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How to Run an SEO Audit: A Simple Guide for Business Owners

How to Run an SEO Audit

Your website is not welcoming the visitors it imagined, or it has been dragged down in the search engine results.

An SEO audit is the process of pinpointing these issues. Technical glitches, content gaps, or flaws in user experience could be pulling your website down from ranking better in search engine result pages.

In this guide, we’ll provide you with a clear, step-by-step process to perform an SEO audit. The best thing is that you’ll not require any special SEO training. Whether your site serves a corner café, a product line, or a professional blog, this checklist will help you optimize your online presence and make smarter marketing decisions.

What Is an SEO Audit?

An SEO audit is a comprehensive evaluation of every factor influencing how well your site can be found on search engines like Google. The audit covers both on-page and off-page SEO issues, including technical issues, site speed, mobile friendliness, duplicate content, internal links, title tag optimization, and a dozen other details.

Think of it as a complete health check-up for your website.

Why Is an SEO Audit Important?

Search engines are always adjusting their ranking algorithms, just as user behavior and expectations evolve.
Conducting an SEO audit provides you with the means to:

  • Obtaining an enhanced ranking in various search engines, such as Google
  • Create an effortless user experience for the website visitors
  • Knowing indexing issues, broken URLs, and obsolete content, and remedying them
  • Increasing the appearance of your target keywords
  • Functioning well under mobile devices
  • Identifying any issues of harmful duplicate content

Step-by-Step SEO Audit Guide for Business Owners

Let’s break down the audit process and slice it into easy, actionable steps:

1. Check Site Performance with Google PageSpeed Insights

Site speed remains a vital ranking factor, influencing your core web vitals – the user-centered measures Google relies on to evaluate the user experience on your site.

Visit Google PageSpeed Insights and enter your URL. This free tool will examine loading speed for both desktop and mobile devices, along with actionable pointers like:

  • Compressing image sizes
  • Minimizing JavaScript
  • Enabling browser caching

2.Review Indexing and Crawlability

Turn to Google Search Console to see how Google is indexing your site. The tool reveals whether all vital pages appear in search results and alerts you to any indexing issues.

Head to the “Pages” report under the “indexing” tab to find:

  • Pages that have been left from indexing
  • Redirect issues
  • Server problems

Resolving these issues enables search engines to crawl and index your content efficiently.

3. Audit On-page SEO Elements

Proper on-page SEO clarifies your content’s theme to search engines. Focus on these elements:

  • Title Tag: Check whether it is unique, loaded with relevant keywords, and is not more than 60 characters.
  • Meta Descriptions: Ensure they concisely reflect the page’s intent.
  • Headings (H1, H2, etc.): Confirm they follow a logical, clear hierarchy.
  • Alt Text for Images: It is crucial for image search and accessibility.

Pro Tip: Utilize tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to scan for missing or duplicate title tags.

4. Fix Broken Links and Improve Internal Linking

Broken or dead links damage both user experience and SEO. Run a scan with tools like Broken Link Checker or Ahrefs to identify and repair any broken links. Simultaneously, audit internal links to verify they:

  • Direct traffic to high-priority pages.
  • Use clear, descriptive anchor text.
  • Avoid overstuffing of target keywords.

A well-organized structure of internal links helps distribute link equity and simplify navigation for both users and search engine bots.

5. Evaluate Content Quality and Keyword Optimization

  • Make sure every piece of your content is:
  • Aligned with your audience’s interests
  • Purposefully threaded with your target keywords
  • Original, with no duplicate content
  • Well-structured and easy on the eyes
  • Run your text through SEMrush or Ubersuggest to match the search habits of people. Check keyword density too, aiming for enough mentions to stay relevant without sounding forced.

    Insider Tip: Revise older blog posts and service pages so they keep pace with changing user intent and the latest SEO practices.

    6. Review Mobile Friendliness

    Since Google now uses mobile versions for indexing, your site needs to work flawlessly on smartphones. The Mobile-Friendly Test on Google’s site will give you a quick verdict.

    You should watch for:

    • Fluid, responsive layouts
    • Font sizes that are easy to read
    • Buttons and menus that are simple to tap
    • Fast load times on mobile networks

    A site that’s hard to use on a phone will see ranking drops and higher bounce rates.

    7. Check for Duplicate Content

    Duplicate content – whether on your site or elsewhere – can sink your rankings. Use tools like Copyscape or Siteliner to efficiently flag duplicates. Watch out for:

    • Printer-friendly pages
    • Product descriptions copied from manufacturers
    • Multiple URLs leading to the same content

    Place canonical tags on the duplicates so Google knows which page should get the credit.

    8. Measure Core Web Vitals

    Google has boiled down web performance to the Core Web Vitals, which focus on three user-centered metrics:

    • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) tells you how quickly the main content of your page loads.
    • First Input Delay (FID) gauges how responsive your page feels when a user first interacts with it.
    • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) tracks how stable the on-screen content remains as it loads, preventing frustrating layout jumps.

    You can check for these three using Google PageSpeed Insights, Chrome DevTools, or Google Search Console under the “Experience” tab. Since these metrics now weigh directly into rankings, they are important for SEO.

    9. Use Free Tools to Perform an SEO Audit

    You don’t have to shell out for pricey tools at the start. Several free resources can lay a solid foundation for your SEO strategy:

    • Google Search Console reveals how Google views your site via crawl, index, and performance reports.
    • Google PageSpeed Insights focuses on load speed and Core Web Vitals.
    • Ubersuggest tracks your rankings and lets you peek at your competitors.
    • The free version of Screaming Frog crawls your site to flag broken links, missing tags, and other technical issues.

    Perform an SEO audit with the help of these tools, and you can get rid of the main issues holding your site back – without the steep learning curve or cost.

    10. Create a Plan to Fix SEO Issues

    Once you have cataloged all the SEO issues, rank them by how much they affect your growth:

    • High Priority: Broken pages, severe site-speed lag, missing title and description tags
    • Medium Priority: Duplicate pages, pages lacking substance, lost internal linking paths
    • Low Priority: Slight formatting quirks, URLs that are a bit long

    Set up a shared spreadsheet for task tracking. Include columns for deadlines and responsible team members – crucial when you are collaborating with a reputable company like Digicorns Technologies.

    Make Auditing a Habit!

    SEO isn’t a one-off checklist. Algorithms evolve every day, and your rivals are always optimizing. Schedule audits every 3 to 6 months if you want to stay one step ahead. At Digicorns, we expose latent SEO weaknesses and turn them into avenues for growth.

    If you’d prefer to take the right step – leaving the technical details to pros, reach out to Digicorns. We’ll help you conquer the rankings keyword by keyword.

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