A website audit can seem complicated at first glance, with so many elements coming into play it can be difficult to determine the best approach, and where to start. While I cannot tell you how to conduct an audit step by step (as all sites are built with varying goals) what I can assist in, is providing a few key elements to examine so that you are aware of any potential issues that may be keeping your site from page one on Google, Firefox, or any search engine.
Broken/Dead Links
There’s nothing more frustrating for a consumer than encountering a broken link or a “404 error page” when on a website. This can hurt your business even more so if they came to your site with the purpose of shopping for a good or service. Not only will users leave your site but it can hurt your SEO efforts as well.
Broken or dead links can happen due to a variety of reasons such as the page no longer existing, changing the URL slug; while some can be contributed to back end errors, most of the time it is based on human error! It is important to know that if you change any links on your site, you will need to redirect the old link, or physically replace the old link throughout the site. This can help increase UI/UX functionality as all links are operational.
Clear URLs
If you are conducting a website audit, a great first step is to examine the existing URLs to see if they are relevant to the content on the page. It is important to remember that when Google crawls and scores sites on relevancy, a clear URL will help put you above your competitors. For example, www.company.com/services/plumbing/ is a lot clearer and more likely to receive a click than www.company.com/services/11sccsd/ as the first URL tells the user exactly what the page will display. From there it is important that the content actually reflects the URL.
- Shorter URLs tend to rank higher on Google’s first page. Including the right keywords is important, but it’s best to keep your keywords to 1-2 per URL. If you continue to add more keywords, Google may flag this as keywords stuffing, and won’t give you very much credit for it.
- It is important to keep in mind that if you cannot read all of the words in a URL, neither can search engines. The more easily a person can understand and read your URL, the better experience they will have and higher ranks will ensue.
It is important to note that if you plan on changing your URL, provide a 301 redirect so that 1) you do not lose the traffic the previous page has organically built up & 2) so that users do not encounter broken or dead links on your site. Click here to learn more about 301 redirects.
Effective Call to Actions
An effective call to action can make a major difference when it comes to getting a consumer to take action on your site. Whether it be a CTA to buy a good or service, contact for a free quote/inspection, or to sign up for a newsletter, having clients engage with your website increases the likelihood of conversion because you provide them with additional resources and options.
Helping Your Business Get Found Quick!
The Boston Web Marketing team can happily conduct a website audit on your site. We also specialize in curating unique content, online reputation management & establishing digital conversion avenues for a variety of companies across all industries. When it comes to promoting your products, services, and growing your business through organic or paid mediums it’s important to get found quick. If you are interested in growing your business online or would like to expand and optimize the content on your website or social platforms, give Boston Web Marketing a call today at 857-526-0096 or contact us today!