Let me start by saying that there is no perfect website. Not from an SEO point of view and not from any other point of view.
I’m willing to bet that even the “big” ones have a few skeletons in their HTML code, a typo in their content or a few 404s.
After all, if the likes of Facebook and Google get buggy sometimes, what can we expect from small and medium-sized companies?
However, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t work to get as close to perfect as possible. Running a content audit regularly, as well as several other check-ups are recommended.
SEO is not something you “set and forget”. You need to tweak, add, delete things constantly. And it’s not just about the regular Google algorithm updates.
Your competitors are working on their websites constantly, too. So you can’t be surprised if one of your articles that used to rank #3 in search results, has now dropped to the 11th position.
But, of course, you’d like to make sure that that doesn’t happen, right?
Start by answering these seven questions:
1. Is my website secure?
Having “https” instead of “http” in front of your website’s name isn’t just for companies that accept payments through their website.
It’s a ranking factor for everyone.
2. Is my website too slow?
Yes, page speed is a ranking factor, too. Aim for two seconds.
If any of your pages take more than four seconds to load, then you’ve got a real problem and you need to speak to your web developer as soon as possible.
3. Is there any copied/duplicate content on my website?
Even a single line of copied content can cost you dearly. So before you think “hey, that headline is so cool, I’ll use it for my own website”, remember that it can seriously harm your rankings.
The same goes for duplicate content aka copying from yourself. I know, it may sound unfair, but think about it this way: would you want to visit a website that offers redundant content?
Google needs to have a way to ensure that you don’t just recycle content instead of creating new content. So you may end up being penalized even when duplicate content is justified.
Speaking of this, if you want to re-use some old content, you can simply repurpose it in another format.
4. How often do I update my content or add new content?
If your answer is “every couple of months”, you need to work harder on this.
Again, think about it from Google’s perspective: they are striving to offer their users relevant, fresh results. In every industry, things change incredibly fast nowadays. Your blog post may have been relevant last year, but if you don’t update it, it will definitely be outranked by fresher ones.
You can update your blog post with newer statistics and reports or you can choose to tackle the same subject again, from a new perspective.
Either way, remember that all content has a limited “shelf life”. That goes for your website’s pages, too.
While your products and services may not have changed in the past few years, it’s never too soon for a makeover.
More importantly, there’s no such thing as updating your content too often. Every time you do it (provided you also do it right), you have a chance at a bigger ranking.
5. Is my website responsive?
If your website is not mobile responsive yet, you need to hurry things along.
You may be losing more than 60% of your clients this way.
Plus, Google excludes non-responsive websites from mobile searches.
The good news is that there’s nothing too complicated about having a mobile responsive website. Any developer worth their salt could take care of that for you.
6. Is my content relevant?
Having tons of frequently updated content is not enough.
Your content also needs to be relevant. Does it speak to your audience? Does it help your audience solve problems? Is it tailor-made for your buyer persona?
In a nutshell: is it authority content?
Why does this matter for SEO, you ask?
Well, if your content is written for search engines, people will bounce off your website quicker than you can say “organic traffic”. And when your bounce rate is terrible, so are your rankings.
7. Is my content deeply optimized?
I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck does deeply optimized mean.
Don’t worry – it’s not a hot, new trend you have to adopt.
It’s about having all the right things in all the right places:
- Proper keyword research – check out my guide for choosing the right keywords.
- Keywords in title tags
- Keywords in subtitles
- Lists, images, quotes and proper references in every piece of content
- Inbound and outbound linking
- Images, videos and other visuals
- Great readability and relevance
Is it a lot? Maybe. But it’s the right mix to get you to what you need aka high rankings.
Conclusions
A self-audit, whether it’s SEO-, marketing- or finance-related is never pleasant.
You are bound to uncover some mistakes. (If you don’t, you’re not doing the audit properly).
But it’s necessary. It’s what you need to move forward, create better content and rank higher. After all, if you do what you’ve always done, why should you expect different results?
Luckily, you don’t have to do everything alone. My team and I are happy to help you with any content writing or copywriting services you may need to boost your SEO.
