What is an SEO audit of a website?

Intro

Promotion of the site in search engines begins with SEO-audit. Analysing the potential of the resource and its suitability for promotion is necessary for the success of the project.
Let's talk about what it is and what the system of SEO-audit of the site consists of.

Conducting a seo-audit

Websites are created to bring visitors to the target action (buy, place an order, click on a link, join a group, give charity). The primary task of the site owner is to make it available to the target audience, that is, to bring it to the first page of the search engine. Ideally, get into the top 3. For example, sites that focus on specific promotions like Stay casino no deposit bonus aim to attract users searching for those offers. But in the first position, space for all is not enough, so there are only the best, from the point of view of search engines, optimised sites.

SEO-audit is a complex internal (technical) and external analysis of a web resource, during which errors are detected and the strengths of the project are evaluated. The result of the work is a formed strategy of complex website optimization, which addresses all detected problematic aspects. Terms of reference for all participants of its creation and filling.

Main criteria of SEO site audit

Analysis of the site begins with the study of its subject area. It is necessary to evaluate the competitors who have taken the top positions, and understand what points should be emphasised.

External SEO audit

The object of external analysis is the reference mass. It includes three mandatory items:

• Donor analysis. It is necessary to critically assess the reputation of donor sites. From the ‘help’ suspicious and spammy it is desirable to refuse.
• Analysing the anchor list. Google's aggressive attitude to link spam does not bode well for sites that use such methods of promotion. Anchor list analysis is an elementary way to identify unnatural links.

To fight them came out ‘Penguin’ (in April 2012) - an algorithm that punished a large number of sites for unnatural anchor-lists.

• Analysis of link mass growth. The growth of link mass on the graph should look smooth, without jumps. Link explosions may indicate that the site is already under sanctions from search engines. In such situations, it is worth considering a domain change before starting promotion.

Internal SEO audit

Search engines are distracted from the reference criteria and ranking at the head of the technical state of the site - the convenience of its use, the quality of content, the absence of technical errors.
Optimising internal factors is much safer and more promising than promotion through links and the use of ‘black methods’. Let's focus on the audit of internal parameters of the site, which are reflected in the speed of its promotion.

Content analysis

Analysing the textual content of the site, it is necessary to check:

1. semantic kernel - relevance of keywords in semantic groups, the text should be built on the widest possible semantic kernel;
2. landing pages - commercial keys should be located on product pages, categories. For requests of an informational nature should be present separate pages with background information;
3. occurrences of keywords - the use of keywords should be focused on people, not on search engines. For successful promotion of the site is of paramount importance is the use of high-frequency queries and their concise insertion into the text;
4. uniqueness of the text - search engines pay close attention to the text. It is necessary to develop a copywriting plan to fill with unique content all pages with missing or non-unique text;
5. meta tags - title and description should include the promoted queries. This factor is important when ranking the site.

Catalogue structure

Level of nesting

The structure of the catalogue should be checked for ease of use. The transition from the main page to its main sections should be one click. It is effective to create static pages of intersection of different queries: product + type, product + city, etc.

Relinking

Internal relinking contributes to a significant increase in traffic if it is used by online shops or large sites with pages of the third and more levels of nesting. For one-page sites or portals containing pages of only the second level, linking makes no sense, as the pages are linked by menu.

Software component of SEO-audit

Duplicates

A large number of duplicates in the index interferes with the promotion of even promising sites made qualitatively. Additional results (so-called ‘snot’), where pages with minimal value (for example, duplicates) are usually not viewed by users. That's why you need to get rid of duplicates. Determining the ‘snot’ helps ‘HTML optimisation’ in Google webmasters and services for calculating traffic statistics.

Robots.txt

The robots file regulates the relationship of sites with search engines, although it does not help directly in the promotion. Lack of the file or errors in specifying the rules for search engines can get in the way of the success of the site. The robots.txt file must be correctly installed on the site and configured.

