Website SEO Audit

Network environment

We analyse the competition within the field of your industry

On-site factors

We thoroughly research your website

Off-site factors

We scan the backlink profile

What constitutes an SEO audit?

Website auditing is tackled strictly with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in mind, i.e. optimisation of a given website to match the rules of search engines, like Google. Auditing is essentially a comprehensive research task – an in-depth analysis of a various factors which can affect (positively & negatively) the visibility of your website in organic search results (SERP - Search Engine Results Page).

Of course, it needs to be mentioned that your goal, and therefore our goal, is to achieve the highest possible visibility (i.e. high Google ranking for valuable queries - keywords) of your website. Taking this into consideration, this is precisely why auditing is undertaken. It aims to check how much work is required to get you to that top spot; to determine the factors impeding your ranking increase and to establish which factors contribute to the overall process.

In essence, it's a so-called ‘SEO examination’ of a website – analysing where your website stands and what it’s missing; it’s benefits and shortcomings. During this audit analysis we pay close attention to your website’s strengths and good practices, as well as prominence of errors, deficiencies, flaws and elements which require critical, often immediate improvement (i.e. further optimisation). You can perform SEO optimisation yourself, provided you possess vital internal resources (e.g. a dedicated IT team, or marketing specialists). Alternatively, you can always commission the work to us.

What’s very important is that SEO auditing does not focus solely on the website itself, or rather its ‘technical structure’ (coding, scripts, files etc.) which operates on a given server. Our auditing methods enshroud many other aspects: assessing website’s content, keyword saturation, article structure or network environment (considering the closest competition in your given industry). We also ensure the profile of backlinks linked to your domain is reliable and successful.

THE SCOPE OF OUR ANALYSIS

What does the website SEO audit actually scrutinise?

An SEO audit can be divided into three separate factor groups that are analysed by a specialist:

On-site elements on your site (e.g. headlines, meta tags, duplicated content, etc.),
Off-site aspects, i.e. elements not located directly on the website (e.g. link anchors, number of incoming links from forums, mentions on specialised thematic websites, etc.),
The network environment – investigating the competition in a given industry (e.g. the keywords or phrases they use, the number and nature of your key competitors, number of common keywords, etc.).

What's more, the conduction of an SEO audit is always preceded by a clear definition of the business/websites’ goals – i.e. we determine what you want to achieve and how we can provide your website, and thus the business, the right conversion.

Only the perspective gained by conduction of a comprehensive audit will allow you to verify and define the faulty elements that, when captured and optimised, will positively translate into your increased visibility . . . and consequently, a greater website traffic, which in turn will generate the desired conversions.

Remember: more traffic gained on the website for valuable queries related to your business will mean that potential customers interested in purchasing or using your services will engage with your business. And if everything is audited correctly, the website runs flawless and viewers are engrossed in your content, then sales will be made. This is why website auditing is such a vital process.

Receive an express quote for an SEO audit of your website

Our experts, dedicated to the art of SEO will provide you all necessary information to turn around your website, and turn it into a success.

THE SEO AUDIT FORMAT

Let’s suppose you order an audit from us, what will you receive?

A comprehensive, structured and readable (i.e. understandable for those unfamiliar with the industry), PDF document (usually consisting of several dozen pages, although the quantity will vary. For more complex websites, the number of audit pages can increase). This document is enriched with charts, tables, lists, attachments, relevant data and glossary of terminology. In other words, it’s a large dose of valuable content which is invaluable for the SEO process. Whether you use that information for your own benefit or employ us to interpret the data and apply it to the SEO practices, is completely down to you.

You could consider this as a step-by-step SEO guide to your website that highlights the true facts on how your website fairs in the present moment, but also underlines what ought to be done next to fix the errors, continue the good practices, make amendments etc. Our SEO audit report will explain how the data gathered can be used to your website’s benefit, and will conclude with a forecast for future, if the necessary changes are applied. Additional opportunities will too be recommended, allowing you to progress with the current SEO strategy.

Of course, the audits contain specific guidelines, proposal schemes and suggestions for optimisation of your website, which should subsequently be implemented. Only then will an SEO audit make sense. The conclusions we gather will need to be implemented to produce any forms of fruition.

An important note: optimisation alone is not a part of the audit. Audit is only the main instruction manual including advice and recommendations. The action of optimisation is yet another, separate service, just like SEO itself, which can be completed both by us or those who are rightfully entrusted – your IT team or external partners, or perhaps independent specialists with whom you cooperate (programmers, graphic designers, SEO copywriters and so on).

