How to conduct a detailed SEO audit of a website?

A good website must respond effectively to the user’s queries, but keep in mind that it must also meet the requirements of search engine robots if it is to compete for high positions in the search results for important keywords. Therefore, it is good to make sure that the optimization on the website is as good as possible. There are many issues that can be very important for a website.

Site Map

A sitemap is a file whose structure is based on a set of links to all the subpages that are part of a given website. This is an element that is useful for both users and robots. For a website based on CMS WordPress, a good solution would be to use the Yoast SEO plugin, which will allow you to generate a map automatically. At the same time, it will be updated as you make changes. It is worth remembering to import this map into the Google Search Console service, which will allow you to evaluate whether the map contains outdated URLs (so-called dead links) that will lower the site’s position in the search engine.

Checking the robots.txt file

This small file plays an important role in optimization as it affects how the website communicates with crawlers. Thanks to this, you can prevent access to subpages, files or folders that you do not want to appear in search results. The contents of this file must be correct, so it is always worth checking if it is well prepared.

Removing 404 Error Links

While browsing the Internet, most probably encountered a situation where a 404 error appeared instead of the corresponding subpage. This can be the fault of both the user and the server. The user’s problem is usually a typo that appears when entering the address in the browser. Worse, when you place a link on the site that does not lead anywhere (the so-called dead link). This situation can occur when changes have been made to the site, which, unfortunately, can cause display problems. If you make changes to subpage addresses or change software that changes addresses, you will need to prepare a 301 redirect that points the new valid addresses to users and crawlers.

Meta tag optimization

The role of meta tags in determining the position is currently irrelevant, but it is important in terms of clickability. The search results presentation is like a decision gate for the user. The use of appropriate words will help the person who will choose the site for themselves to go to the site. Care must be taken to place important keywords there, however you cannot artificially stuff them as Google is currently trying to remove such results from its list of results. The text should always serve the recipient, and not artificially influence the position, deceiving the search engine.

Ordered headers

The basic optimization of each website will require the control of titles, that is, those tags that should tell crawlers what information on a given page is important. It is assumed that a good solution would be to place on each subpage one H1 heading with the most important keyword, several H2 headings, H3 headings, and so on. It’s also important to maintain a hierarchy of headings and always order them from highest (H1) to lowest (H6).

ALT attribute in images

Search engine robots are based on the ALT attribute, whose task is to describe what is shown in a given photo. Therefore, you should not bring it to a situation where you have empty ALT attributes on your site.

Proper state of internal links

If you want to ensure that your site is properly optimized, you should check how the links inside it look like. Navigation should be convenient for both users and search engines. They should be designed in such a way as to avoid using strings of numbers or letters that would not give the user any information about the content of the given subpage. So it’s a good idea to make sure your links point to information that might be there. Such links will also be better processed by the search engine. It is possible that the order of the links will be an important element influencing the position of the site in search engines.