There’s no doubt that online presence is a major challenge for companies of all sizes. You’re all aware that the Internet has become an essential communications medium, one that we can no longer do without.
So having a high-performance website, both in terms of search engine optimization and user experience, is essential for every business.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to know whether your site perfectly meets these 2 criteria, which are difficult to orchestrate in parallel.
That’s where awebsite audit comes in, a valuable step towards optimizing your company’s performance on the web.
We’re going to find out why it’s important to carry out a website audit, what the main steps are, and what tools you can use to complete the process.
The importance of an SEO audit for search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a key element of your online marketing strategy, as it enables your site to rank well in search engine results, particularly in Google’s natural results.
Good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) guarantees better visibility and therefore increased traffic to your site. It’s also worth noting that the SEO budget is a medium- to long-term investment, since you can opt for transactional keywords.
The SEO audit is a complete diagnosis of your site, enabling us to detect any technical or content problems that may be affecting your SEO. It will also help you identify strengths and areas for improvement.
By carrying out an SEO audit on a regular basis, you can ensure that your site is always in line with SEO best practices and that it meets search engine criteria.
You can track the evolution of your positions, day by day.
The key stages of a website audit
A website audit is a structured process involving several key stages. Here are the main points to examine during this analysis.
Technical analysis
The first stage of the audit is to examine the technical aspects of your site. This includes checking the quality of the code, site speed, compatibility with different browsers and devices, and the all-important issue of security…
A technically well-constructed site is not only more pleasant for the user, but also better referenced by search engines.
Content analysis
Content is a crucial element in SEO, enabling Google to understand what your site is about and where it should position your pages. A content audit will ensure that your pages are well optimized for relevant keywords, that they offer useful, high-quality information to your visitors, and that they are well structured (hn titles, tags, etc.).
Popularity analysis
The popularity of your site, i.e. the number and quality of links pointing to it, is also an important criterion for SEO. A website audit should therefore include an analysis of your link profile, to detect any problems (broken links, toxic links, etc.) and identify opportunities for improvement.
Popularity represents the bulk of SEO work, as it defines the overall power of your site, which will enable it to position its pages, or rank as we say in SEO jargon 😉
The essential tools for a website audit
There are a number of tools you can use to carry out a website audit. Here is a selection of the essentials. You can find a more detailed list of website auditing tools by following the link.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a traffic analysis tool that will help you better understand your visitors’ behavior and measure the effectiveness of your marketing actions. It’s essential for measuring your site’s performance and identifying areas for improvement. It’s a webmarketing must-have.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is another tool offered by Google that enables you to monitor the indexing of your site by the search engine and detect any problems that could harm your SEO, such as internal link errors, accessibility problems and so on. Overall, it gives you a good idea of your SEO performance, especially as it doesn’t provide estimates like other SEO tools.
Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is a website analysis software that’s a little harder to get to grips with, but nonetheless indispensable. It enables you to carry out a complete technical and content audit. In particular, it will help you detect structural problems (titles, tags, etc.), link errors, speed problems, etc.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a popularity analysis tool that will enable you to monitor your link profile and detect opportunities for improvement. It will also help you analyze the competition and identify the keywords you should be positioning yourself on, so it’s a bit of a darling of ours. It offers a free version for monitoring your site…
Website auditing as a business growth lever
Beyond SEO optimization, a website audit is also a growth lever for your company. Indeed, by improving the quality of your site, you offer your visitors a better experience, which will have a positive impact on customer conversion and loyalty.
What’s more, a well-designed and regularly updated website is a guarantee of reliability and professionalism for your customers and partners. By investing in a website audit, you’re strengthening your brand image and credibility in the marketplace.
Call in an expert to carry out a website audit
You can get trained in SEO to better understand the data and issues involved. Take a look at our article on SEO training resources.
If you lack the skills or time to carry out a website audit on your own, it may be a good idea to call in an SEO expert. He or she will be able to guide you through the analysis of your site and suggest appropriate solutions to optimize your online presence.
The best ones will know how to get the best out of both user experience (UX) and SEO, which is no easy task, especially for novices… and is often the Achilles’ heel of the sites we come across!
In a nutshell, a website audit is an essential step for any decision-maker wishing to improve online presence and boost growth.
By regularly analyzing your site and implementing the necessary corrective actions, you’ll optimize not only your SEO, but also your visitors’ experience and your brand image.
The impact of social networks on website auditing
Social networks play an important role in website visibility. They help generate traffic, raise awareness of your company and create links with your community.
As part of a website audit, it’s essential to examine your company’s presence on social networks and assess the effectiveness of your strategy.
Social network analysis should include checking the links to your social profiles on your website, evaluating the quality and frequency of your posts, as well as audience engagement (likes, comments, shares, etc.). What’s more, you’ll be well advised to identify the social networks best suited to your target audience, so you can focus your efforts on the platforms most relevant to your business.
Finally, social networks can also influence your website’s conversion rate by encouraging visitors to take action, whether by purchasing a product, subscribing to a newsletter or requesting a quote.
So don’t hesitate to evaluate the impact of your social networking presence on your site’s user experience and conversion rate.
User experience – the new kid on the block?
User experience (UX) is crucial to the success of a website. It has a direct impact on visitor satisfaction and loyalty, as well as on natural search engine optimization. A site offering a quality user experience is not only appreciated by Internet users, but also favored by search engines.
During a website audit, it is therefore essential to examine your site’s user experience. This includes analysis of navigation (ease of use, architecture, menu, etc.), content legibility (font, colors, contrasts, etc.), ergonomics (layout of elements, size of buttons, etc.) and compatibility with different devices (responsive design).
By optimizing your website’s user experience, you increase the chances of converting your visitors into customers, encouraging positive word-of-mouth and improving your ranking in search engine results.
But don’t overlook SEO, whose rules are not always easy to understand and master. That’s why we use the term SXO, to emphasize the interaction between UX and SEO.
The evolution of SEO with search engine updates
Search engines, and Google in particular, are constantly updating their algorithms to offer ever more relevant and qualitative search results, and to get rid of spam.
These updates can have a huge impact on your website’s SEO, and must be taken into account during your site audit.
To keep abreast of the latest developments in the search engines, keep up to date with the latest updates and their impact on your SEO. A good website audit must be regularly adapted to the new requirements of search engines, to ensure that your site remains effective and visible.
What’s more, these updates are an opportunity to rethink and optimize your SEO strategy, and to identify new opportunities… By integrating search engine developments into your website audit, you’ll maximize your chances of maintaining and improving your online presence.
The bottom line
A website audit is an essential step in optimizing your company’s online presence and guaranteeing its success.
By taking into account the impact of social networking, user experience and search engine evolution, you can ensure that you remain competitive and visible in a constantly evolving environment.
We recommend that you call on a professional to help you in this process, and benefit from personalized advice to improve your website. He’ll be able to suggest an up-to-date digital strategy that’s likely to perform well.
