For modern business owners, the success of their company’s website is one of the determining factors in the overall success of their business. Since SEO plays such an integral role in this success, it is obviously important that you have a grasp on exactly how you are performing in search engine rankings.
In addition, it is essential that you also have an understanding of what can be done to maintain or improve upon your SEO rankings. To do this, most website owners have an SEO audit completed to get a better idea of just how well their site is optimized for search engines.
If you are unfamiliar with SEO audits, here are a few things that you should know about them.
There Are Several Different Types of Audits
One of the first things that you should be aware of when it comes to SEO audits is that there are several different types that can be performed. Some audits are used for nothing more than to check a site’s overall health. These are generally done in instances where a website has experienced a sudden downturn in traffic and the cause is unknown.
Another common type of audit is the red flag audit. These are done to assess the potential of penalties being placed on a website for certain issues that are frowned upon by search engines. Competitive site audits are another option, as they are used to analyze a website’s SEO in relation to its competition.
For businesses that generate a large portion of their profits online, a conversion optimization audit is necessary on a fairly regular basis. This type of audit is used as a way to determine what needs to be done in relation to optimizing a website for conversions.
Security audits are also common. These audits are performed as a way to check the vulnerability of a particular website to potential security risks. This type of audit is generally done on an annual basis, especially for high-traffic sites, as it ensures that the reputation of the site is never hurt due to security issues.
Have Audits Performed Professionally
While many website owners perform their own audits by reading a guide on how to do an SEO audit, it is highly recommended that you trust a professional to perform this service. One of the main reasons for doing so is because professionals will be unbiased in their analysis of your site. In many cases, website owners overlook things that may be harming their SEO status because they do not think that they could have made a mistake.
In addition, companies that offer SEO audit services will have a thorough checklist that enables you to ensure that your audit is being handled the right way. If you are not experienced in performing audits, ensuring a complete and accurate assessment is undoubtedly difficult.
SEO Audits Can Be Written Off On Taxes
SEO audits can generally be written off on a business’ taxes. Any business in the US, and sometimes in other countries, which has a digital presence is able to write off one SEO audit per year. This is yet another reason that it is a good idea to go with a professional auditing service over trying to perform the audit on your own.
The Cost of an Audit Varies
One of the main questions that website owners ask about SEO audits is how much they will cost. As with everything, however, the price varies quite a bit depending on each site and the type of audit that will be performed. If you are looking for a comprehensive audit, expect to pay anywhere from $300-$600. This can be higher or lower depending on the size and depth of your website.
It should be noted that some companies claiming to offer SEO audits will simply run your site through a tool that quickly develops a report about your SEO. While this can be an effective way to get an initial idea of your current SEO situation, it can never replace the detailed audit and feedback that a professional can provide.
Companies that use these tools generally offer their auditing services for exceptionally low prices. You should be wary of such companies, as there are plenty of free tools out there to help you get a solid initial idea of your SEO situation. From there, hiring a professional to look over your site in more detail is the logical next step.
Don’t Hide Anything from Your SEO Auditor
One of the things that is incredibly frustrating for SEO auditors is that website owners often try to hide some of the black hat SEO tactics they have used in the past. While this may seem like an opportunity to test whether your black hat tactics are working, any good auditor will notice these issues after taking an in-depth look at your site.
When they do notice them, this will often be the aspect of your audit that is detailed the most. Since you are already aware of the issue, you will have wasted both the time of the auditor and your own money. For this reason, it is best that you disclose all information related to poor SEO tactics in the past, no matter how embarrassing it may be.
There are few things more important to a website than its SEO rankings. In order to achieve the best search engine optimization, an SEO audit is required on a regular basis. Having a comprehensive audit completed annually by an experienced professional will enable you to stay on top of your search engine rankings and ensure that your website is on the right path.
The importance of strong SEO is only going to continue to increase. Stay on top of your website’s status by having an SEO audit performed annually. You surely will not regret your decision to do so.