How to Audit Your Website
We all know that having a website isn’t just an option—it’s a necessity for your Digital Marketing. But simply having a website isn’t enough. To keep your website performing at its best, regular maintenance and audits are crucial. According to a recent study, 70% of small business websites lack key SEO elements, significantly impacting their visibility and effectiveness online. Regular website audits ensure your site remains optimized, user-friendly, and competitive in the ever-changing digital landscape. Let’s dive into why auditing your website at least once a year is one of the smartest moves you can make for your business. (p.s. there is a freebie at the end!)
The Importance of Regular Website Audits
Building a website to represent your brand online isn’t easy, and if it’s done right, it’s not cheap either. Once that shiny new website is launched, tested, and praised by everyone involved, it’s tempting to just let it run and never worry about it again. But here’s the thing: even the best websites need regular maintenance. Just like a car needs oil changes or a plant needs pruning, your website needs attention to keep performing well. That’s where regular website audits come in.
What is a Website Audit?
A website audit is like a health checkup for your site. It’s a thorough examination that digs into all the nitty-gritty details to find out what’s working, what’s not, and where there’s room for improvement. Think of it as a way to make sure your website is functioning as it should, both for your users and for your business. There are different types of audits you can run, each focusing on a different aspect of your website:
SEO Audit: Looks at how well your site is optimized for search engines. It checks things like keyword usage, meta tags, and backlinks.
Technical Audit: Dives into the behind-the-scenes stuff, like page load speed, broken links, and coding issues.
Content Audit: Reviews the accuracy and relevance of your site’s content.
Design/User Experience Audit: Assesses how easy it is for visitors to navigate your site and whether the design still feels fresh and modern.
Why You Should Conduct a Regular Website Audit
You might be thinking, “We just built this website! Do we really need to audit it already?” The short answer is: absolutely. Here’s why:
Evolving Technology and Best Practices
The internet is constantly changing. New technology emerges search engine algorithms get updated, and best practices shift. What worked well for your website a year ago might be outdated now. A regular audit helps you stay on top of these changes so your site doesn’t fall behind.
Maintaining Website Performance
Technical issues can creep up over time, slowing down your site or causing other problems that aren’t immediately obvious. An audit helps you identify these issues—like slow page speeds, broken links, or coding errors—so you can fix them before they start driving users away.
Enhancing User Experience
Your website is more than just a collection of pages—it’s an experience for your visitors. A good audit helps you see your site from the user’s perspective. Are the pages loading quickly? Is it easy to navigate? Is it mobile-friendly? Improving these elements enhances user satisfaction, which can lead to more conversions and better business outcomes.
SEO and Search Engine Visibility
SEO is a moving target. Google and other search engines are constantly updating their algorithms, which means your site needs to keep up. A website audit checks for things like outdated meta tags, negative keywords, poorly optimized content, and other SEO factors that could be holding your site back in search results. By staying on top of these elements, you ensure your site remains visible and competitive.
Key Areas to Focus on During a Website Audit
So, what exactly should you be looking at during a website audit? Here are the key areas to focus on:
Technical SEO Checks
This is where you dive into the technical side of things. Check for broken external links that lead to nowhere, make sure your redirects are set up properly, and ensure there aren’t any coding issues that could slow down your site. Even if everything looks good on the surface, there could be underlying problems that an audit will help you uncover.
On-Page SEO Optimization
Your on-page SEO is crucial for helping search engines understand your content. During an audit, you’ll want to look at things like meta titles, descriptions, headers, and the overall structure of your content. Make sure your keywords are well-placed and that your meta tags are within the recommended character limits.
Content Review
Content is king, but only if it’s accurate, relevant, and well-organized. An audit helps you assess your site’s content to ensure it’s still aligned with your brand’s voice and goals. Are all your internal links working? Are your blog posts still relevant? Are you even writing blogs? These are the kinds of questions you’ll be able to answer after a thorough content review.
Design and User Experience
Even the best content won’t get the attention it deserves if your site is difficult to navigate or looks outdated. A design and user experience audit will help you assess the visual appeal of your site and its ease of use. Is your site still visually appealing? Can visitors easily find what they’re looking for? A good audit will help you make sure your site is as user-friendly as possible.
Backlink Analysis
Backlinks—links from other websites to yours—are a big part of SEO. A good audit will help you analyze the quality and quantity of your backlinks. Do you have enough high-quality links pointing to your site? Are there any low-quality links that could be hurting your SEO? Understanding your backlink profile is key to improving your site’s search engine rankings.
How Often Should You Audit Your Website?
At the very least, you should audit your website once a year. But depending on your industry and how often you update your site, you might need to do it more frequently. If your business relies heavily on your website for sales or lead generation, regular audits are crucial to staying competitive.
Tools and Resources for Conducting Website Audits
There are plenty of tools out there to help you with your website audit. Free tools like Google Search Console and Moz’s Site Explorer can give you valuable insights into your site’s performance. Screaming Frog’s SEO Spider is another great tool for identifying technical SEO issues. But remember, these tools are just that—tools. If you’re not sure how to interpret the data or make the necessary changes, it might be worth hiring a professional agency to help.
Get a Free Website Audit Checklist
Regular website audits are essential to keeping your site performing at its best. By routinely checking for technical issues, updating your content, optimizing for the SEO basics, and ensuring a seamless user experience through website design, you can maintain a competitive edge in your industry. As we’ve discussed, an annual audit helps you catch problems early, adapt to changing technologies, and keep your website in line with current best practices.
Don’t let your website fall behind. Take action today by downloading our free website audit spreadsheet. This handy tool will guide you through the key areas to review, helping you keep your website in top shape and ready to drive more traffic and conversions. Get your free download and start your audit today!
