Easy Web Audits: A Step-by-Step Approach for Beginners
Published on 24th June 2024
In the huge digital world, where every website is fighting for attention, ensuring your online presence is finely tuned and optimised is key. Enter the website audit - a thorough check-up of your site's performance, SEO, and user experience. If you're new to this, a web audit might seem overwhelming. But don't worry, in this blog, we break it down into simple, easy-to-follow steps.
Understanding website audits
Before delving into the nitty-gritty of website audits, let's grasp the concept at its core. A website audit is a health check-up for your digital platform. It involves looking at various areas of your website, from technical functionalities to content quality, to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
Why website audits matter
Website audits are super important for many reasons - just look at these statistics:
According to a study by HubSpot, 61% of marketers say improving SEO and growing their organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority.
In a survey by Adobe, 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive.
Website audits play a huge role in boosting SEO and user experience and ensuring your site performs at its best. So, when you consider these statistics, it’s clear how important a website audit is for your website and business growth.
Types of website audits
Here's a look at different types of website audits and why they matter:
Competitive website audit: This analyses your competitors' strategies to find opportunities and threats. By understanding what your competitors are doing well and where they fall short, you can adjust your own strategies to gain a competitive edge.
SEO link audit: This audit evaluates your backlink profiles to optimise site ranking for target keywords. Strong backlinks are important for improving your site's authority and visibility in search engine results.
Lead conversion optimisation audit: This audit identifies conversion issues and enhances lead generation. Pinpointing where potential customers drop off and making necessary improvements can increase your conversion rates and generate more leads.
Social media audit: This audit examines your social media presence to boost website traffic. By looking at your engagement, reach, and the effectiveness of your social media campaigns, you can tweak your approach to drive more traffic to your website.
SEO website audit: This audit evaluates all factors impacting your site's performance in search engine results. It covers everything from on-page SEO elements like meta tags and keyword usage to technical aspects like site speed and mobile responsiveness.
Data privacy audit: This audit ensures your site follows data privacy laws to build trust with your visitors. Sticking to rules like GDPR and CCPA keeps your users' data safe and earns their trust. And trust is key to keeping a loyal audience.
Each of these audits plays an essential role in different aspects of your website's health and performance. Carrying out regular audits helps you stay ahead of the competition, improve your site's SEO, improve user experience, and maintain compliance with legal standards.
A step-by-step guide to conducting a website audit
Now, let's dive into the step-by-step process of conducting a website audit:
Step 1: Initial assessment
Before starting a full-fledged audit, it's a good idea to carry out an initial assessment. This involves:
Running your website through a site audit tool to gather baseline data.
Identifying technical errors, such as performance, SEO, mobile, and security issues. Tools like HubSpot's Website Grader, Google's PageSpeed Insights or SEMrush's Site Audit Tool can provide valuable insights at this stage.
Step 2: Content analysis
Content lies at the heart of any website. Analysing your content involves:
Evaluating content quality from the perspective of your target audience.
Ensuring SEO by carrying out keyword analysis and optimising on-page elements.
Assessing conversion potential by reviewing marketing offers, landing pages, and calls to action.
Quality content not only attracts visitors but also drives engagement and conversions.
Step 3: Technical evaluation
The technical evaluation looks at how your website is built. Key considerations include:
Assessing website design for responsiveness and mobile-friendliness.
Identifying and rectifying error messages and broken links.
Minimising the use of Flash or JavaScript to improve accessibility and usability.
A technically sound website forms the foundation for a seamless user experience.
Step 4: Generating actionable insights
Once you've gathered data and conducted analyses, it's time to translate the findings into actionable insights. This involves:
Prioritising issues based on their impact and urgency.
Creating a checklist of recommended fixes for each identified issue.
Utilising reporting tools like HubSpot's Website Grader, Google's PageSpeed Insights or SEMrush's Site Audit Tool to create audit reports.
Actionable insights empower you to make informed decisions and drive meaningful improvements to your website.
Step 5: Implementation and monitoring
The final step involves implementing recommended fixes and monitoring their impact over time. This includes:
Collaborating with relevant teams or stakeholders to address identified issues.
Tracking key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, and search engine rankings.
Tweaking strategies based on performance data and evolving best practices.
Continuous monitoring and optimisation are essential for maintaining a high-performing website
Unlocking your website’s potential
In summary, website audits/health checks play a key role in boosting digital performance and making sure users have a great experience. If you're just starting, don't worry - by taking a systematic approach, even beginners can handle them like pros. And remember, optimising your website isn't a one-time thing; it's an ongoing effort that requires dedication, flexibility, and a passion for doing things right.
Ready to demystify web audits and take control of your online presence? At it’seeze, our team of experienced website experts across the UK and Ireland is here to help. With our expertise in website health checks, we can help you unlock the secrets to optimising your website with confidence. Get in touch today to start your journey to a well-optimised site with it’seeze.
Tagged as: search engine optimisation (SEO)
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