Tag: SEO Audit

When it comes to performing a technical SEO audit, increasing your website’s authority should remain top of mind: as the higher this metric is, the better your site ranking. Feel free to check yours out by visiting http://www.opensiteexplorer.org.

Diving deeper, a technical SEO audit can check for the following top authority signals:

1. Links.  As the No. 1 off-site authority signal, links are primed to stay that way for quite some time. Out of all search ranking factors, links are often the most important.

Over the years, Google has significantly changed how links impact your search rankings. Years ago, you could in fact benefit from links that pointed to your site from any random website. Unfortunately, some SEO experts learned how to spam links and thus boost the ranking of low-quality sites (a practice that still in fact occurs).

Today, Google wants links that are not “built” but instead require some sort of third-party editorial review process. Good links come from other sites with high levels of authority that are topically related to yours. Moreover, link text should precisely match your keywords in less than 5% of all instances. A not-so-good link would come from an internet forum or article directory, while a plumbing website (for example) could receive a great link from a respected DIY blog post.

If you have a wide breadth of links with identical anchor text pointing to your website from a number of other sites, Google will suspect you of trying to manipulate your search rankings: meaning you’re at high risk for receiving a penalty.

It also matters who you link to. Google assumes reputable websites link to other reputable websites—and that all valuable sites do this to some extent. It’s therefore a good practice to occasionally link out to other authorities within your niche.

2. Content. Every page of content and blog post should include keywords relevant to your service offering. Google prefers websites that offer fresh content, dictating you publish at least one blog post every month. More is certainly better, but only post when you have valuable information to offer. The payoff? Google will crawl and index your website more frequently and assign you a higher ranking if you regularly create content.

The overarching idea here is that websites who publish content regularly are likely more established players in their field and thus more valuable to their target audiences.

3. Social shares. The more followers and social shares you have, the better. Not only do social shares help boost site visibility and drive additional traffic to your site, but they also provide the perfect platform for promoting your content and receiving additional links: a true win-win with respect to your website authority.

Wrapping Up

Now that you’re familiar with the primary authority signals, you’ll want to get as many high-quality links as you can, produce quality content, and encourage social shares. A technical SEO audit checks to make sure you do so in a natural, “Google-safe” way. Just remember that your overarching goal should be to contribute value to the Web rather than manipulate your search rankings.

Deceptive actions such as purchasing 1000s of Facebook followers simply do you no good, as these folks won’t care about your company and therefore won’t share your content or buy from you. Stay on the up and up and watch your website authority grow!

Let’s be honest right from the get-go: if you’ve never performed a website SEO audit, the time to do so is NOW. This is not easy work, either.

These can be as complex or as simple as you want. Unfortunately, we can’t go into full depth here as discussing all possible nuances would fill many, many pages. Yet, we can discuss some of the basics and more common problems found in a series of blog posts. When you correct technical SEO factors, the net benefit is improved search rankings and the best ability to rank in Google for the long-haul.

With this in mind, here are some major items to check for:

1. Are keywords in the title tags for every page? This is one of the biggest signals that tells Google which terms you want your page to rank for. Ideally, keywords are located near the beginning of the title. The title should also be benefits-oriented and include your brand name, if possible.
2. Are meta descriptions unique/interesting? Do they include calls to action? Each page should have its own meta description, so visitors know what to expect when they actually reach the page. Calls to action—which increase your click-through rate—are a true no-brainer here.
3. Is there enough copy on each page? Best SEO practices dictate including at least 300 words on the page for static web pages. And for blog posts? At least 400. Inbound marketing thought leader Neil Patel once shared that pages with 2400+ words of content rank the best. You don’t need to use that many words, and you absolutely shouldn’t unless the words are helpful to visitors. Nevertheless, it demonstrates the point that substantive content on each page is a must.
4. Where are keywords placed? Aside from including the keyword in the SEO title, you should also add it to your meta description, your website URL, your page hl tag, and a few other spots within the page’s content. This allows the language to sound natural while also making it clear to Google which keyword you want to rank for.
5. What is the authority of your home page? “Authority” refers to the amount of trust Google places in your website as well as the specific page checked. The higher your authority, the easier it is for your site to rank for various keywords. However, authority and rank do not have a linear relationship (e.g., your authority can outshine another website’s, but you can still rank lower in search). Authority basically affords you a much better probability of ranking for a keyword, meaning you want to keep this as high as possible.
6. Is content created on a regular basis? Google doesn’t just want content—it demands it. You should produce at least one blog post per month and even more than that if you can. Posts should be interesting and of value to your readers yet also offer content that is difficult (ideally impossible) to find anywhere else on the Web.

Wrapping Up

While these are just a few technical SEO factors affecting your rankings, you can go into much more detail and check other items such as:

• Do your web pages have social sharing buttons?
• Are your physical address and contact information located in an easy-to-find spot on every page?
• Do all the links on your website work?
• How easy is your content to read?
• What’s your site’s bounce rate?

At the end of the day, the work can get as detailed as the person or agency performing the audit is willing to go. The more detail, the better!

 

You’ve heard the discussion before—Google uses hundreds of factors to rank websites. And no one—not even the most influential Google execs and employees—is privy to what exactly these are.

Everyone does, however, know they have a target to shoot for. In fact, SEO thought leaders such as Moz, QuickSprout, and Neil Patel routinely perform tests and debate what’s happening in the SEO world to try to come to an accurate understanding of what Google wants.

With this in mind, let’s dive into details surrounding technical SEO audits.

Why Should You Perform a Technical SEO Audit?

The purpose of a technical SEO audit is to make sure you’re operating a Google-friendly website. No one hits the mark perfectly. Yet, the closer you are, the better your rankings in both the short- and long-term.

Another reason to perform an audit is if you come face to face with a Google penalty or notice a substantial drop in your website traffic around the time of a Google update.

An SEO audit uncovers what you’re doing right and wrong as well as steps you can take to get back on the right path if you happen to veer off.

How Do You Perform a Technical SEO Audit?

No two consultants or agencies will agree completely on this. At a high level, agencies and consultants develop technical SEO audits based on what they’ve learned works best for Google. This doesn’t necessarily mean one agency is right and another’s wrong, just that each is different in its approach.

How Often Should You Perform Technical SEO Audits?

Think of this like performing routine vehicle maintenance. You take your car to the mechanic every year for diagnostic services or just to make sure everything’s okay—even if there’s nothing noticeably wrong.

In performing a technical SEO audit, you can catch significant mistakes you’re making (and perhaps oblivious to) before Google penalizes you. If you’re not making any serious mistakes, you can at least fine-tune your performance. An annual SEO audit is a good idea, but it’s even better to perform one every six months. You can catch problems such as competitors building bad links to your site and trying to destroy your search rankings. While this rarely happens, it does in fact occur.

If you’re getting the sense that managing your website is just like taking care of your physical business location, you’re absolutely right! Google’s goal is to increase web quality and toss out spammy, low-value sites. The better you make your site for visitors, the better you’ll do in the search rankings.