How do you know if your local search engine optimization efforts are working? You have to perform a local SEO audit, of course. This method will reveal the condition of your web pages in search engine rankings and give you insights that can help you spot areas that need improvement, resulting in a surge of revenue and conversions and boosting traffic.
For sure, there is a ton of SEO audit methodologies you can find out there. And suppose you are a small construction business wanting to optimize your website for organic search. In that case, knowing where and how to start can be difficult, like figuring out how detailed your analysis must go and determining what SEO tools you must use to get the most useful information.
But do not worry. We got you covered. This blog will teach you everything about SEO audit, what it covers, and the comprehensive checklist you must follow.
What is an SEO Audit?
Reviewing your online assets to ensure your website is performing the best it can in the search results is called an SEO audit. This type of audit includes finding out the following:
- Technical SEO issues
- Website structure issues
- Potential off-site problems
- User experience issues
- Competitive marketplace insights
- Content gaps and opportunities
Another thing is there are other facets under SEO where performing an audit can sometimes be overwhelming. That is why we make sure to make the audit process as simple yet comprehensive as possible for you to understand it clearly and thoroughly.
SEO Audit Checklist
What we prepared for you is a well-rounded SEO audit that integrates technical, on-page, and off-page SEO.
1. Determine link-building opportunities
Building links is crucial to acquiring website authority, and no local search engine optimization audit is complete without some recommendations for internal and external links.
A direct and effective way to build internal links is to create a new piece of content and perform a site search for your older, related content, which already builds up equity. Next, you must look for anchor text from the old content and link it to the new content.
One straightforward tactic to build external links is searching for resource lists that can effectively feature your construction content and link back to you.
2. Determine Site Structure Improvements
IA or Information Architecture is a term that generally means “the way information is being structured or ordered.” For SEO audit purposes, improving your AI structure means redistributing the internal linking structure on your construction website to pass equity to other pages that most likely need it.
If you found your website structure is quite a mess, here are some quick solutions you can follow:
Work closely with the designers and developers to develop user-friendly resolutions to improve your site’s page authority without affecting and comprising UX (User Experience).
Increase the number of blog posts per page to bring the older posts closer to your homepage.
Collect all keywords you used in your website and, filter them out, adjust them to your website’s hierarchy.
Scalability should be present on your website. So, add new categories and sub-categories to make the site scalable.
3. Find and fix thin content
Your web pages will not get the attention of SERPs, and your listing will only stand out on Google Maps if your content is thick enough. One of the most popular Google algorithm updates, Panda, made sure to crack down on sites with thin content.
If you have yet to learn about thin content, the content fails to meet the user’s needs. For example, a 350-word blog post detailing a complex concept is highly considered thin content. But it does not mean you just have to place and integrate over 1000 words on your site, and it is not even realistic at all or highly suggested.
So, what content must you look at? Take a closer look below:
- Select pages: These pages have dropped in rank or by performance.
- Top pages: Export your top pages by traffic – of course, depending on your construction website size – and ensure that each page is beefed up adequately.
4. Determine and duplicate content
Search engines like Google are now becoming smart to know whether or not you are maliciously and intentionally duplicating content on your website to overwhelm the SERP with your site’s URLs. The funny thing is that you are unintentionally unaware that you are duplicating content.
We hope you already know that it is not okay to do some duplication. Always check your CMS or content management system if you ever have one. Find out if the system constantly generates new pages that are similar in appearance and whether they have yet to be canonicalized in the search console.
5. Scan for keyword optimization
Know that there will be some pages on your website where optimizing for target keywords will not be practicable. But still, whenever possible, you must ensure all pages on your site are fully optimized for keywords – keywords that can help show up in organic searches.
The first step you need to take to do that is to conduct keyword research. You can use free keyword research tools and search for keywords related to your construction content with higher volume, intent, and low difficulty. And make sure that these target keywords should be placed in the:
- ·Title
- H1 (if applicable)
- H2 (Subheadings in your posts – at least one)
- Meta title
- Meta description
- Body copy
- URL
6. Ensure meta tags are optimized
Meta tags comprised of a meta title and meta desc. If you ensure that your meta tags are optimized, you help Google determine the content of your web page, moving forward to crawl. And with the addition of the Google 3 pack, you have three possible ways to show up on the first page of the Google results, which is something you should take advantage of.
They are the two major factors Google considered when positioning or ranking pages. Meta tags also help users look in the search results to identify the content of your page.
Meta tags play a crucial role both in your audits and local ranking. So, always write and re-write them accordingly, optimizing them for keywords that can help them appear in the search.
If you wonder how to optimize your meta titles and meta descriptions, feel free to follow the tips below:
- Keep your titles under sixty characters.
- Your target keyword must exist in totality in your title
- Include your construction brand name in the title to reinforce your brand authority
- As for your meta desc, it should stand at 155 to 160 words
- Avoid keyword stuffing in your meta tags
7. Manage your Google My Business profile
Your GMB profile is one of the initial requirements for fully functional local search engine optimization. Google Business profile puts your existing business listing within the SERPs. If you still need a complete and verified GMB profile, your SEO audit must start with creating one.
Once you are done creating, it is necessary to verify it. Next, you have to go to your listing and optimize it for all search users. Go through all the details linked with your profile and accurately represent your products, services, location, hours, and additional company information.
You must know that Google uses distance, relevance, and prominence to assess listings. So, gauge how you can change your current listing to ensure a higher ranking.
8. Run page speed analytics
After Google dropped its Page Experience Update and Speed update, page speed instantly became important. This is mainly due to the increase in mobile searching nowadays. Anyone who uses the phone to search for something online will not have the patience to wait longer for a slow-responsive website. It only means the faster your website is, the most likely Google will reward you with stronger organic rankings.
Your go-to tool here is none other than PageSpeed Insights. The tool will give you a detailed look at page speeds and will also offer you some suggestions for improvement. And if you want to get started in speeding up your site, here are some quick tips you can follow:
- Compress the images: If you are looking for a faster yet effective page speed improvement, you must try image compression. Depending on the before and after sizes of the images, you will stand to get a significant increase in overall speed performance.
- Implement lazy loading: To lazy load an image, display a lightweight image and replace it with a full-size image on scroll.
Tired of doing SEO? Partner with ConstructionMarketing.io
There is a reason why there is no perfect recipe for a successful SEO audit. Also, if you notice, best practices for SEO often need to be more consistent. Indeed, Google is a mystical beast, and time after time, it changes its algorithm. But trust that this 8-point checklist we prepare for you is the core elements you have to consider for a successful SEO audit.
But if you are trying to understand what an SEO audit is or need to know how to get started, you can partner with us.
As a full-service construction marketing agency, ConstructionMarketing.io has the experience, knowledge, tools and, most importantly, seasoned experts – everything you need to carry out your SEO campaigns and perform successful SEO audits. Trust that our agency delivers top-tier Local SEO marketing services. Plus, with a strong background in construction, we know the nuts and bolts of the industry and therefore guarantee our clients that we can put them ahead of their competitors.
We give our clients the best results – delivering top search engine ranking and high visibility to their business through and through.
If you want to know more about our services, contact us today. We love to hear from you.