But what exactly is a website audit? How do you go about doing one and why should you bother in the first place? Continue reading as we break down why website audits are an integral part of any marketer’s 2023 plan for success!
What is a Website Audit and Why Should You Do One
The past decade has seen the web become more crowded and competitive making it essential to ensure your website is up-to-date, streamlined, and SEO optimized. This is why it’s important to do a website audit: a process that assesses how well your site performs in terms of accessibility and user experience.
A good audit will identify any potential issues or areas that need improving, such as content, design, usability, search engine optimization (SEO), and more. Carrying out a website audit in 2023 is not just necessary for improving performance and mitigating risks. It also helps you leverage existing resources, optimizing every aspect of your digital presence for maximum efficiency and growth.
Types of Website Audits
At some point, every website should be assessed for quality and accuracy. Conducting a complete website audit includes various types of key elements ranging from technical and performance to SEO and competitive analysis.
- An SEO website audit focuses on improving the visibility of a site on search engines like Google. Most businesses focus on backlinks. But you also want to assess page titles, metadata, content, and internal links within pages for a full picture of SEO performance. Hiring an SEO agency to conduct your site audit can provide more thorough answers quickly.
- A technical audit looks at the overall usability and function of your website. This includes structure, code, and hosting of a website. A technical audit assesses possible weaknesses to address them more effectively. Proper page indexing and hierarchy make it easier for search engines to identify relevant content on your website faster.
- Performance audits test the speed and response time of a website as well as its compatibility with other devices. Research shows optimal load time is 1.5 to 3 seconds. People will not wait for your pages to load, which means lost customers. Optimizations can improve user engagement, bounce rates, and search engine rankings.
- A competitive audit examines how well your site is competing with similar sites in terms of features, popularity, design, and usability. You can see what is working for another brand and incorporate similar tactics into your strategy. Also, you may discover competitors in your industry you didn’t know about.
- And finally, a social media audit shows which platforms are offering good ROI. As well as determining necessary steps to leverage better engagement with customers across these platforms. If your social media accounts are not driving traffic to your website, then you should conduct an audit. Take a look at all your social media channels and ensure you’re consistent with your organization’s branding. Look at the content that performs well and begin to repurpose it across channels.
Benefits of Performing a Website Audit
A website audit can be an invaluable part of your online marketing strategy. It offers a few key benefits that can have a huge impact on the success of your business.
Firstly, by analyzing the traffic to your website and which pages are performing best you can ensure you are targeting the right customer base with relevant content. Secondly, it helps with search engine optimization (SEO), making sure you are reaching the widest audiences possible. Finally, a website audit provides analytics so that you can compare data from different months to measure progress and more easily identify areas for improvement.
With all these advantages and more, you should conduct regular website audits.
How to Perform a Successful Website Audit
A website audit involves carefully analyzing all aspects of your site, from content to design, to find opportunities for improvement.
To perform a successful audit, first, you need to define what success looks like. Set up some measurable goals and metrics to understand the current performance of each page on your site.
What metrics should you measure? Start with click-through rates, bounce rates, and time spent on each page. They’ll give you an indication of how well visitors are engaging with the content.
Additionally, you’ll want to focus your audit on a few key areas, including:
- Website structure ensures that navigation is intuitive and consistent, and URLs are correctly structured. An easy-to-navigate website provides visitors to your site with a positive experience.
- Technical issues such as mobile-friendliness and responsiveness, as well as identifying and fixing broken links or error pages. For example, a poor mobile experience can lead to visitors clicking away, upping your bounce rate. Remember, one-third of successful SEO is intuitive website structure and free of technical issues.
- Content is another crucial component. Ensure that it is optimized for relevant keywords, error-free, and accurately reflects your brand’s message. Identify content performing well in search and use that as a guide for future content strategy. Also, update older content occasionally to ensure accuracy.
- Lastly, performance and security should not be overlooked, analyzing factors such as page load speed, SSL certificate, and malware. A website audit can help identify vulnerabilities and suggest ways to improve your website’s security to help build trust with your customers.
By performing a comprehensive website audit, you’ll be able to identify areas of improvement and make valuable optimizations to ensure a successful website. Then contact a professional if needed for an expert opinion before implementing any changes.
Monitoring Your Website Over Time with Regular Audits
Keeping your website up to date is essential for providing your audience with a great user experience. It only takes someone a few seconds to decide if they find your website attractive or difficult to use. Monitoring your website over time with regular audits is the best way to deliver a top-notch browsing experience.
A website audit assesses several aspects of how users interact with your site, including design and content, as well as loading speed and security. Regular audits help you spot potential issues early on before they become more serious down the line, resulting in more money, time, and effort saved. Regular checks should take place every six months or annually.
All it takes is a small investment in getting an audit done regularly to make sure that your website always stays in peak performance.
Wrap It Up
In conclusion, a website audit is an invaluable tool for any business in 2023. With the changing technology environment, having insights across your website, from SEO to competitors can make all of the difference.
Evaluation and optimization can give you the upper hand needed to grow your business with an arsenal of valuable data. New Path can advise you on the most efficient way to maximize your website performance and provide an exceptional digital experience for all who visit your website. Learn more about our tech-forward services.
Blog Last Updated on 1 year by New Path Digital
