Complimentary SEO evaluation
Introducing our New Year 2024 SEO evaluation package

A backlink profile audit involves several key checks, including:

• Counting how many links have been obtained
• Assessing the quality of those links
• Monitoring the pace at which new links are acquired
• Evaluating whether the links positively or negatively affect the site's SEO

It's crucial to remember that inappropriate links are among the leading causes of Google penalties. So, before initiating any link-building activities, it’s vital to verify that existing links won't jeopardize your site's reputation.

If risky links are identified, our first step is to remove them. The ultimate goal of a backlink audit is crafting a robust strategy to gather high-quality, varied links.

We conduct our incoming link analysis with advanced tools like Ahrefs, and if available, Google Search Console data from our clients. During an Ahrefs audit, particular focus is given to the volume and quality metrics such as link growth trends and Domain Rating (DR) of linking domains.

An intriguing aspect of our audits is that they can be done for any domain without direct access to your website, enabling us not only to analyze your site but also to scrutinize your competitors' backlink strategies for a comprehensive link-building plan.

Link Profile Quality

Knowing how to interpret a backlink audit's outcomes is crucial. The quality of links within your profile deserves significant attention.

This is where the domain rating (DR) comes into play; it evaluates whether Google views a domain as valuable and trustworthy. Aiming for links from sites with high DR scores (e.g., major portals and well-ranked, valuable websites) is highly beneficial.

Volume of Links

During link-building efforts, you'll likely encounter both high-value sites and those with lower DRs in your audit. For effective SEO, the sheer number of inbound links also plays a role.

Growth Pace

Another critical aspect is the pace at which you acquire these links. Ideally, aim for a consistent and gradual increase rather than a massive spike over a short period. The ideal growth chart in your link analysis should slope gently upwards without taking any sharp vertical leaps.

In our technical audit, we'll thoroughly examine if your website incorporates all necessary technical aspects that bolster its SEO friendliness. Through our analysis, we will try to identify missing critical components or discover an overuse of certain content types such as excessive H1 headers.

We advise the swift elimination of these issues because they limit your website's opportunities to ascend into Google's Top 10.

Check the Indexing Status

Designed for novices rather than web marketing experts, this section demystifies essential steps like verifying your website's indexation and its performance within Google’s searches.

How to Manually Check for Indexation?

By utilizing the “site:” command with your web address, you can easily determine how many of your pages are showcased in Google's search results.

This approach doesn't limit visibility insights to just the coveted top 10 spots but extends to any position within Google's vast search outcome landscape.

Leveraging Google Search Console for Efficient Indexing Insights

Google Search Console is an indispensable tool for deeper indexing insights, including:

• Indexing errors: Here you will get a hint about possible causes, so you can plan appropriate actions to eliminate errors. Errors may be related to improper server operation or a slow server that prevents the bot from entering the site. Indexing errors can also result from your own actions, i.e., excluding the site from indexing. If you make many changes to the site or delete old subpages, it’s almost certain many errors will occur.
• Valid with warnings: these are pages that are indexed but simultaneously excluded by you via robots.txt file. Google issues a warning to make you aware that despite exclusion, the page is visible in search results. You can change this by assigning the noindex, follow attribute to the site.
• Valid: Here, no action is needed - you just need to ask yourself whether most of your significant pages are already indexed. There may be a warning there concerning a lack of sitemap, but it is not essential for proper indexing of the site. You can catch up at any time and check if the number of indexed URLs significantly increases thanks to the sitemap.
• Excluded: Here you will find a list of URLs that will not be indexed by Google. The reason for this is either your exclusion or the type and content of the page that Google thinks should not be indexed. Examples of the latter include duplicate content, pages resulting from product filtering and all pages with errors. Large websites and online stores can expect the list of excluded pages to be long. This is something you shouldn't worry about, unless you detect that the exclusion also includes valuable pages.

By checking for indexing, you quickly learn whether indeed your site isn’t on Google or if it's hidden on the dead end of search results.

A technical SEO audit scrutinizes various critical elements, including:

• Page Load Time: Don't settle for just Google PageSpeed Insights. Expanding your toolset to include Pingdom and GTMetrix can offer deeper insights too.
• Mobile Optimization: Leverage Google's mobile usability testing tool to identify and correct any issues hindering performance on mobile devices
• Keyword Cannibalization: A thorough analytical approach is required to pinpoint instances where multiple subpages rank for identical search queries. It is important to prevent competition within your own site. Utilize Google Search Console's performance data for insights.
• Redirect Accuracy: Ensure all redirects (e.g., http to https transitions) function properly to support seamless user experience. Verifying automated redirect systems for URL changes is also crucial.
  XML Sitemap Accuracy: Essential for aiding search engine bots in efficient navigation and indexing. Confirm that your sitemap is up-to-date and functioning correctly.
• robots.txt File: Incorrect configurations within your robots.txt can unintentionally block pages from being indexed. Conversely, it’s necessary to strategically disallow certain pages, aligning with Google's recommendations.
• Metadata: Tools like Screaming Frog are invaluable for diagnosing issues with metadata duplication or inadequate content length.
• On-site Content Duplication: Identifying redundancies within your site or across external sites is crucial. Resources like Copyscape and SEMrush stand out for their efficacy in spotting duplicated content.
• Broken Links: These not only drain your site’s indexing budget but also degrade the user experience and harm your SEO standing. Harness tools like Ahrefs’ broken link checker to mitigate these issues (note that while it's free, there's a cap on the number of links you can test).