FACTORS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO AUDITING

So, to sum up, what exactly will be examined during the SEO audit?

A website SEO audit performed by us involves the examination of the following elements/aspects:

Your current website status on Google,
Website indexation,
Indexing errors,
Search Analytics
Mobile searches
Backlinks leading to the website,
Backlink profile,
Distribution of keywords within the links,
Sitewide links,
No-follow links,
Outbound links,
Technical aspects of the website
Website’s loading speed
Image sizes,
Generated scripts,
HTML / CSS code quality,
The server used,
Rating of the desktop website,
Rating of the mobile website,
Page titles,
Product category titles, product pages: e-commerce,
Descriptions (meta description),
Meta keywords,
Structure of headings H1 - H6,
Descriptions of graphics/images,
Keyword selection,
Keyword search statistics,
Keyword cannibalization,
Keyword density,
Text quantity in relation to competition (the top 5),
Htaccess file,
Redirections: 301, 302 etc.,
Canonical redirections: e-commerce,
Description originality and content duplication,
404 errors,
Friendly url addresses,
Internal linking,
Current traffic,
Entry pages,
Bounce rates,
A comparison with competitors: positions, estimated traffic, content, backlinks,
The sitemap,
Robots.txt file,
And a variety of other factors that we discuss with the client.

When should you commission/perform an SEO audit? The top 5 Scenarios.

When re-designing or reconstructing an existing website, or substituting an e-commerce engine:

These are some of the most common internal developments that companies undertake – to stay relevant, to offer a more fluent service/experience, to match the Google trends. It’s safe to say that with more passing time, these developments are accelerating.

After all, we want to accommodate the current expectations of users, their frequent demands and above all suit those who use mobile devices to browse the internet. If your website is not optimised, seems outdated, or its responsiveness is off, you might be dealing with some serious issues, impacting the experience of the user. So, the chief aim is to stay relevant, modern, match the contemporary practices and expectations od your audience, especially the younger generations, who are less tolerant of old-fashioned websites.

Website life is naturally shortened, and cyclical redevelopment has now become the norm. Without that, your website will expire in the eyes of Google and your users. But in this situation, even before the graphic designers and programmers get to work, it’s always worth performing an audit of the existing site to ensure a set strategy is established. Not only will this enable you to limit the workload, but it will also be less expensive, as you won’t be wasting your money on modification/implementation of features that, in your case, aren’t needed.

On the basis of the performed SEO audit, you’ll be able to judge what’s best for your website, and what actions are required. The recommendations we will set out, paralleled along with new ideas will allow you to develop an adequately prepared website. In essence, an audit will set a bunch of guidelines for those responsible for marketing/graphical/SEO jobs on your website. That way, those involved in a development of design/implementation will have a direct plan and goals to adhere to – plan/goals which you’ll be aware of, enabling you to monitor the overall progress and exercised operations, ensuring that no money/time are wasted.

When launching a brand-new website:

Once again, even if a website is created from scratch, and there are already undergoing SEO planning stages, then we strongly urge to opt for an audit prior to such development. Remember, that an audit does not simply consist of your website’s analysis – it’s all the online context. Your industry, competition, target audience requirements. Analysing these aspects, and applying them to your website development strategy will enable you to create a near-flawless, SEO-ready website. To further that point, it’s not uncommon for a website to originate on the www without the participation of a graphic designer or even a programmer – perhaps a Premium WordPress template was purchased? (then only supplemented with appropriate content). These templates are created with near zero industry-dedicated research, no prior history or SEO background. In this case, launching the website with an SEO audit will enable you to fill in the gaps, and create a suitable website, fit for Google, your users, and the like.

When the SEO effects aren’t prominent, or lacking in potency:

SEO is a process which requires patience and time. However, if, despite the SEO activities carried out, the Google Analytics stats still don’t fill you with much hope or optimism, it is absolutely worth conducting an SEO audit. Such a report will focus on the assessment of all current SEO activities undertaken on-site and off-site, and should indicate, or at least specify more closely why you’re not seeing the desired effects. An SEO audit will list the reasons and circumstances why the unsatisfactory results or gradual decreases in website visits from organic search results occurs.

When you establish a cooperation with a new SEO agency:

We believe that a website’s audit should mark the start of a cooperation with any SEO company. Conclusions and relevant information drawn from the analysis should be instantly included and thereafter adopted into an SEO strategy. The implementations should then be planned, verified and reported. Only with an SEO audit will you guarantee yourself a successful start.

