An SEO audit should consist of an analysis of the following factors:
on-site - including, among others: checking the structure of the page, the structure of URL addresses , the presence and length of meta tags and internal linking. Checking the functionality of the page on mobile and desktop devices.
Robot - Sitemap (sitemap.xml), guidelines for crawlers (robots.txt file), page rendering or 404 errors on the page.
Off-site - links from external sites leading to the website, social media profiles, directories and NAPs.
User Experience - UX - user experience resulting from using the website.
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Basic SEO audit
Users who do not have access to many tools are not able to conduct a comprehensive audit. However, with the right amount of time, they can check the basic elements responsible for positioning.
Mobile First Index
Let's start with the fact that Google introduced the Mobile First Index when evaluating websites through its algorithm. This means more or less that the mobile version of our website is analyzed and evaluated by the algorithm. It is the mobile version of the website that is responsible for the ranking of our website. It is worth taking care of its proper adjustment. While most newly created websites are adapted to mobile devices, older websites may have a problem with this. Google has provided a tool that allows you to analyze the website in terms of display on mobile devices.
The test can be performed at: . The guidelines you receive should be sent to the person responsible for the technical support of the website.
Google Search Console
Search Console is a basic tool used daily by SEO specialists. It allows you to check not only the visibility and traffic on a page or individual subpages, but also to verify whether a given page is in the submitted sitemap or whether it is indexed.
Implementing Google Search Console is a simple task. All line database you need is an email address from Google or associated with its services. When logging into the Search Console service, provide the address of your website that you want to verify. There are 7 ways to verify ownership. Choose the easiest one for you, from experience I know that the easiest method is to upload a small .html file via FTP. Of course, some content management systems (CMS) have plugins that allow you to enter a piece of code into the code of our website.
The first thing we should do after verifying the service is to go to the sitemap and add our own sitemap. The most common path to it is , although of course it can be at a different address, depending on the CMS system or plugin generating such a map. It should always be up to date. It is worth asking the webmaster whether it is automatically updated when a new product or page is added. Pages sent in the sitemap are indexed faster.
Note: Google Search Console data is displayed with a 2-3 day delay, so don't worry if your site isn't generating any traffic. Wait a few days for the data to start flowing into the service.
Google Search Console report showing website traffic
Google Search Console report showing website traffic
I encourage you to review each of the reports available in the service. All information is presented clearly, so even a person with no experience can draw their own conclusions.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is another free analytics tool provided by Google. Unlike Search Console, Analytics also checks traffic from sources other than organic searches. This allows us to determine who the users are who are coming to our site. It displays information about their location, the type of device they are using, and even the type of browser. It is also relatively easy to implement. Most CMSs have built-in integration with this analytics tool.
Main View in Google Analytics
Main View in Google Analytics
Screaming Frog
This is one of the best on-site SEO analysis tools. It is available in a free version (maximum 500 scanned addresses) or in a paid version (annual subscription without any restrictions). Since most often people who want to position a website without the help of an agency are owners of small websites, the free version of the software is completely sufficient.
The advanced tool scans our entire website and in several tabs we can find, among others:
internal links,
meta title and description (we will check their length, duplication or lack of implementation),
response code (301/302 redirects, 404 response code pages),
canonical addresses (whether they exist and whether they direct the robot to the correct page),
h1/h2 headings (their quantity, occurrence or duplication).
Technical analysis of the website performed with the Screaming Frog tool
Technical analysis of the website performed with the Screaming Frog tool