Sitemap.xml

If a site has a multi-level structure, search engine robots cannot always index all of its pages. A sitemap (sitemap.xml file) contains a list of all its main pages. This file shows search engines what is to be indexed. The path to sitemap.xml should be added in the settings for webmasters Yandex, Google.

Checking the server response

Monitoring the correctness of the server response code is a necessary stage in SEO audit and an important condition for maintaining the performance of the site. There are various tools (e.g. Bertal, Analysis, etc.) to check the HTTP status code.
Necessary existing pages should give 200 response codes, non-existing - 404. A common mistake is using 302 redirects when glueing pages together. The correct way is 301.

Code validity

The quality of site layout is an important criterion for ranking. Correctness of HTML-codes, their compliance with the standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium should be checked. If errors are detected, they should be corrected immediately.

GWT errors

Google webmasters tools service greatly simplifies the life of a webmaster promoting a site under the Google search engine. He gives out the errors of the site, shows what needs to be corrected and what you need to emphasise.
To exclude site subsidence in the positions of the output, you need to regularly monitor the errors of scanning and optimisation of HTML, and timely eliminate deficiencies.

Usability

Site, convenient for the visitor, has a good chance of a ‘warm’ place in the rows of rendition. Here works a kind of ‘circle of mutually beneficial advantages’. People find the site, they like it very much, they read, browse, make an order. On the face of it - favourable behavioural factors that are taken into account by search engines in ranking.
Search engines increase the position of the site in the issuance - and now more users go to your site. People are happy with its usability and take targeted actions. The conversion rate grows, the distance to the top ranks is reduced.
The system of SEO-audit of the site presses important levers in the mechanism of promotion of the Internet resource. Competent analysis, adequate optimisation strategy and prompt response to the recommendations received after the audit, allow you to promote the site with the lowest costs. Most importantly, search traffic is increased by natural methods, without link factors.

Importance of Regular SEO Audits

An SEO audit is not a one-time task. The digital landscape and search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, and a site that was optimised a year ago may no longer meet current standards. Regular SEO audits allow you to detect new issues in time, adapt to changes in search engine algorithms, and enhance the user experience.

Continuous monitoring of key SEO indicators allows for quick responses to any negative shifts in website rankings and helps fine-tune the promotion strategy. For example, Google algorithm updates, such as Core Updates, can negatively affect a site if it no longer aligns with the latest quality content or technical requirements. Regular SEO audits help prevent these issues, maintaining stable ranking growth.

SEO Audit for Improving Conversion Rates

One of the main goals of an SEO audit is not only to increase the website's visibility but also to improve conversions—the actions users take (purchases, sign-ups, inquiries). An audit helps optimise the structure and user experience (UX) of a website, making it easier for visitors to navigate and more likely to lead to conversions.

An SEO audit can include testing various elements of the site, such as contact forms, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, and user behaviour tracking. Based on this data, you can optimise low-conversion pages by improving their content and design, ultimately increasing the number of targeted actions.

Optimising for Voice Search

In recent years, the rise in popularity of voice search has made it essential to consider this aspect during an SEO audit. More people are using voice assistants like Google Assistant or Siri to search for information, changing the way they input search queries—these queries tend to be longer and more conversational.

An SEO audit should identify opportunities for voice search optimization, which includes using long-tail keywords, natural language, and answering frequently asked questions (FAQs). Optimising for voice search can improve a website's visibility to a growing category of users and adapt content to better match their queries.

Adapting to New Search Algorithms

Search engine algorithms are updated regularly, and each update can significantly impact a website’s ranking in search results. Therefore, an important aspect of an SEO audit is ensuring that the website complies with the latest search engine requirements. For instance, Google updates like BERT or Helpful Content are designed to better understand the context and user intent rather than just exact keyword matches.

This means that the content needs to be not only relevant to search queries but also well-structured, providing clear context and valuable information to users. An SEO audit helps identify how well the site's content and structure align with modern algorithms.