Scan for missing, duplicate, or overly long titles and descriptions. Find pages or links that return (404) errors as broken links frustrate users and hurt SEO. Then, identify oversized assets that slow your page load time, such as images, JavaScript, and CSS files. Last but not least, make sure that canonical URLs are properly implemented to avoid duplicate content issues.
- For example, your audit can result in a faster, better-optimized website.
- They guide users in gauging a page’s relevance to their query.
- Monitor loading speed, interactivity, and layout stability in tools like PageSpeed Insights.
- Yes, I have successfully recovered from a manual action penalty related to spammy and hidden content on one of my test websites.
- Auditing internal links involves analyzing link structure for proper navigation, user experience, and link equity distribution.
- A properly done SEO audit should give you a better insight into your website, individual pages and overall traffic.
Rely on the industry’s most complete URL details panel
For competitive keywords, the small details often make the difference. The keyword is extremely difficult to rank for, and the tool did identify some key areas for improvement. For free users, Claude’s analysis will also be more limited compared to Pro users because it won’t be able to process the full 180 page search quality rater guidelines document. My new free SEO tool instantly audits your content and tells you how to win based on Google’s leaked human quality rater guidelines. If there are any alerts (like status code errors, stale content, ecommerce issues), you’ll see them here.
Investigate whether file compression, such as Gzip or Brotli, is enabled to compress assets served to users. Tools like Google Lighthouse can detect if compression is missing and identify files contributing to slow load times. Assess your site for missing canonical tags, non-indexable canonicals, or conflicting tags. Tools like Screaming Frog or Semrush can help identify issues efficiently. Check how you link your most important pages, like cornerstone articles or product categories.
Keep in mind quality content should appeal to the interests, needs, and problems of your buyer personas. Always aim to leave the reader with immediately actionable next steps such as calls-to-action or links to resources. In the first part of your website audit, I’d focus on how users navigate your website — from your homepage to blog posts, to landing pages, and any related content in between.
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On-page SEO elements like meta tags, headings, and internal links are essential for communicating the relevance of your content to search engines. Cadence helps the document processing service provider (mentioned above) by updating these elements with the right keywords, which improved their site visibility. Broken links are URLs that point to a website that no longer exist or return an error. Fixing broken links is important because they negatively impact user experience, leading to frustration and higher bounce rates. They harm SEO, as search engines view broken links as a sign of neglect or poor site quality.
To find all broken links on your website, scroll down to Broken links in the Links section of the Site Audit module. Check out the blue nodes for redirects and the red ones for broken links. And if you see any lonely grey nodes hanging around, those are your orphan pages. In the Site Audit module, explore the Indexing and crawlability section, namely Resources with 4xx status code, Resources with 5xx status code, and 404 page set up correctly. For that, select List Mode in the project creation dropdown menu.
They know the standards and how to meet them, which provides your business with an actionable report that complies with SEO best practices. With the cost of SEO audits ranging from $650 to $14,000, it’s natural to wonder what decides the price of audits in 2024. Some relate to your company, while others come from your agency. Watch out for any sudden spikes in new, low-quality backlinks.
Speed and Performance
Here are features and pricing information on some of the most valuable resources available. A comprehensive site review pulls together various auditing processes to appraise all aspects of your platform that impact performance. SEO Anomaly Examining these elements lets you assess your website presence and determine improvement areas. By uncovering and addressing weaknesses, a website audit provides actionable direction for streamlining your web initiatives and growing your bottom line. If you’re unsure where to focus your efforts, a website audit is a great place to start. Keep reading to learn why audits are beneficial and how best to conduct them.
Google’s algorithm is a complex system that retrieves the most relevant data to deliver the best possible results for a search query. The algorithm considers over 200 factors to determine rankings, and the list is constantly updated. A well-established geospatial software company needed their website to match the caliber of their business.
So you can stay on top of future issues before they hurt your organic search performance. The entire point of this SEO audit is to improve your website’s performance. You can tweak the timeframe to see your organic traffic performance over a longer time period. Utilize the tools mentioned above to assess your site’s performance, identifying areas that require immediate attention. After auditing hundreds of websites, the biggest pattern I notice isn’t complex technical SEO issues, though they do matter. Too often, I see sites start building backlinks simply because their SEO isn’t progressing, hoping more links will magically help.