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3 DIY SEO website audit tips

Fay Roe

Running a website is much like running a car. While it may currently perform adequately, over time its health can degenerate, and what was once an annoying squeak can escalate into a full-on breakdown.

A website audit is the equivalent of getting your car serviced, helping you to identify issues before performance is compromised and avoid costly repairs. A site audit determines whether it is optimised for search, has broken links, and that the website design and content provide a great user-experience with quality, relevant information.

Tip #1 Know your metrics.

If there is one aspect of having a website to cause confusion and terror in equal measure, it is the metrics. Webmasters across the globe are either obsessed by them or in abject denial; however, you do need to have an idea about what to track. Here are five metrics you should be tracking:

Website traffic
Traffic sources
Bounce rate
Conversion rate
Conversion rate by traffic source

If this is your first website audit rodeo, you will need to keep note of these metrics to track changes over time. The data is priceless and will help you to develop your website on facts and not assumptions!

Tip #2 Audit for visitors not just search engines.

A successful SEO audit requires you to look at your website through two pairs of glasses. The first pair is as a visitor; the second, as a search engine. Auditing your website through the eyes of a visitor helps you finely tune the user experience – and yes, Google loves this.

Your website is an online version of your store or office, and visitors will make a swift judgement. Is the website design well organised and easy to navigate? A good rule of thumb is a visitor should be able to find the product or information within three clicks.

Is the website content quality, informative and, above all else, readable? When visitors stay on a page it tells Google you are providing great information - it will send other searchers your way as a reward. Never become complacent about the power of publishing great SEO content

Tip #3 Focus on the easy technical SEO first

Once you’ve trawled your website and identified a list of issues to remedy, the temptation is to dive right in and tackle the main concerns first; however, don’t. Pick the low-hanging fruit first.

Website SEO is a marathon and not a sprint. Solving the big issues first, you risk overlooking the minor improvements to be made that will further boost your ranking. For example, switching from HTTP to HTTPS should be completed after checking page titles, meta descriptions and compressing images and adding alt-tags are search engine friendly.

Regular site audits are crucial for optimising your website. This way you keep on top of any site maintenance issues as they occur before they become too much to manage or impact the success of your website and business.

Digital Presence is passionate about helping people develop their website, so it runs at peak performance. We appreciate how intimidating the acronyms and website language is, which is why we have a strict no-jargon policy. Digital Presence is a digital marketing agency providing SEO web design services Christchurch and beyond. Contact us today on 0274 278047 for a free no obligation chat and website consultation to discuss how you can improve your website.

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