93 percent of all online experiences begin with a search engine. This means that if you haven’t already invested in SEO, now is the perfect time to do so. But before you get underway, it’s extremely important to examine where your online presence stands at the moment. By performing an SEO audit, you get to see where your website can improve and what goals you should set for the future. In case you’re not convinced just yet, here are 5 good reasons to perform an SEO audit.
Identifies competition
Trying to create a strong online presence without researching your competitors are is like aiming to build the tallest skyscraper without taking a second to look at how tall other skyscrapers are. Fail to keep an eye on what they and you might just end up getting left behind. Luckily, by performing an SEO audit, you get to figure out who your competition really is, identify their strategies and come up with a plan for staying ahead of the pack. Just bear in mind that this doesn’t mean you should copy what your industry rivals do. Instead, use the info you collect to outcompete and make your business more successful.
Speeds things up
According to research, customer patience is reaching an all-time low. 47 percent of visitors end up leaving the page unless it loads in the first 2 seconds. Not only this, but the algorithms Google and other search engines use also value page load speed quite a lot, and looking for ways to make your website faster is a must. One of the best things about performing an SEO audit is that it can dig out all the reasons why your site isn’t as quick as it’s supposed to be. Once these problems have been identified, you can easily make some adjustments and ensure you rank better in search results.
Generates more qualified leads
Not every person who enters your website is a qualified lead. Many internet users simply browse the web and never end up buying the products or services they’re looking up. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that as this type of leads also adds legitimacy to your website. Still, you’re supposed to focus on those web users who are expected to buy your product or service. This goes for every industry out there, and SEO experts put emphasis on the importance of lead generation for landing SEO clients. An SEO audit will tell you whether there’s anything upsetting your lead generation campaign.
Identifies outdated/duplicate content
If you’ve noticed fewer and fewer people are visiting your website, one of the potential reasons might be outdated or duplicate content. Search engines pay a lot of attention to how valid a piece of content is and take it into account when ranking websites. Since creating quality content on a regular basis isn’t as easy as it may seem, it’s a good idea to check your content and ensure there’s nothing that turns visitors off and makes the traffic stop. When performing an SEO audit, your content is closely evaluated, allowing you to make any necessary changes that’ll result in improved rankings.
Increases organic traffic
When running a website, one of the clearest indicators you can use to check the health of your website is to analyze your organic traffic. The reason behind this is that people who find your website on their own tend to trust you more. When you reach out to them, their defense mechanisms activate and they tend to be suspicious about your company. An SEO audit is the best way to keep a constant eye on your organic traffic. It helps monitor all the channels and sources that impact the health of your website and identify any mistakes that might be hurting your SEO efforts.
Final thoughts
There’s much more to your website than just the aesthetics, especially when we’re talking about SEO. No matter how good you believe your site is, looking to identify any weaknesses and find ways to deal with them is a great idea. Perform an SEO audit and there should be nothing stopping you from identifying absolutely everything about your website that might have an impact on your SEO strategy.