Why Website Audits Matter
Think back to all the work that went into launching your website. Each and every detail scrutinised to ensure that, once published, nothing would hold back your site’s performance. What happened?
What once brought in leads now pushes them away! Here’s how you can avoid death by website sabotage.
What is a Website Audit?
Consider a brick and mortar store, where everything on the opening day was perfect. In time, things get messy. Shelves need to be repacked, stock changes due to seasonality, the posters from the last promotion get shoved in the already crowded storeroom.
The same thing is happening on your website.
A website audit is the equivalent of a store inspection. You take a critical look at what’s working or not; what should stay or go—all to run more effectively.
But, We Optimise All The Time, What Gives?
Sure, you’re optimising every piece of content that you add, but what about what’s no longer needed? Are you removing content that’s bloating your site, eroding loading time, or giving visitors out-dated information?
If you answered yes, well done! You’re doing better than most.
That’s not where it ends though. Links get broken, pages need redirects. Security and plug-ins, the nuts and bolts so to speak, need tightening. Design trends and user preferences change faster than technology (albeit by a fraction).
Your Digital Assets Need Maintenance As Much As Your Physical Ones.
If You’re Asking, “Should My Website Get Audited?” The Resounding Answer Is Yes.
- For your customers (and prospects)
- For the crawlers and bots
- For your investment
The three are equally important and interdependent. One affects the others.
User Experience
Ultimately, everything about your website hinges on user experience (UX). You want your visitors (customers) to have a good experience on your site. If they can find what they are looking for with ease, they are more likely to buy from you.
We, as customers, spend a considerable lot of time online all day. Despite this fact, though, we have very little time to go digging for information.
This familiarity influences our expectation of how a website should work; functionality, navigation, responsiveness. Even more challenging is that our demands evolve rapidly. We grow accustomed to new tech, like Alexa, virtually overnight. One day videos are all the rage; next, your whole site has to be optimised for voice search.
Your site only has a few seconds to measure up. If not, your visitors just bounce to another.
Search Engines
Search engines care almost as much about user experience as you do.
Why? They are trying to serve their users too! Search Engines (SEs) need to serve the most relevant results possible. A bounce is read as though the user did not find what they wanted, ergo, not relevant. Even if your content matches a search query perfectly, a bounce will drag down your authority rating –and thus, your ranking.
Among some 200 factors that go into Google’s ranking algorithm, the top ones relate to UX. That’s not to say the remaining factors aren’t important too.
Each backlink, meta description, title tag etc. tells SEs what your site and a specific page is about. If the right hand isn’t speaking to the left, it lowers your quality score.
Return on Investment
Audits tell you what you ought to do to keep your site in tip-top shape. When your site’s working at optimal levels, then:
- Search Engines trust you and readily serve your website high in the SERPs
- Visitors’ needs are satisfied, building loyalty; increasing purchasing propensity and profits!
How Often Should I Audit My Website?
As the saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine. If you audit your site frequently, you’ll stay on top of the niggly things before they become big things. You’ll also be able to foresee big things and avoid them. Translation: cost savings.
It’s probably best to do a light review once a quarter. Website Grader by HubSpot is a great tool for this purpose. Then you’ll want to dig deep into a far more technical assessment at least once a year. This is where it’s best to call in an SEO expert. Reach out to a consultant or agency to conduct an independent audit.
Digital “buildings” deteriorate much faster than their physical counterparts. If your site’s been up for some time without any major changes, you may need a refurb or renovation.
Does your website measure up? Chat with us about aligning your digital assets to your business goals!