Types of Website Audits and Why You Should Conduct an Audit - Our Guide

The Types of Website Audits 

Generally speaking, a website audit is an analysis of all the factors that can impact your business website’s visibility. It also assesses how your website interacts with search engines, as well as gauges its ability to be of ease and value for your intended audiences.

A full website audit isn’t always necessary, however, which is why it’s important to learn more about the most commonly used types:

• The technical audit: Content remains king in the digital, and while good quality content allows your website to rank better, you may still be held back by technical problems. These could be the reasons behind your lack of success, so it’s important to invest in such an audience once in a while. In doing so, you ensure your website adheres to all search engine requirements.
  
  
• The content audit: Often conducted alongside the SEO audit, a content audit is done to gather insights on your website’s value. You’ll gain the necessary knowledge of what works and what doesn’t, and which messaging and tone of voice has helped your website gather leads and conversions. Keep in mind that how you deliver your content messages affects your overall brand identity. 
  
  
• The SEO audit: Apart from the technical aspects and content value of your website, you may also want to conduct an SEO audit. This measures how well your website has been optimized for search engines, which includes an analysis of keywords used, goal conversions, traffic behavior, link profiles, and even metadata and visuals (image and video) optimizations. 

The Key Benefits of a Website Audit

It’s one thing to talk about the nature and types of website audits, but another to gain a full view of what it can bring to your website and business. Here are some of the key benefits to expect:

Benefit #1: You’ll have access to a detailed analysis of competitors 

Since your website audit encompasses the analysis of keywords used, you’ll also be able to rank them against your competitors. This allows you to have a clear picture of which popular keywords are most used and relevant, thereby allowing you to see how successful others are in terms of traffic and conversions. Armed with such knowledge, you can now adopt similar keywords and attract the same success towards your SEO campaigns. 

Benefit #2: You’ll have the opportunity to explore other sources of revenue 

Your industry is vast and wide, and with the right mindset, filled with opportunities to thrive. Thanks to your website audits, you’ll have access to websites using the same set of keywords. These could potentially be influencers or affiliates you could partner with, such as bloggers looking to increase their reach. 

If you allow bloggers and affiliates to be constantly linked to your content, your website can enjoy better lead rates and credibility, especially if you’ve teamed up with industry leaders. Thanks to an audit, you’ll be able to explore other lucrative opportunities—all of which help you beyond just an increase in profit. 

Benefit #3: You’ll enjoy Improved visibility in search results

Your website must always contain metadata, which is the content found in the HTML areas. Search engines are designed to analyze these types of content, which then allows them to determine matches and ranking in the search results. 

Unfortunately, any errors could end up affecting your website, effectively ruining your chances of ranking well. Thanks to a website audit, however, the instances of publishing such errors will be greatly reduced. Consequently, any errors that already exist will be identified for your correction. 

Benefit #4: You’ll be able to identify and repair issues that could be affecting your traffic 

Apart from website content, metadata, and even keywords, your website operates on multiple elements that could end up hurting your performance. Any unfriendly URLs, hidden content, and broken links can affect your bottom line, prompting algorithms to flag you down. Thanks to a website audit, however, you’ll be able to identify any issues before they escalate. 

Benefit #5: You’ll improve user experience

Potential customers visit your website for a reason—they want to get to know your brand better. If you allow them to be exposed to painful loading times, flash, poorly written content, and unresponsive pages, you effectively compel them to run over to your competitors instead. 

Keep in mind that search engines, such as Google, also exist to serve the user. They’re focused on ensuring that websites provide good content, to be measured through engagement rates. The most successful businesses across the world understand that to gain online success, they must first appease the algorithm. The customer experience you’re after will soon follow. 

So long as your website performs well, you’ll deliver a consistent and quality experience.  Remember—a thorough website audit ensures that your users experience only the best, which can perhaps be the most important benefit you can gain from investing. 

The Bottom Line: How Often Should Website Audits Be Conducted?

Routinely auditing your website should be done at least three times a year, just to make sure you catch anything that could end up malfunctioning throughout the year. The idea here is to remain as proactive as possible, which is the best way to ensure consistent traffic growth, increased visibility, and overall better performance. In doing so, you remain ahead of the competition—no matter how constant the trends shift. 

Looking for the best free website audit?  The Stack Group has you covered!  We're a Massachusetts based web design, seo and social media management company.  Take your free website audit and our team will email you the completed PDF report once our audit is complete!