Are you trying to Audit Your SEO on your site?
Imagine looking for something in the dark. It would be difficult to find without relying on vision, but if you’re looking for a familiar object at a familiar location (let’s say a wallet in your own home), you don’t have to turn the light on. You just look where you always leave it, and you’ll find it nine times out of ten.
Searching for things online is exactly the same. If you know the exact name of the site/page and have already been there, your browser will know what is expected of it, even if your approach is a bit crude and imprecise.
This is the problem that a lot of SEO specialists face. They enter the client’s site hundreds of times in a month, and when they search for it, it’s one of the first suggestions. Hence, they assume that they’re doing a good job. This isn’t necessarily the case.
You need a more systematic approach for this assessment and audit to work. You need to hide your identity, establish objective metrics (KPIs), conduct competitor searches, and even audit your keywords.
With that in mind, here are a few ways to objectively audit your SEO.
Table of Contents
Hide Your Identity
Every time you search, Google tailors its results based on your location, search history, and preferences. So, when auditing SEO, this can skew your perception. If you want an objective view, you must avoid letting Google personalize the results. Otherwise, your search won’t reflect what a typical user might see.
One easy way to sidestep Google’s personalization is by switching to a different Google account. You’ll get less biased search results when using a fresh account with no history tied to it. Also, this ensures you see your site as a new user, not as a frequent visitor.
Your browser’s cache stores information about the sites you’ve visited, which can impact their loading time. Clearing your cache wipes away that memory. This also gives you a cleaner view of how your site loads and performs for first-time visitors, providing a more objective assessment.
VPNs help mask your location, allowing you to see search results from different regions. By hiding your IP address, recommended secure VPNs let you assess SEO from various geographical perspectives. This step is necessary if your SEO strategy includes targeting different countries or regions.
As an SEO specialist, you need to put an extra emphasis on cybersecurity, and VPNs can also help here. So, sign up for the VPN of your choice and start observing the results of your work in a less biased way.
Define Clear KPIs
If you’re serious about auditing SEO, you need to define what success looks like, and that’s where KPIs come in. Metrics like bounce and conversion rates can help show whether your efforts are paying off. Also, they highlight areas where you might need to improve.
Rank-tracking tools are an essential part of any SEO audit. They allow you to monitor where your site stands for key search terms over time. Moreover, using these tools helps you see how you compare to competitors and whether your site is moving up or down in search results.
Before making changes to your SEO strategy, you need to know where you’re starting. That means setting a baseline for organic traffic. You see, without a clear starting point, it’s difficult to measure growth or identify patterns. Establishing this baseline is crucial for objective audits.
CTR is another valuable KPI to monitor during an SEO audit. It tells you how often users click on your site when it appears in search results. Improving your CTR can lead to better search rankings, as Google factors in user engagement when determining site relevance.
Conduct Competitor Analysis
To truly understand where your site stands, you need to see how it stacks up against the competition. One key way to do this is by checking how competitors rank for your targeted keywords. This comparison gives you valuable insights into what’s working for them – and what’s not.
Backlinks remain one of the strongest ranking signals in SEO. By analyzing your competitors’ backlink profiles, you can identify high-quality sites linking to them. Moreover, this step helps you discover opportunities for your own backlink strategy. Look for gaps in their profiles that you can exploit.
It’s not enough to just rank for a keyword; you need to offer relevant and high-quality content. Take a look at your competitors’ content and see how it compares to yours. Also, you can assess factors like depth, tone, and structure to find ways to make your content even better.
A slow or non-mobile-friendly site can drive users away, negatively impacting SEO. When analyzing competitors, check how quickly their sites load and whether they’re optimized for mobile. Moreover, you can use this data to make improvements to your own site, ensuring you don’t fall behind.
Audit Your Keywords
Not all keywords are created equal, and some just won’t perform as well as others. During your SEO audit, identify which keywords aren’t pulling their weight. Shifting your focus away from these underperforming terms allows you to concentrate on more profitable opportunities.
Long-tail keywords might not have the same search volume as broader terms, but they often convert better. These highly specific phrases help you target niche audiences more effectively. Moreover, optimizing for long-tail keywords can lead to quicker wins in search rankings, as there’s often less competition.
Just keep in mind that you won’t be able to do this intuitively (at least not reliably enough). You need the right SEO tools.
Keyword stuffing is no longer viable, but ensuring the right keyword density still matters. Try to analyze how frequently your main keywords appear on your top pages. Also, strike a balance – you want to use keywords enough to rank but not so much that it hurts readability or SEO.
User intent is key when it comes to choosing the right keywords. Your bounce rate will skyrocket if your content doesn’t match what users are searching for. Moreover, search engines prioritize relevance, so ensure that your keywords align closely with what your audience is actually seeking.
Audit To Know How Your Site Is Doing
SEO audits are essential if you want to know how your site is truly performing. By hiding your identity, setting clear KPIs, and analyzing competitors, you can view your strengths and weaknesses accurately. Also, diving into keyword analysis and technical SEO ensures that nothing slips through the cracks. The goal is to see your site like Google and real users do without biases clouding your judgment.
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