When you discover a sudden drop in traffic, orders, queries or leads:

Something is off. The phone isn’t ringing, the e-mail box is empty . . . If you’ve been observing very satisfying results since the onset of your SEO endeavours, and then suddenly over a day, week or month, you noticed a definitive drop in interest towards your offer, products, services etc. then it’s certainly worth conducting an SEO audit. This method will show you instantly where the source of the issue lies, saving you precious hours if otherwise you searched blindly for answers yourself. After all, your SEO audit will be carried out by a team of specialists, each equipped with relevant knowledge, therefore to them a diagnosis will be reliable and swift.

How much does an SEO audit cost?

As you probably already know, audits consist of evaluation of many critical elements related to your website, which might impact its visibility on Google. We analyse dozens, hundreds of variables, provide you a multitude of information. How much the SEO audit of a website costs will depend primarily on the size of your website, the complexity of the structure, your business goals or even the industry in which you operate. All this has a clear impact on time and hours various specialists have to dedicate to audit your website and the background online context within which it is found.

As a result, we don’t have a fixed price list for SEO audits. Each research evaluation is created individually, taking into account the above circumstances.

If you would like to know how much your website’s SEO audit will cost, get in touch with us! Our specialist will contact you, take a glance at your website, and present an offer of cooperation.

Who performs the SEO audit?

An experienced SEO specialist - an expert who combines all components of the process e.g. technical issues related to page speed, correct indexation by search engine robots, selection of keywords/phrases, content marketing or backlink analysis.

Remember that an SEO audit gazes at your website from an extremely broad perspective, which is why systematic knowledge from several specialist areas is necessary during the process. The same goes for the ability to undertake a subsequent syntheses, and make clear but comprehendible recommendations that support the SEO process.

What tools are used during an SEO audit of your website?

All members at Mapi Media use a wide spectrum of specialised SEO tools.

We reach use those within the Mountain View ecosystem: Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insight, Google Analytics, Google Ads system keyword planner, Google Data Studio. Our other most frequently-used tools are the external systems created for SEO specialists, e.g. Ahrefs , Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Senuto or Surfer SEO.

Of course, Microsoft Excel also needs a rightful mention. Its table functions and data gathering/presenting systems are not only unparalleled, but in our humble opinion, irreplaceable.

Can you perform a Google-based audit by yourself? And in your own time?

There are a number of free tools, of course with reduced functionality, available to download. It’s often the case that new customers ask us to interpret the results they obtained via such methods. In our opinion, the mere fact of not understanding the data, is enough to stimulate the following argument: doing it on your own is simply not worth it, unless you are a professional in the field, with contemporary and up-to-date understanding/knowledge of SEO.

A professional SEO audit ends with a list of recommendations, a clear list of instructions that should be appropriately interpreted, reflecting on their purposefulness.

We can hereby provide a simple analogy which could make things a bit more transparent: you could attempt to make a medical diagnosis of yourself, if you’re every ill, based solely on the information found across online forums or textbooks. To tackle the illness, you could buy medical supplies which could either cure you or render you even more poorly.
But would you really risk your health? No, of course not, hence why we’d go for a visit at a professional, who possesses the right knowledge – a doctor. The same goes for performing SEO audits – yes, you could do it yourself, and save up a little money, then attempt to fix the issues, based on the info you’ve gathered online. But one thing is certain, you would still have it on your conscience, that you could have done something wrong, reached an errored conclusion, or incorrectly interpreted an analysis. It’s best to avoid such scenario, and reach out for aid to specialists. If you go down the independent route you may risk in damaging your website even more.

F.A.Q.

SEO auditing - Questions and Answers

Explore below what others are asking:

How long does it take to complete an SEO audit?

There is no single answer to this question. It depends on the scope of the website audit itself and the size of the website in mind. In the case of simple websites with an uncomplicated structure, we usually suggest an audit deadline of up to 5 business days. For larger websites, with more complexities, generally a schedule of 10 days is set. Of course, this may vary, depending on the current workload of our SEO team.
During an auditing process, will my website or e-store be put on hold?

Absolutely not. SEO auditing uses medical nomenclature. It is a completely non-invasive form of examination. You can be calm; we will not disable your website, put it on hold or on hiatuses. Neither will any of its key elements be impacted.
What is your experience in conducting SEO audits?

Most of us here in Mapi Media have been involved in digital online marketing professionally for roughly 10 years, on average. This is our work and area of interest. During this time, we have carried out hundreds of audits and we are constantly in the process of developing more e.g. in the form of cyclical verification for our clients who use our agency’s services to complete SEO activities.
What information will you need before you start analysing my website?

