The first step towards fixing any issue is to have a better understanding of the problem at hand. In the digital market, where search optimization is key, an SEO audit is the first step.
When you’re starting the process of optimizing your website for a higher search ranking, an SEO audit will show you where you are and give you a road map to success.
Not all SEO audits are created equal however, and going with a free offer you saw online can end up costing you more than a professional audit in the long run. But what does a professional SEO audit do for you anyway, and how do you choose the right company for the job? In this article we’ll discuss everything you need to know about when and how to get an effective SEO audit for your website.
An SEO audit is a detailed assessment of all the elements that impact a website’s search engine rankings. It’s also a complete examination of any existing SEO strategies a particular business might already have in place.
When SEO experts, (like The Saber Team), perform an audit, a client will receive a comprehensive list of SEO efforts that are performing and of where improvement is necessary. The efforts from an SEO audit can also prevent any spam and keep up with the ever-changing search engine algorithms.
Please Note: Due to high demand, our SEO Audit Service is on a first-come-first-served basis.
| FREE AUDIT | PROFESSIONAL AUDIT | |
| Basic SEO Metrics | ✔ | ✔ |
| Advanced SEO Metrics | X | ✔ |
| SEO Insider Tips and Information | X | ✔ |
| Multi Page Analysis | X | ✔ |
| Graphic Design Audit | X | ✔ |
| Advanced Speed Tests | X | ✔ |
| Link Building Strategies and Ideas | X | ✔ |
| Comprehensive Keyword Research | X | ✔ |
| Actionable Information to Improve Metrics | X | ✔ |
If you visit any digital marketing social media forum or discussion group you may hear a lot of talk about free auditing websites and tools that exist. There are indeed free SEO audit services and many businesses who want to optimize their websites use them.
However, in the world of digital marketing, rarely anything good comes for free. You might spend less money (or no money at all) performing an SEO audit, but you’ll also likely waste precious time and energy without getting the desired results.
If you view an SEO audit as an inspection, as you would a financial audit, you can understand why you wouldn’t leave that in the hands of a non-expert. Free SEO tools may only benefit those who have the required skills to make the necessary changes to their website themselves, but for the absolute best results, you’ll need an experienced company and top-of-the-line SEO audit like the one that the Saber Team offers.
A professional SEO audit is a powerful tool for generating leads and establishing greater trust with your audience.
To give you a better grasp of what a professional SEO audit does for your business, we’ve created a checklist that covers all the bases for your website’s health.
The SEO Audit Categories are:
If an SEO audit is the first step towards optimization, then determining where SEO fits into your overall marketing strategy is step one of an audit.
Here at The Saber Team, we prefer to look at the big picture and think outside the box. This means that we’ll look at your business marketing holistically and see which areas will benefit most from proper SEO.
Targeting keywords is one of the most important aspects of any SEO strategy. In a professional SEO audit, that means making sure that the targeted keywords deliver qualified leads.
An SEO agency that takes their work seriously will perform thorough keyword research and implement them accordingly on your website. Google algorithm is only getting more sophisticated, and there is no longer room for inappropriate keyword stuffing. An effective audit won’t just inform you which keywords aren’t working, but also provide you with keywords that will best work for your company.
Another essential part of a professional SEO audit is to make sure that search engines are indexing your webpages. Without proper indexing, your pages won’t show up in any of the search results.
It can happen when the page is new, but there could also be an error is involved. This is something that a free SEO audit might miss, but a professional team will make sure to cover.
Your URLs give users, as well as search engines, a better understanding of the context of your page. An SEO audit can ensure that your URLs are SEO-friendly by including a keyword and using a hyphen to separate words. This is yet another factor that will impact where your page will be placed in the search results.
Every page on your website should have a unique title tag that describes the page’s content in about 60 characters. Without the right title tag, users and search engines will have difficulty reading what the page is about.
Similarly, meta descriptions are important because they are what prompt the reader to click on your page. The description should be concise and no longer than 160 characters.
These specifics are something a professional SEO audit covers, and it makes a huge difference in how your website ranks in search results.
Did you know that nearly 60% of all Google searches originate from mobile devices? To most modern users, that doesn’t come as a surprise at all.
Our trained SEO developers will tell you that Google now prioritizes mobile versions of a website due to the mobile-first algorithm’s implementation.
A professional SEO audit entails checking how your website looks on a mobile device and where improvements are needed. A mobile-friendly website needs a responsive web design as it adjusts to the device on which users view it.
Free SEO audit tools and websites can only give you a partial mobile SEO job, whereas a professional SEO audit delivers full service.
Nothing ruins user experience more than a slow website. If a page doesn’t load in a couple of seconds, nearly 90% of users will hit the back button and move on. Google uses page speed as a relevant ranking factor, so a slow website is not an option.
A professional SEO audit means going to extra lengths to check the site speed and then optimize it to impact your Google ranking positively.
Everything else aside, there is one main reason why you should always choose a professional SEO company to perform an audit instead of using a free service. Content is king in digital marketing and requires special attention.
Only a professional agency can remove low-quality and duplicated content and replace it with high-quality articles and posts. There are no shortcuts in this process, and here at The Saber Team, we provide expert writing services as well as continuous updates to posts.
Spying on your competition may seem odd, but that’s standard SEO practice. Looking for your competitors’ best keywords and seeing how they rank from them, increases the odds that you’ll rank well from them too.
A professional audit will deliver an entire list of competitors and use tools available to analyze the most important keywords and see where your website is lacking. SEO audits also pay attention to the form of your competitors’ content. For instance, are articles long-form, 3000 words and over, or shorter?
You’ll also be able to see where you stand with custom visuals and illustrations on your website and how that can be improved. At The Saber Team, we have graphic designers that can deliver images that will only increase your Google ranking.
The price of a professional SEO audit will mostly depend on your website’s size, although that’s not the only factor. The other major consideration that determines the price is all the audited elements.
For a ballpark figure, you can expect to pay anywhere between $5,000 to $10,000 for a professional audit. To get a free quote from The Saber Team, make sure to fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
You can ask us for additional information and pose any question regarding an SEO audit that you have in mind. We’ll be sure to reply within a few business hours.
Note that a cohesive biannual audit is included with all of our SEO Services plans.
How often your website will require an SEO audit primarily hinges on your pre-established SEO strategy. In most cases, an annual or bi-annual audit will ensure that your website is optimized and doing well in search engine results.
For larger e-commerce websites, quarterly SEO audits might be a better option. However, this is also something that we can help you with at The Saber Team. We’ll give you an accurate assessment of how often your website should be examined by our SEO experts.
Our standard recommendation is that all websites have at least one audit every two years.
SEO audits are essential for a well-developed search engine optimization strategy. The problem with free audits is that they only give you a superficial evaluation that won’t meet your marketing needs.
To get a professional SEO audit that will go over a full SEO audit checklist and go the extra mile, fill out the contact form below, and we’ll get back to you with a free quote.
Fixing only minor issues won’t get you very far – dissecting your website to ensure you rank high will make all the difference.
Ready for our expert team to perform a comprehensive audit of your website?
Use the contact form below and we will respond shortly.
Located in Long Island, NY, The Saber Team is a Marketing Firm that specializes in Web Development and Advanced SEO Marketing.
