Many companies out there are offering you a free website audit for your business, while others are charging thousands of dollars. At this point you don’t even know what a website audit is, let alone if you need one.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by this process, I am here to break it down.
In this article you will learn:
- what is a website audit
- different types of audits
- reasons why your website may need an audit
- the benefits of a website audit
- free audits vs paid
What is a website audit?
A website audit refers to a SEO audit. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This refers to optimizing a website so that a search engine can understand it and place it where it needs to be. This is how you increase organic traffic from a search engine to your site.
An audit is a type of “health check” for your website. An audit can identify weak points or missing information, as well as opportunities to grow.
Depending on the type of website audit you receive will determine the depth of information you are given in the final report. A technical audit can help identify issues with broken links or redirects, while a content analysis can help identify keyword opportunities.
Types of website audits
Technical – A technical SEO audit looks under the hood of your website. It will examine the accessibility, if the site is being indexed by search engines, pagespeed, image optimization, penalties, and more.
Content – A content audit will examine the content of your website to see your keyword implementation, page quality, and organization of content.
Link Analysis – This audit examines your backlink profile. Backlinks are off-page SEO that help signal your brand/website’s relevance and reputation to Google.
Comprehensive – Includes all of the above and can also include other factors such as social media, Google Analytics insights, keyword suggestions, and more.
Read | The 2021 Guide to Pinterest Keywords
Reasons why your website may need an audit
There are many reasons to get a website audit but it depends on your current problems or goals.
If you have never done an audit before and know nothing about SEO then you most likely need one. Imagine you have a beautiful website and are offering excellent services, but your organic traffic is very low to non-existant. It could be a very simple fix that can only be identified through an audit.
If your organic traffic is declining then you might need a website audit. There can be various reasons for this; Google penalties, technical site errors, losing backlinks, or keywords not matching user intent.
If you want to identify quick SEO wins. An audit can provide quick fixes as well as suggestions for content moving forward. Some quick fixes from clarifying keywords to adjusting headings can improve your search visibility and increase traffic.
What are the benefits of a website audit?
The benefits of a quality website audit can significantly boost your business’s traffic and sales.
- SEO is the most sustainable method for growing traffic. Properly implemented SEO will bring the right traffic to your website.
- Ranking first in Google is more valuable than buying ads in Google – and free!
- Identify small tech issues that might have gone unnoticed before.
- Increased traffic translates into increased ad or affiliate revenue.
- Identify issues affecting pagespeed. Pagespeed will become more important with the implementation of Web Core Vitals
- Understand where you need to focus efforts in your SEO strategy.
While an audit will not bring traffic directly it gives you the roadmap. It will be up to you to determine if you will fix the issuses presented in your audit yourself or hire a specialist to implement suggestions and fix any issues.
Free Audits vs Paid
There are some websites claiming they offer free website audits. I have personally tested as many as possible to see if any of them offered useful information. Most of them provide the same information as the next and in most cases it is limited.
Generally, most free audits provide information that is already readily available through your Google Search Console or Google Analytics. They examine if your site has been crawled, SEO friendly URL structure, headings, meta descriptions, and pagespeed.
Read | How to Add Google Analytics to WordPress: Quick and Easy Guide
Some free SEO audit services are useful to check occasionally.
Semrush has a great technical audit service that is available for free. This service gives you broken links, image errors, and if any pages are missing any technical on-page SEO elements.
Another free SEO audit service that is helpful is Moz Link Explorer. With a free account, you can check up to ten queries a month. This service will give you your website’s domain authority (DA), backlink count, and ranking keywords. The backlinks and keywords are limited to so many entries before it asks for payment.
Free website audit services do not provide a full list of backlinks or ranking keywords, suggestions for your website from a human, or content analysis. They also can’t do accurate competitive market research.
I want to clarify. An audit will not optimize your site. It will not give you more traffic. The audit itself will tell you what elements of your website need treatment. This is a roadmap to optimizing your website.
What about paying for a website audit?
Every single audit service available out there differs from the next. Each SEO specialist will have their own way of doing things and what they prioritize. It will be difficult to generalize, but I can speak for myself.
A comprehensive SEO audit purchased from me includes basic information about your site, full listing of broken links, backlinks, and ranking keywords, a technical audit that examines sitespeed, Core Web Vitals, usability, etc., a content analysis, homepage analysis, top performing content, as well as keyword and content opportunities that are available.
The advantage of hiring a professional for your audit is to get indepth and specialized information. Also, a specialists can implement the suggestions they provided for site optimization. .
While an SEO audit can be a one-off purchase, SEO is not. It is ongoing and is a continuous process. Hiring a specialist can ensure that you can find more time to focus on what you love most.
Order a website audit today
Celebrating the launch of Consulting Helene, comprehensive website audits are at an introductory price. Order yours today to take advantage.
Comprehensive Website Audit
$199
Identify your website’s strengths, weaknesses, and potential for growth. An audit includes the following:
- List of ranking keywords, backlinks, and broken links
- Technical audit
- Traffic analysis
- User experience analysis
- Homepage analysis
- Optimization suggestions
- 5 keyword opportunities
