Your website will be an important part of the first impression you make on potential customers, clients, and business partners, so you need to make sure this impression is positive. This is where a website audit can be helpful. By performing a website audit, you are taking a closer look at the individual performances of each web page. In doing this, you can discover whether you are meeting your web traffic goals. Likewise, if you are falling short, then you can figure out where this bottleneck is happening and how to address the issue.
A website audit checklist can be a good place to start with your first website audit. A website auditor or website analyzer will follow a website audit report template to provide the information you require. So if you use a tool like this, you can glean a lot of important information about the performance of your website.
Some of the main elements of a website audit include:
- Scanning your website, looking for any technical issues
- Identifying issues with on-page and off-page SEO
- Locating any broken links, nonfunctional pages, and other technical issues
- Pinpointing weak or duplicate content
- Discovering any hosting or server-related errors
- Addressing loading time issues, if that is an issue
- Providing you, the website owner, with a checklist of problems to address and how do so
- You will be provided with a checklist of problems that you can fix
These are just a few of the most important parts of running an effective website audit. As you can see from this list, when you audit your website on a regular basis, then you’ll stay one step ahead of most potential problems. In this way, you can identify them before they start to actually harm your digital presence, traffic, or revenue.
Website Content Audit Checklist
While website audits are very useful, you also need to make sure that they take in the big picture of your website and they are not missing anything – which includes your content. Because it can be easy to miss things, though, using a website content audit checklist can be helpful. If you are able to follow a content inventory template, then you will learn how to do a website content audit, which should cover the numerous content audit categories needed.
However, if you are still wondering “but what is a content audit,” then it is worth noting that this is the process of reviewing your content and making sure that it serves its purpose of helping your business grow and generate revenue. So, if you conduct a website content audit, then you will be looking for any missed SEO opportunities or SEO execution issues. This could include exact match issues, keyword stuffing issues, or even broken anchor texts. Furthermore, a content audit can help you to refocus your SEO efforts if needed. If you focus on your users first and then search engines second, you will always stay one step ahead of your competitors because you aren’t constantly chasing search engine algorithms. Instead, by marketing to your users, you can almost allow your search engine marketing to take care of itself.
After you are done performing your website content audit, you should be provided with a list of areas you need to change. You can then develop a comprehensive strategy to address all of these issues in a timely manner. For example, if you are able to perform a website content audit regularly, then you can prevent SEO issues from developing rather than addressing them only after they have already appeared. This is another way to stay one step ahead of competitors in your industry.
Website Audit Checklist PDF
If you are wondering what to include on your website audit checklist, then it may be helpful to look at an example such as a website audit checklist PDF. If you utilize an SEO audit checklist PDF, then you will be making sure you are not missing anything. Furthermore, by using a website audit report PDF as an example, you will have a framework for the rest of your SEO audit strategy as it unfolds. This is important because you’ll want to make sure that you do not miss anything when you are performing a website audit, and this kind of document can provide you and your teams with a helpful list of tasks to carry out.
Website Audit Checklist Excel
However, even though a PDF can be helpful, it can also be difficult to edit and mark up for yourself. This is worth noting because you’ll eventually have to make changes to this document as your website continues to grow. This is where using a website audit checklist Excel can be helpful.
If you use an SEO audit checklist Excel, then you will have a process tracker – in this case, a spreadsheet – that you can edit as you go, helping you see what you’ve completed and what you haven’t. For example, if you add new images or videos, then they get added to your audit checklist and marked as complete. Later, as your website continues to grow and you need to add new pages, these can be tracked as well. Plus, while using a free website audit template can be helpful, you will need to be able to customize your website audit process in order for it to meet your needs.
At the simplest level: if you put all of your information into a spreadsheet, then you will have columns that you can check off as you go, helping you keep track of this process on a task-by-task basis. You can also customize or add to that spreadsheet if you have more tasks to be completed in the future. Using a simple spreadsheet in this way is useful because it helps budget time and labor appropriately, while also ensuring that you aren’t missing anything during the process.
Website Audit Template Excel
If you are trying to set up a strong website audit template Excel, then you may also be using another SEO audit template to help with this. There are several elements worth including in your audit spreadsheet template. For example, you should consider including missing meta logs, correct status codes, crawl errors, robots.txt. restrictions, correct use of 301s, title tag duplications, missing title tags, and more.
