However, they appear as different iterations of the same website to a search engine’s algorithm. It’s crucial to ensure Google indexes only one version of your website so site performance metrics are accurate and comprehensive. If Google doesn’t crawl and index your pages, the site won’t just rank poorly — it’ll be absent from search results entirely. For searchers to find your website, it must stand out among the masses in this index. Each subsequent website SEO Anomaly review will build on the last and typically takes much less time to execute. Thousands of tiny variables like word count per page, number of sentences, keywords in sentences, and number of YouTube embeds can affect how your pages rank in search.
Use our SEO audit checklist to fix issues and improve your SEO. Sometimes „penalties“ come in the form of unknowns, without manual actions, and teams are left to try and figure out what issues may be causing a loss in rankings. As a last resort, one strategy I personally have had success with is rebranding, changing the website domain, and relaunching the website.
It’s normal for webmasters to concentrate on publishing new content, but you should take action to protect your existing rankings from dropping. Reach out to websites with relevant content and suggest where your content could add value to their users and what you can give them back in return. You can check your incoming links using a backlink checker tool or the Google Search console’s ‘Links to your site’ report. If the above list does not make much sense to you, you better hire a developer or SEO expert to do the work for you.
The XML sitemap is for search engines to review pages that get added to your site, all in one place. Keep in mind quality content should appeal to the interests, needs, and problems of your buyer personas. Always aim to leave the reader with immediately actionable next steps such as calls-to-action or links to resources. In the first part of your website audit, I’d focus on how users navigate your website — from your homepage to blog posts, to landing pages, and any related content in between. Creating a website audit report that clearly communicates the site issues found (and what to do about them) is an easy job when you have the right tools.
If you and a competitor have sites that stand shoulder to shoulder on the SERP, then even the most basic of issues could be the catalyst that determines who ranks at the top. So in my opinion, even the most basic of housekeeping issues should be addressed. Using the Crawl Stats report in Google Search Console can give you insight into how your site is being crawled and any issues that may have been flagged by the Googlebot. For larger sites with millions of pages or sites that are often updated, crawl budget can be an issue.
Analyze your site with an SEO tool
Founded in 2010, Atomic Leap is a performance marketing agency specialising in data–led SEO and AI–driven growth strategies. Headquartered in Bristol, the agency has delivered measurable results for brands across the world. This step of the audit contains a few sub steps which can be achieved from the results of the crawl.
- Don’t forget to monitor what people search for to inform your content strategy.
- GTMetrix is a web performance testing platform that provides insights into how well a website loads and offers actionable recommendations on how to optimize it.
- It is essential that your URLs are cleanly formatted, concise, and incorporate target keywords whenever logical.
- Most organizations partner with an SEO agency or have an in-house SEO team to accomplish this.
Link Assistant
The audit should identify all strengths and weaknesses of the website that affect organic visibility. A well-executed SEO audit can serve as a punch list of task ideas and be used to develop, support, or execute an active enterprise SEO strategy for your organization. The „Free SEO Tools“ page is a valuable asset for anyone looking to optimize their website’s performance in search engines, offering a wide range of tools and resources at no cost. Core Web Vitals are a set of specific ranking factors that Google considers essential for measuring user experience.
On-Page SEO Audit
Set aside a portion of your SEO budget for unexpected challenges. This financial cushion ensures you can pivot without putting the rest of your strategy at risk. Every site is different, but one example of a quick win could be resolving crawl errors.