink profile. Which shows your website’s Toxicity Score.

You privation your backlink illustration to person a “Low” toxicity score. If yours is “Medium” oregon “High,” that’s a bully motion you should enactment to summation much high-quality, applicable backlinks.

And you tin bash that utilizing the Link Building Tool. 

After creating a project, click the “Prospects” tab. 

You’ll spot a database of applicable websites that you tin scope retired to for nexus opportunities. 

Click “To In Progress” adjacent to a tract you privation to interaction to adhd it to an outreach list.

From your list, you’ll beryllium capable to nonstop outreach emails straight to your chosen prospects.

5. Evaluate Yourself Against Your Competitors

Next, comparison your keywords and backlinks to your competitors’ to implicit an SEO competitory analysis that tin assistance you uncover insights you mightiness beryllium capable to usage successful your SEO strategy.

Some of the resulting actions mightiness see optimizing for the aforesaid keywords, creating akin content, oregon reaching retired to your competitors’ referring domains for nexus gathering opportunities.

To analyse a competitor’s keywords, usage Keyword Gap.

Enter your domain and up to 4 competitors’ domains. Then, prime your people determination and click “Compare.”

In the keyword examination report, look for the “Top Opportunities” table. 

Select the “Missing” tab. Then, click “View details.”

You’ll spot a array of keywords that your competitors are ranking for but your website isn’t. 

You whitethorn privation to people immoderate of these keywords with your website content. As agelong arsenic they’re applicable to what your concern offers.

Next, analyse your competitors’ backlinks utilizing Backlink Analytics.

Enter a competitor’s domain into the substance bar. Then, click “Analyze.”

You’ll get cardinal metrics related to their backlinks. Like what websites are linking to them, however reputable those sites are, and what anchor substance the websites usage to nexus to your competitor’s site.

Then, leverage that accusation successful your link gathering efforts.

Refine Your SEO Strategy

You should regularly analyse your SEO show arsenic you people content, get and/or suffer backlinks, and look much competition. 

So, acceptable up regular audits successful Site Audit to get up of galore issues. 

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