Today we’re going to discuss the overall online presence audit, whether you’re trying to understand why you’re not getting leads from your site or if your competition is getting key keyword benefits on Google, be it in Google Ads or on Google’s first page.
Here are the articles to explain, 8 Best Ultimate Guide to the High Online Presence Audit for Rank
Are you wondering why your prospects aren’t showing up on Google? Why your website isn’t generating traffic and leading the way you expected? Why do your competitors seem to be showing up above you for high-value keywords in search results?
These are all good questions that you need to know the answer to. Owning or doing marketing for a business can dramatically improve your online presence.
To get answers to these questions, you’ll need to conduct a thorough total online presence audit. If you’re too busy to do this yourself, hire someone to do it. Create an in-depth report that outlines the top priority issues your business faces that need to be addressed to improve your rankings and become easier to find online.
How to do a Digital Presence Audit for my business?
In the last few posts in our Digital Presence Audit series, we’ve looked at how to clarify your website and how to build a powerful social media presence. We’ve also looked at how to improve these elements.
I’ve received a lot of questions throughout this series about how to do a full digital presence audit for my company. A lot of people worry that it’s a long and complicated process and that you need an army of consultants to do it.
In this post, I’m going to break down my audit framework into key steps that you can do on your own or work through with your team. Here we go!
Why you should do a total online presence audit?
There’s a saying in Hollywood: “You’re born lucky, you work hard, and everything goes your way.”
Unfortunately, that’s not true for entrepreneurs, business owners, bloggers, and side hustlers. They’ll have to make their luck, and it won’t always look like luck, but it’ll be worth it in the end.
One of the first things you need to do is understand your company. Who’s your ideal customer? What’s your marketing funnel? Why are certain keywords performing better than others in search engine results pages (SERPs)? Why do certain pages on your site have a high bounce rate?
Your audit will help answer these questions and more.
How to Create an Effective Audit Off-Page SEO Strategy
If you’ve never heard of SEO, let’s break it down for you. SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization”. But don’t let that name fool you. When you’re doing SEO tasks, you’re not optimizing any search engines. You’re optimizing various factors on your site to rank higher on search engine result pages (SERPs).
On-page SEO includes website SEO factors. Off-page SEO, on the other hand, involves building off-page links to your site. Also, Off-page links can come from a variety of sources, such as social media, blogs, and other websites. Off-page backlinks can be broken down into three main categories:
- Natural links: These are links made organically to your site. For example, if someone writes a blog post and links off your site, you don’t have to ask them to link back to your site.
- Artificial links are those that appear on third-party sites or platforms but you did something to get them there. For example, you asked your customers or friends to share your link, or you hired a social media influencer to create a campaign that linked back to your website.
- Spammy links are the bad guys of backlinks. If you plaster your site links everywhere, you could end up in trouble with search engines. Post your links only where it’s relevant and makes sense.
- Google Search Console is a free tool that you can use to check your links. Follow Google’s instructions to create your free account. Download a list of your backlinks and, if possible, remove any links that fall into “spammy” territory.
How to Use Audit On-Page SEO Analysis to Your Advantage
On-page ranking factors are one of the most important aspects of SEO. When conducting your audit, it’s important to start with your homepage. If you find problems on your homepage, you’re likely to find problems on the rest of your site as well.
Take a look at:
- Title tag
- Alt text
- Meta description
- H1 tags
- Schema
- Are they all keyword optimized?
- Do they have unique character limits for keywords?
- Do you have local attributes when necessary?
We’ll go into more detail about local SEO below. But if you’ve got a local business, make sure you include your city or the area you serve in your on-page attributes.
Make sure your site is mobile-optimized; Google penalizes businesses that don’t have a mobile-optimized website because it doesn’t provide a good user experience.
Get the Most Out of Your Local SEO with an Audit
If you’re targeting local clients, make sure to pay attention to the following key local elements:
- If something is missing or missing, make sure to prioritize it.
- Having an optimized Google My Business listing is essential for local SEO.
- How many listings do you have? Most people don’t realize they have multiple listings, but it’s not uncommon due to Google’s changes over time. Make sure you have only one listing and that’s the one Google recognizes as yours.
- Is the category correct? Be descriptive about the category. For example, if you’re a lawyer, don’t just say “law office.”
Is the National Advertising Period (NAP) accurate and consistent? Ensure that your name, address, and phone number match what’s listed on your website and other online citations/directories.
- Do you have reviews? People read reviews, and the more reviews, the more likely it is that people will click through to your site.
- Do you have any photos, posts, or videos? People are visual creatures, so why not add images of your products and services, your staff, and anything else that will make potential customers want to learn more?
- Citation Profiles and Inbound Links – Not only do you want your business listed on Yelp, but you’ll also want to make sure that your business is listed on local directories, such as those owned by your local chamber of commerce or tourism association.
Local Content – Along with your regular content, you’ll want to include content that’s about your area, events, and local happenings. This way, your audience will know that you care about your community (and it’s also another way to let Google know where you operate).
Unlocking the Power of Audit Content and Structure
Take a look at your homepage and your main pages and see if any of the below elements are missing. It doesn’t matter if they are all present, but most of them should be.
- Is the homepage addressing a problem? By addressing a problem that your audience experiences, you can create a sense of understanding and trust.
- Identify your target audience. Your target audience needs to know that they have landed on the correct site.
- Are there Trust, Proof, and Authoritative Elements? This includes quotes, client logos, association badges, testimonials, case studies, awards, etc.
- Do you have 300-400 Words of Copy on your homepage? If you have substantial content on the homepage, it will help with SEO.
- Does your site have a blog? It will help with SEO and it will educate your personas which will help you establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
- Is your site using video? Video is one of the reasons why YouTube is the 2nd most visited search engine in the world. People love video and they engage with video. If your site doesn’t use video, consider adding video.
- Do you use Content Upgrades and Content Campaigns (CTAs)? It’s essential to have lead-generation opportunities across your site.
A Beginner’s Guide to Audit Social Media
Social media accounts for a significant portion of your overall online presence. It’s a place where you can connect with your audience, grow your business, identify new opportunities, and communicate your story in a way that resonates with your audience.
An audit of your social media accounts can help you:
- Identify new audiences
- Enhance relationships with existing audiences
- Direct users to your site for transactional purposes
- Identify top-performing content
- Identify your target audience or target demographic
Take a moment to reflect on your social media accounts. Are they meeting your goals as they are? Are there areas that need improvement? Do you need to be more active on any of your social media platforms? It’s important to remember that being everywhere isn’t the same as being everywhere.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Website Online Presence Audit
Your website is where you get your customers and generate your business, so it’s important to treat it like it’s your home.
John Jantsch recommends starting a website audit with your homepage, as “if you find problems on your homepage you’re likely to find problems on the rest of the site”.
Your website audit will reveal answers to questions like what actions your site visitors are taking, where they’re clicking, what landing pages are getting the most traffic, how long they’re staying on-site, and more. These insights can then be used to improve your site and your marketing funnel.
A website audit is a big job, but it’s worth it. If you need help, don’t be afraid to reach out to a professional. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to online presence audit your website, with tips and tools to help you get started.
In this guide, we’ve also included instructions on how to do your on-page SEO reviews. In the next part of this article, we’re going to look at how to do off-page SEO reviews, which are SEO factors that are not on your website.