All in all, make sure that your site audit checklist template is comprehensive, since this will be the basis for your website audit itself. With a strong website audit checklist template, you can make sure that you are not missing anything, and you can keep track of both the tasks you’ve already completed as well as the ones that still need to be addressed. And, if you audit your website regularly, then you can prevent significant technical issues from impacting your digital marketing strategy as a whole.
Website Technical Audit Checklist
As you work on this kind of project, it is also helpful to have a website technical audit checklist on hand. A technical audit is important because it addresses issues that search engine crawlers may encounter as they attempt to index your website. For example, how fast does your website load? If your image files are too large or if your CSS needs to be cleaned up, then this can be harming the speed of your website. This is worth keeping in mind because websites that load faster also rank higher, since they are seen as more relevant to the needs of search engine users. So, if you find that your bounce rate is high, then this could be a sign that visitors are getting frustrated with how long it is taking your website to load and leaving to visit competitors’ websites instead.
Furthermore, it’s also possible to have carry-over issues from the assessments above. Conversion rates, SEO, and website performance are all tied to the technical evaluation of your website, and you’ll need to pay attention to all of this in order to maximize your users’ experience. For example, consider: is your website design responsive to all screens? Does your website have a long list of error messages that keep coming up? Is the internal site structure or use of links harming its loading speed? These are all issues that should be reviewed when you perform a technical assessment of your website.
Make sure you carry out a technical assessment regularly, since these are crucial issues that can affect your rankings poorly but can also be overlooked during surface-level website audits.
Website Audit Tools
Clearly, a website audit will be doing a lot of things all at once, and as you might have guessed, this is a time-consuming process that is nearly impossible to do by hand. This is why you need to enlist the help of website content audit tools to make the process easier to manage and complete. Just as there are numerous SEO tools that you can use to optimize your content, so you also need to put a strong website audit tool to work for you.
There are plenty of website audit tools available that you may be able to use, and each one specializes in its own areas, from SEO to loading speed and much more. Some of the most well-known examples include:
- WooRank evaluates all aspects of SEO, backlinks, and more, including broken links. This way, you can identify both underperforming and outright defective webpages. Furthermore, WooRank offers both free and paid versions.
- Moz is one of the most comprehensive free tools available. Among its many functionalities, you can use Moz to track searches, monitor site ranking, and to keep track of domain authority.
- SEMRush is one of the most popular tools out there, mainly because it can do so many things. Just to start out with, you can use SEMRush to keep an eye on your organic keywords, competitor research, and backlinks.
However, there are also times when tools alone won’t be enough, and you may find yourself considering whether to engage a digital marketing or SEO agency to help you conduct a website audit. In this case, one increasingly popular option is Demandwell. This firm, its teams, and its use of website audit tools can help you to monitor the health of your website, audit your website for vulnerabilities, and identify other issues that could be impacting your performance negatively.
FAQs
What should a website audit include? ›
An SEO audit measures how well your website is optimised for search, this can include analysing keywords, link profiles, traffic behaviour, goal conversions, meta data and image and video optimisation. There are also many technical aspects that will need to be audited.
What is a full website audit? ›Website audit is a full analysis of all the factors that affect website's visibility in search engines. This standard method gives a complete insight into any website, overall traffic and individual pages. Website audit is completed solely for marketing purposes.
What are the 5 contents of an audit report? ›Audit Report Contents are the basic structure of the audit report which needs to be clear, providing sufficient evidence providing the justification about the opinion of the auditors and includes Title of Report, Addressee details, Opening Paragraph, scope Paragraph, Opinion Paragraph, Signature, Place of Signature, ...
How to do a website audit template? ›- Step 1: Get some baseline data with Google Analytics.
- Step 2: Make sure Google is only indexing one version of your website.
- Step 3: Check that your website is mobile friendly.
- Step 4: Improve your website's speed.
- Step 5: Remove low-quality and unnecessary pages from Google's index.
- Step 1: Planning. The auditor will review prior audits in your area and professional literature. ...
- Step 2: Notification. ...
- Step 3: Opening Meeting. ...
- Step 4: Fieldwork. ...
- Step 5: Report Drafting. ...
- Step 6: Management Response. ...
- Step 7: Closing Meeting. ...