We will certainly need access to Google services: Analytics and Search Console. We’ll also require access to your server (e.g. to carry out an error analysis) or CMS (e.g. to conduct the meta section optimisation). However, the full access to specific elements and systems will be fully determined once we familiarise ourselves with your business and the website itself.
How often should you repeat an SEO audit?

It depends. If your website is regularly expanded or developed e.g. with implementation of new services/offers, it’s worth checking whether the freshly included website areas should be audited once the update is finalised. Either way, minor SEO audits are usually a part of the daily activities/responsibilities undertaken by the SEO agency overseeing your website. Therefore, if you already have an ongoing SEO contract, you should entrust auditing to them.
Will an SEO audit increase my website's ranking in Google?

The audit itself is an examination - a form of a report containing recommendations/suggestions regarding improvements in the area of SEO that require implementation, i.e. it’s a website diagnosis. As such, your ranking will not increase, unless you take the suggestions into consideration, and conduct relevant optimisation advancements.
Will I understand an SEO audit report and the feedback information it contains?

Absolutely. Each part of the audit i.e. section of the overall diagnosis contains descriptions, additional recommendations, conclusions and tips. What’s more, it’s all written out and outlined in layman’s terms – so there’s no need to worry. Thanks to these comprehendible side notes you will understand what to focus on when planning your future SEO activities on the website.

Do you carry out free SEO audits?

Unfortunately not. We do not think that passing the client's website through the machine and generating such vast amounts of information would be profitable for our company. In some cases, this service can actually be very demanding and time consuming – and our specialists need a monthly salary . . .
Can I discuss or go over the audit report with a given specialist?

Yes. The SEO specialist responsible for carrying out your audit will be happy to answer any additional questions or expand on the already made points.
I commissioned you to perform an SEO audit on my website, now I want to progress further and commission its optimisation - will you undertake such challenge?

Of course! We first determine the extent of your IT department’s involvement. If you don't have programmers/web developers within your team, then worry not we have plenty available experts in this domain. They will work for you, and carry out any SEO related tasks that you require.
I commissioned you with an SEO audit of my website, and now I would like to get the SEO service. Do you offer any discounts?

Of course. You can count on a favourable proposal which takes into account our previous cooperation. Our customer service representative will provide you all information – feel free to contact us.
How much time does it take to implement changes from an SEO audit?

There is no single answer to this question. It all depends on the results of your website’s evaluation and the number of recommendations we provided you to implement. Some changes will require more work, some far less. Whether your website will require the former or the latter will depend on vast variables. But one thing is certain, at the beginning, if you decide to commission the SEO work to an agency, it's worth focusing on the most important, critical aspects. Only once those are finished, we suggest tackling everything else.
How long will it take once the changes are made, to increase the ranking of my website?

It depends on the results of the website’s evaluation. When, after an audit, you optimise the most critical errors, the effects should come in fairly quickly and be pretty noticeable in terms of your ranking. But the story does not end here. Our experience shows that in the case of Google search engine each website is different, and each website will respond differently to positive alterations. The key thing to remember during SEO is that patience is vital. To achieve top Google page ranking spots months or even years will be required, depending on the size of your competition, and of course the optimisation level of your website.
Can every website be subject to an SEO audit?

In a technical sense, yes. However, substantively and economically, this is not always justified. Why? Well, you need to be aware that some closed systems, both free and paid (e.g. in the SaaS model) have ‘limited’ options when it comes to later (post-launch) optimisation.

For example, let's give the popular blog platform blogspot.com belonging to the Mountain View Giant a quick look. In the case of this website, we don't have access to the source code or server. We can move within the defined layout and content editing options, thanks to which we publish new entries or posts. But of course, that’s pretty much where our abilities end. So, of course, in the case of this website construction, a comprehensive SEO audit just doesn't make the slightest sense. After all, even if errors are detected, you won’t be able to implement any changes.

The information that a SEO specialist may pay close heed to are e.g. selection of phrases, keyword density or the length of content, as well as quantity of images etc. That’s pretty much the extent. An SEO specialist can also advise you to migrate to an independent, open source engine on a rented server for a purchased domain, which will free you up significantly.

So, once again before you start creating a website, or rush to open your site on systems like blogspot.com, first ensure that your website can be properly optimised. Otherwise, you will find little luck in the field of SEO. To find out which websites are adequate, SEO auditing responsive and worthy of consideration, please feel free to consult our specialists.

Did you struggle to find the answers to questions of your interest?