- The Audit’s Purpose And Objectives
- Problems Related To Auditing
- Technical Audit
- Website Usability
- SEO Audit
- Content Audit
- General Recommendations
Site audit is a crucial stage of resource marketing that includes gathering technical data and optimizing the site. The audit is intended to provide you a basic overview of the site and help you assess how user-friendly it is. A basic audit is undertaken at the start of the research to illustrate the overall picture. Then there is an extended audit, which results in recommendations for site improvement.
The Audit’s Purpose and Objectives
An audit is required in the following situations:
- drop in search engine rankings;
- decrease in the number of inquiries and orders;
- decrease in search traffic;
- decline in behavioral elements.
The site audit’s major goals include:
- ensuring that pages load fast;
- placing original content;
- adapting the site for mobile devices;
- increasing site traffic;
- enhancing site’s authority.
Problems Related to Auditing
Certain problems may arise during an audit:
- Ill-designed structure. If the audit’s structure is poorly thought out, there may be issues with the audit’s perception. It is suggested that the audit be divided into various sections: technical, SEO, usability, and content.
- Awful design. It is vital to ensure that the audit is properly designed, with lists and subheadings, photos with examples, and so on. Otherwise, the buyer may have reservations about the SEO specialist.
- Unnecessary information. Internal services can be used to do audits automatically. The audit may be more than 30 pages, but the amount of relevant material will be no more than 2-3 pages. In this instance, you should conduct a second audit that includes site improvements.
Technical Audit
The site’s technical state is determined by how well it functions and how quickly it is promoted in search engines. The search engine ranking of the site may suffer even if small faults are made. A search engine audit is undertaken to resolve technical issues on the site.
There are two sorts of audits: internal and external.
1. Initial. Includes an examination of the resource’s external linkages as well as a review of the main parameters. Minor problems might be detected during the initial audit. If the initial analysis is unsuccessful, a more in-depth investigation is required.
2. In-depth. Provides software analysis, hosting diagnosis, site navigation review, and other services. During the audit, problems are pointed out in detail, along with suggestions on how to remedy them.
The following actions are included in the technical audit:
– Fixing HTML and CSS problems. Special services can be used to check for flaws in the HTML and CSS code.
– Improving the 404 page. When you navigate to a page that does not exist, you get an error. You may make your own 404 page that corresponds to the site’s style and concept.
– Correct coding of the site’s pages. Incorrect encoding causes content to be displayed incorrectly. Make sure that the code can be utilized with a special program.
– Make the website load faster. Slow loading times cause the site’s search engine rankings to suffer. Lower the amount of CSS and JavaScript code, reduce the number of loaded pages, and optimize pictures to improve the loading speed.
Website Usability
A usability audit involves assessing the site’s usability. You may use the analysis to find issues with navigation, page design, and content layout. A usability audit can help you attract a larger target audience to your website. The following are the primary phases of the site’s usability:
- Technical characteristics of the site. Usability refers to the site’s ability to function properly. Some forms may have issues, and the site may not appear correctly on mobile devices.
- Content quality. While executing the usability test, it is vital to analyze the quality of text content (headings, readability, style), as well as the relevance and quality of the pictures. It is recommended to employ a variety of content genres to achieve optimum audience coverage.
- Ease of navigation. The site should be simple for the user to browse. You may use bold font to emphasize links and remove broken links. For simple navigation, you should also develop a short menu.
- Simple layout. The website should be straightforward and devoid of distracting images. All pages must have clear typography and a consistent aesthetic.
- Conversion components. Create a “Buy” button, as well as apps, appeals, and widgets that encourage users to take action.
- Making contact. Contact information, delivery terms, an “About Us” page, and a feedback form are all encouraged.
SEO Audit
An SEO audit involves an examination of the site’s attributes that influence its search engine rankings. The audit can be used to assess how well the site complies with search engine guidelines. External audits (examination of the number of backlinks) and internal audits (technical audit, ranking and behavioral factors analysis) are also possible.
The following are the main stages of an SEO audit:
- Semantic analysis. A well-chosen semantic core is critical to the success of website marketing. Defining of the project’s goals and objectives, studying current semantics, and the analyzing competitors are all stages of semantic analysis.
- Technical examination. You may check for broken links, double links, and the correct display of blocks on different devices with the help of an audit. Broken links and other problems have a detrimental influence on a website’s rating.
- Content check. Check the text’s readability for search engines. It is necessary to enable easy navigation, increase text readability, and rank for relevant phrases. During the research, optimization of the headings is checked and keyword density is calculated.
- Evaluation of link mass. To avoid a search engine ban, verify that the link mass is sufficient. Obtaining links from dubious websites is strongly discouraged. Only high-quality links should be purchased and placed on relevant websites.
Content Audit
Content audit involves assessing all of the site’s material. Based on the findings of the audit, a decision is taken to change the content and improve the site. Interesting, authentic, and appealing information is essential. It is advised that you add your own analytics, images, and social networking widgets. User conversion rate and time spent on the site are two indicators of content quality. Expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E.A.T.) criteria can be used to evaluate content quality.
Content volume depends on the subject; a larger subject has a larger volume, while a smaller subject has a smaller volume. An excellent page should provide extensive details on the site and its features. Pages containing excessive spam, irrelevant information are examples of low-quality content. The focus of the audit should be on locating and removing low-quality information.
General Recommendations
The site assessment is incomplete without recommendations. They specify a to-do list for removing faults and improving usability:
- fixing difficulties with “robots.txt,”
- the correct setting of “sitemap.xml”
- increasing site load speed
- setting up the main mirror
- setting up CNC
- resolving HTML-code mistakes
- filling up the “alt” and “title” tags for images
- inserting the “h1” tag
- “title,” “description,” and “h1” optimization
- creating link mass
- filling empty pages
- removing superfluous links
Site audit is a comprehensive procedure that helps you to discover and correct all types of site flaws. It includes optimization of site design, establishment of a semantic core, link building, and so on. A comprehensive site audit may improve the functionality of the resource and significantly improve the results of search ranking.