- Step 8: Final Audit Report Distribution.
To ensure the sustainability of your online store, it is strongly recommended to audit your site regularly (on a weekly or monthly basis). This guarantees you to constantly monitor the evolution of your online sales. In this way, you can optimize your customer acquisition strategies and your sales path.
How much should a website audit cost? ›How much does a website audit cost? Although we would love to give you an exact answer, the price of a website audit varies greatly. because every website is unique! However, to give you a rough idea, prices can generally vary between $1,500 and $8,000.
How long should a website audit take? ›Depending on the size of your site, a proper audit can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks to complete. Due diligence is required when making major changes to any website, and an SEO specialist must conduct a thorough investigation to make accurate, impactful recommendations.
How do I audit a website SEO manually? ›- Step 1: Identify link building opportunities. ...
- Step 2: Identify site structure improvements. ...
- Step 3: Find (and fix) thin content. ...
- Step 4: Identify (and nix) duplicate content. ...
- Step 5: Scan for keyword optimization. ...
- Step 6: Make sure meta tags are optimized. ...
- Step 7: Identify page update opportunities.
A website audit will help you optimize your website for SERPs and users. Every marketing manager wishes to generate leads and increase conversions. A website audit helps you identify and bridge the gaps in your website resulting in a great user experience and hence increased conversion rates.
What are the 4 C's of auditing? ›
As for directors, there are four features to consider when evaluating the sufficiency of any risk-based audit plan: culture, competitiveness, compliance and cybersecurity – let's call them the Four C's, for short.
What are key items in audit? ›• High value or key items. The auditor may decide to select specific items within a population because they are of high value, or exhibit some other characteristic, for example items that are suspicious, unusual, particularly risk-prone or that have a history of error. • All items over a certain amount.
How do I create a site audit report in Excel? ›- Set up a connection to the auditing database (create a new data source).
- Create a query in Microsoft Query.
- Return data to Excel.
- Create a report in Excel (a table or a PivotTable report).
- Assess business risks. ...
- Verify the appropriateness of accounting policies and procedures. ...
- Identify areas where special audit consideration may be necessary. ...
- Establish materiality thresholds. ...
- Develop expectations for analytical procedures. ...
- Develop audit procedures. ...
- Reassess the plan.
- Integrity.
- Fair presentation.
- Due professional care.
- Confidentiality.
- Independence.
- Evidence-based approach.
- Risk-based approach.
There are three main types of audits: external audits, internal audits, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits. External audits are commonly performed by Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firms and result in an auditor's opinion which is included in the audit report.
What are the 7 internal control procedures? ›- Separation of duties.
- Access controls.
- Physical audits.
- Standardised financial documents.
- Periodic trial balances.
- Periodic reconciliations.
- Approval authority.
However, as a general rule of thumb, you should redesign your website once every two to three years. This is simply because if your website is three years old — a lifetime, in the digital world — odds are it's outdated. Geriatric.
When should you perform an SEO audit? ›In my experience, I've found it's best to conduct a comprehensive SEO audit every six months and run smaller, mini-audits each month. There are several factors that make regular SEO audits mandatory: The constant evolution of search engine best practices.
How often should you review your website? ›For larger companies or larger websites with a lot of new content each month, try reviewing your site every quarter -- this just makes more sense. Regardless of how often you conduct an audit, creating a clear strategy and checklist will help you save time and effort.
How much do people charge to manage websites? ›
The average cost of maintaining a website ranges from $400 to $60,000 per year. The most common maintenance costs are domain SSL certificate, and software or web hosting renewal. Other costs might include purchasing additional extensions or investing in a major website redesign.
Are SEO audits worth it? ›SEO audits are an essential part of any SEO strategy. At the base minimum, they help keep your clients' websites afloat in a sea of competition. If their websites aren't consistently optimized for SERPs, they will be missing out on important organic traffic that can bring in results.
How can I SEO audit my website for free? ›- Screaming Frog – Free For 500 URLs Or Less. Industry-leading site auditing software Screaming Frog offers a free version that's perfect for auditing smaller sites that are under 500 URLs. ...
- Netpeak Spider. ...
- Xenu Link Sleuth.
An SEO audit is where you find opportunities to improve a site's search performance. It involves finding technical, on-page, content, and link-related issues to fix or improve. Everyone's SEO audit process differs, as there's no universal approach.
