What is an SEO Audit? Your Guide to Search Engine Optimization

A Solid SEO Strategy Starts with Data and an SEO Audit

Nowadays, it’s standard for all of our projects include what is called an SEO Audit and Onsite Implementation. The reason we do this is because it's a great way to build a solid foundation for all of our clients to start right out of the gate with an optimized strategy. You might hear agencies throw around the word audit, but what exactly does that mean? What's taking place? Why is it necessary?

While there are obvious best practices to follow for optimizing a site for SEO, each business is different and everything from industry standards to the type of goods or services you're selling and where you're located come into play. An audit is a great way to build out a customized strategy for a business that is based on each businesses needs. 

First, what is Search Engine Optimization?

“Search Engine Optimization,” or SEO, refers to any steps taken toward getting your website to show up higher in the results when a user searches for specific words and phrases on sites like Google and Bing. 

If you want to learn more about SEO and take a dive deep into the different terms, check out our blog post called the SEO Glossary to provide you with an in-depth view of our most crucial SEO terms. 

While everyone has a different process, at efelle creative, we like to begin our SEO work with data. That’s where the SEO Audit comes in!

What is an SEO Audit? 

There are obviously a lot of things that an audit takes into account, tools we use, and generally, a lot of behind the scenes work that goes on, but for the sake of the blog, we’re going to provide a high-level summary of what goes on. 

An SEO Audit begins by looking at your current SEO standings and rankings. We see what pages and what keywords you’re ranking for currently. We use a number of tools to do so and combine the data to see how you are ranking. These keywords include terms that you are ranking for, as well as ones in your industry that you currently don’t rank for, but your competitors do. 

These keyword rankings are shown based on local and national results, giving you an idea of how far your reach is. Depending on the industry, the audit can provide you with thousands of keywords and rankings. We also look at your current URL Equity - which is an important metric in terms of ranking organically. Finally, we look at what pages are ranking and if they’re showing relevant and helpful results. 

Another important aspect of this sheet is that we are able to see the current cost-per-click of these keywords and/or phrases. If you are at all interested in doing any sort of paid search, this is a great way for us to see where there are opportunities. 

What is Onsite SEO? 

Once we have all the data for keywords you’d like to rank for, we begin onsite optimization. This includes optimizing several parts of your site, based on your goals as well as what your audit results have shown. 

This onsite will build out a strong foundation of organic SEO for your website, which provides evergreen content for your website. 

What Happens Next? 

At efelle, once the Audit is completed, we make recommendations for our clients based on the results. These can include anything from local SEO, content building, link building, or Pay-Per-Click. For our eCommerce websites, there’s another level of services we can recommend, dependant upon the type of product provided. 

We also include a 2-3 month follow up after the onsite to go over the results with our clients. This is a great place for clients to reevaluate their current strategy and see where they may like to grow their business. 

Why is SEO important? 

We've covered it previously, but the amount that people are looking on search engines is growing daily. From product searches to questions to services, there is a lot of potential for your site to be viewed by many.

Another great part about ranking for SEO in a strategic way is that you are putting yourself in front of people who are literally searching for your service or product. Rather than mass marketing, you're being a lot more direct with your efforts and can find more qualified leads. 

Are you looking to grow your SEO strategy?

An audit is a great place to start. Our team of SEO strategists is ready to conduct an audit for you and help you learn your best strategy. Contact our team here to get started on your SEO Audit today.