SEO Audit Process
By Emma Coykendall
For some people, the term ‘SEO’ triggers stress. They view search engine optimization as a necessary part of their company but as a daunting task to take on. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be as scary as it seems!
At Ankerpoint, we take care of SEO for vacation rental companies and have learned how to bring their sites to the next level. One of the first steps is auditing each site every month to ensure that everything is running smoothly and to assess what we can do to improve it. In this article, I’m going to give you a basic overview of each step in our auditing process.
Each of these steps has helped us improve search results for our clients in both small and large ways and has made a difference to their direct bookings. Each step is a different tool that shares valuable insights. A subscription is required for some of these tools but let me tell you, it’s worth it!
Why Conduct An Audit?
So is this even necessary? Do we need to check in on things every month? The answer is a resounding yes!
Conducting an SEO audit on a regular basis will help to consistently identify various issues and errors. It will improve the overall health of your site which in turn will boost your site’s ranking on the search results page.
So without further ado, here are our four steps to an audit that will be game-changing in your SEO journey.
1. GTMetrix
When I first opened GTMetrix it looked intimidating. However, after a few how-to videos, I felt much more confident. This tool grades your page on a letter-grade scale and gives you a deep dive into the performance and structure of your site.
When I run pages through GTMetrix I make sure to check the history of everything that is being assessed. This helps to determine if I’m improving the pages or if it’s declining. From here I can gauge what needs to change. Do we need to work on the site's speed, which is a major factor in how your site ranks on Google? Is the cumulative layout shift, which helps with site usability, in a good place? GTMetrix is great for answering all of these questions.
2. PageSpeed Insights
In some ways, this is a simpler version of GTMetrix. On PageSpeed Insights you can obtain a good idea of what’s working and what isn’t at a glance. I look at PageSpeed Insights after GTMetrix to make sure I haven’t missed anything in the complexity of the latter.
Being able to have a clear visual of how my INP (Largest Contentful Paint) or TTFB (Time To First Byte) is doing is a helpful tool when determining what I need to focus on in the coming month. There is some crossover between GTMetrix and PageSpeed Insights but in the small differences there is a wealth of information that is valuable when it comes to improving the strength of a site.
The benefits of PageSpeed Insights is that it shows recommendations of how to fix the issues it finds. These recommendations, along with their Page Scores have been very helpful in the SEO audit process.
3. Google Search Console
If you want to know the secrets of the search engine then it’s best to go to the source itself! Google Search Console provides valuable information on how Google interacts with and crawls your site. With this kind of tool, you can track your site's search performance and monitor any issues that might pop up.
Google Search Console will notify you when your site is falling behind in any given area. You can view your site's top queries, look into enhancements and experiences, and pay attention to performance. I also love using this tool because it’s basically a direct line of communication with Google itself. It’s the behind-the-scenes of your site and provides you with insider information into how Google wants you to improve everything. When you follow Google’s rules they will help bring your site up the rankings.
4. Semrush Site Audit
Last but definitely not least is my favorite step in the SEO audit process. Semrush is a tool that has been there for me through thick and thin. The amount of information and tools on this site make a big difference in how our sites perform.
Semrush shows errors, warnings, and notices that you need to look into. It also reports on the crawlability (the ability of search engines to search your site), and has many other tools, like the Keyword Magic Tool, that are helpful on a daily basis. When I audit a site I go straight to the errors section where I can fix anything that needs to be changed. From broken images to 5XX errors I can access them all in Semrush.
This tool shows me what to change and the level of urgency that each error demands. Having this knowledge equips me to build up our clients' sites and fix any issues they might have.
An SEO Audit is Essential
Each of these tools plays an important role in the SEO audit process. They show me the issues and the highlights of our clients' sites and help me determine what I need to focus on.
The question you might be asking is: which ones require me to pay?
For the most part, these tools each have a free version. GTMetrix and Semrush both require a subscription to unlock all of their services but PageSpeed Insights and Google Search Console are completely free! However, if you are planning to conduct a full SEO audit I would recommend purchasing a subscription to GTMetrix and Semrush. These tools are invaluable and make a drastic difference in the process.
Conducting an audit is essential to improve your site's health and in turn the health of your online bookings. Gaining a good SEO score will increase traffic and conversion rates and staying on top of your SEO is the key to accomplishing it.