How far back does an audit look? ›How far back can the IRS go to audit my return? Generally, the IRS can include returns filed within the last three years in an audit. If we identify a substantial error, we may add additional years. We usually don't go back more than the last six years.
What is SEO checklist? ›The checklist also covers information about best practices for title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and more for on-page SEO. We explain how to do keyword research and incorporate keywords into your content. We cover off-page SEO strategies as well, including the importance of building backlinks.
How do I assess SEO for my website? ›- Organic Traffic.
- Keyword Ranking.
- SERP Visibility.
- Click-Through Rate.
- Bounce Rate.
- Website Authority Over Time.
- Backlinks.
- Page Speed.
A good SEO audit is crawl-based. That means you should be able to simulate the way Google crawls your pages. And see all issues related to those pages the way Google might see them. To do that, you'll need an SEO auditing tool like Semrush's Site Audit.
How do you evaluate a good website? ›There are six (6) criteria that should be applied when evaluating any Web site: authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage, and appearance. For each criterion, there are several questions to be asked. The more questions you can answer "yes", the more likely the Web site is one of quality.
How can I check the quality of my website content? ›- Plagiarism. The act of copy-pasting someone else's work or idea in your piece of content is plagiarism. ...
- Brand consistency. Every brand that's creating content is doing so with a goal in mind. ...
- Fact check. ...
- Grammar and spell check. ...
- Keywords to improve content quality.
How do you analyze the quality of a website? ›
- Content value and originality.
- Spelling and grammar.
- Fact checking.
- Formatting.
- Keywords.
- Outgoing links.
- The name of the company they have audited as well as their accounting method.
- A summary of the auditor's responsibility and their report.
- The auditor's reservations (if any)
- Conclusion.
- Additional information*
- A report by the organization's management*
Among other things, audit documentation includes records of the planning and performance of the work, the procedures performed, evidence obtained, and conclusions reached by the auditor. Audit documentation also may be referred to as work papers or working papers .
What should be included in an audit checklist? ›There are five sections to every audit checklist: scope, evidence collection, audit tests, analysis of results and conclusion. The scope section of the checklist includes the initial meeting with the client, identification of known issues, focus of audit, overall time line and required outcome.
What are the 5 C's of observation? ›Detailed Observations (include the 5C's: Criteria, Condition, Cause, Consequence, and Corrective Action Plans/Recommendations)
What are the 3 main types of audits? ›There are three main types of audits: external audits, internal audits, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits. External audits are commonly performed by Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firms and result in an auditor's opinion which is included in the audit report.
What are the six parts of an audit report? ›The audit report template includes 7 parts of elements these are: report title, introductory Paragraph, scope paragraph, executive summary, opinion paragraph, auditor's name, and auditor's signature.
What is the audit 60 day rule? ›The date, no later than 60 days following the report release date, on which the auditor has assem- bled for retention a complete and final set of documentation in an audit file.
What are 4 purposes of audit documentation? ›Nature and Purposes of Audit Documentation
Assisting the engagement team to plan and perform the audit. Enabling the engagement team to be accountable for its work. Retaining a record of matters of continuing significance to future audits. applicable legal, regulatory or other requirements.
It requires a description of the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement as well as a summary of the auditor's response to those risks and, where relevant, key observations arising from those risks and reference to the disclosure in the financial statements.
What are the 5 phases of an audit? ›
What happens during an audit? Internal audit conducts assurance audits through a five-phase process which includes selection, planning, conducting fieldwork, reporting results, and following up on corrective action plans.
What are the 4 phases of auditing? ›Although every audit process is unique, the audit process is similar for most engagements and normally consists of four stages: Planning (sometimes called Survey or Preliminary Review), Fieldwork, Audit Report and Follow-up Review.
How do I review website content? ›- Consider the audience. ...
- Check the site is well optimised. ...
- Find out how the site ranks for key terms. ...
- Identify and redirect broken links. ...
- Make the most out of social media. ...
- Run a content audit. ...
- Optimise for mobile. ...
- Is the web design appropriate and user-friendly?
An SEO content audit is the process of assessing existing content on your website to determine how you can get more and better quality organic traffic to each page. The goal of the audit is to identify which pages to keep, which ones to optimize, and which ones to scrap.