Determining the overall health of your business website
– By #RSA
When most people hear the word audit they associate it with their taxes and a cold sweat begins to form on the back of their neck. However, the word audit literally means “to-examine” and there are many types of audits that aren’t nearly as nerve-wracking as a tax audit. In this blog, we will be discussing website audits, and how you can conduct your own website audit to determine the overall health of your business website.
What is a website audit?
A website audit is an all encompassing analysis of your website. Audits help to determine how your website is performing, if you are attracting your ideal clients, if your website is up-to-date, and so much more. With so much competition out there it’s important to make sure when users land on your website that they stay there. In fact, experts say it only takes 8 second for a user to land on your website and decide if they are going to stay. Conducting a thorough website audit will help you determine any areas of your website that may need updated to improve the overall user experience.
Now that you know what a website audit is, it’s time to jump in to how you can conduct your own. In this blog, we will be discussing the various elements you should be analyzing when completing your DIY website audit. Also how you can use these findings to improve your webpage and increase your website users.
1: Broken Links or pages
There is nothing worse than doing an internet deep-dive searching for information and getting the dreaded 404 ERROR message when you click on a link or a webpage. It’s even worse when this happens to a customer on your website. Broken links not only have an extremely negative impact on your user-experience, but they can actually negatively impact your search engine rankings and website analytics. Broken links usually occur when you are linking to a website that no longer exists. If you have a large website with many off-site links it is important to frequently check for broken links. As your site grows and more pages are added it can be harder to identify and update broken links.
There are many link checking softwares available that will scan and flag any broken links on your website. Some can even offer you alternative links to redirect to. However, we always recommend going page by page on your website and checking each link manually to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
2: Images
It is safe to say that when we browse the internet or consume content in any form, we are first drawn to the visuals on a page, and these visuals are often what we remember more than the actual written content. This is why the images you use on your website are incredibly important for making a lasting impression on your users. When conducting a website audit, first and foremost double check that all your photos are high-quality. No one wants to see low-res, blurry images on a website. It is also important to make sure your photos are up-to-date and accurate. If you run a hotel and have outdated room pictures from five years ago people may not want to book. On the other hand, if you are using any stock imagery on your site, make sure you aren’t setting unrealistic expectations. Nothing is worse than seeing gorgeous images on a website, then arriving and finding the actual thing to be less than impressive.
3: Website Content
The content on your website should hook your customers and convert them into buying or booking with you. This means the content on your website needs to be clear, concise, and tell the story of your business. In addition, the content on your website should make it obvious what the intended conversion funnels are and more specifically, how users can find the conversion whether it is purchasing an item, booking online, or calling your business for more information. Also keep in mind that search engines will determine your rankings based on how often updates are made to your website content. For example, if you haven’t made any changes to your site in a year, you may be moved down in search rankings. You can combat this by refreshing your website content or adding blog articles and news updates to your site.
4: SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is arguably one of the most important factors in ensuring your website is being seen by your target audience. Without proper SEO tactics, your website is one of the billions of websites floating in the vast sea that is the World Wide Web. When conducting your website audit consult a tool like Google Analytics or Google Keyword Planner to review your keyword performance. If you are utilizing keywords on your site that aren’t generating traffic you may want to reevaluate. If you have keywords performing particularly well, make sure you have relevant content being added to your site that contains those specific keywords. An easy way to improve SEO is by double checking each page of your website has accurate Title & Meta tags as well as image descriptions. To learn more about SEO best practices head to our website to learn some tips from our experts!
5: Mobile Responsiveness
It is important to keep in mind that the majority of users who visit your website are doing so on a mobile device. So, ensuring your website is mobile responsive is a must. Many CMS platforms have built-in themes that are responsive on a variety of screen sizes, but if you have an older website this may not be the case. There are many ways you can check your website for mobile responsiveness, however, if there are issues with spacing and formatting it isn’t always easy to determine what is causing the issue and how to fix it. If you have an issue with mobile responsiveness make sure to contact your website developer and have them fix it. 
If this all sounds like a lot of work and something you don’t have the time for, give Robert Sharp & Associates a call at (605)341-5226. Our team can conduct a thorough audit of your website and report our findings to you to make sure your business website is a reputable marketing tool.
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