Manual checks are impractical unless you're willing to sift through countless Google search result pages.

Instead, we recommend turning to specialized tools. While some require payment, there are also excellent free options available. Do expect some variation in findings across different tools due to their unique data collection methods.

Our go-to tools include Senuto, SEMSTORM, and Surfer SEO.

Such platforms enable us to monitor keywords where our site ranks within the top 10, top 3, and top 50 search results on Google. Elevating our website's visibility means achieving higher rankings for a broader range of keywords. Ideally, your goal should be to increase your site’s presence within the top 10 search results.

Progress and setbacks can be easily tracked through these tools’ reporting features. Observing a drop? It’s crucial to pinpoint whether it's due to insufficient efforts compared to your rivals, halting SEO activities or possibly a penalty from Google.

Consistent performance on your visibility chart may also pose questions. A stable high-ranking position across hundreds of thousands of keywords signals no immediate concerns. However, if your site has been stuck ranking for only a handful of phrases over several years, there’s substantial room for improvement and strategy refinement.

Another crucial question you must address when using SEO tools revolves around identifying the precise keywords under which your website appears.

Ranking for Brand-Related Keywords

Ranking for keywords that include your company or brand name is generally the easiest route. However, this doesn't imply that it’s effortless. You should verify whether your website pops up as the top result for your company name. You can do it through an SEO tool or by searching manually in Google.

Similarly, explore how visible your personal name is if that's how customers know you. This immediate check can reveal whether only your competitors appear for your brand name - a scenario that unfortunately does happen.

Ranking for Sales-Related Keywords

Make sure that among the vast array of keywords your site ranks for, there are those closely linked with what you offer. Attracting users actively searching for your offerings should be your primary focus.

From a sales perspective, ranking for a substantial volume of keywords isn't sufficient. Your visibility needs to encompass a broad array of phrases directly related to what you provide.

If you're currently working with an SEO agency, scrutinize whether the keywords they report primarily describe your products and services. If they don't align with your offerings, it might be time to rethink the effectiveness of their strategy.

Ranking for Educational Keywords

Building awareness precedes selling - are you facilitating this process effectively? Investigate whether you’re reaching individuals seeking solutions and guidance. A straightforward method involves maintaining a blog packed with insightful advice.

While these keywords might not convert directly into sales immediately, they embed you within the consumer’s mind, pave the way for initial engagement with your brand, and potentially cultivate a trusting community. A lack of relevant keywords means limited reach to Google's users.

If your site ranks for numerous unrelated keywords, it’s high time to reassess and refine your keyword strategy.

When partnering with an SEO agency, its crucial to assess through a SEO content audit how well your website content has been optimized. Prior to taking any action, we conduct this audit to evaluate:

• the content on the most important subpages of the site
• the amount of key phrases
• the user experience of your content

This assessment leads to developing strategies for text enhancement and keyword enrichment. We may also recommend new subpages and text fields additions on existing pages - like those within product categories.

An SEO audit conducted by an SEO agency primarily aims to assess the store’s quality and condition before commencing further optimization actions.

It can also serve as a means to find answers as to why positioning hasn't yielded results. Within the technical audit for a store, we examine:

• Mobile-Friendliness: It's essential to ensure that the store can be properly navigated and purchases can be made on mobile devices. Mobile optimization is a key ranking factor in SEO.
• Structured Data Accuracy: By providing additional information about the store and its offerings, Google gains a better understanding of the entire website. It's crucial to verify that added structured data displays correctly and that there are no errors related to Schema markup in Google Search Console.
• Indexing Status: Before a page can be ranked, it must first be added to Google, i.e., indexed. It's important to ensure that all pages of your website are correctly indexed. If errors arise, it's necessary to investigate their cause and eliminate them.
• Store Ranking: Following proper website optimization, rankings for keywords in the top 10 should consistently increase. It's important to ensure that these are keywords relevant to the offering.
• Orphaned Pages: Due to improper website construction, robots may not reach all content, resulting in some subpages never being indexed. It's essential to ensure that there are no orphaned pages, i.e., pages without any internal links.
• Pages Excluded from Indexing: Sometimes, not all pages are intended for promotion in Google. In such cases, various methods are employed to prevent their indexing. However, an SEO audit may reveal that pages intended for Google visibility have been mistakenly excluded.
• Meta Tags: A common mistake regarding meta tags is duplication or complete absence of title and description tags. It's important to check this in an audit of the online store and plan improvements accordingly.
• HTTPS Implementation Accuracy: Currently, an SSL certificate is an industry standard, and many other free certificates are available. However, the challenge lies in correct implementation, which requires proper redirection from HTTP to HTTPS. Presence of both variants will result in duplication of the entire site.
• Content Duplication: Content duplication in online stores is a bigissue, and many store owners are unaware that their content is duplicated. Duplication in such cases stems from technical issues.
• Internal Linking Structure of the Store: It's worthwhile to analyze both menu structure and other methods of internal linking. Attention should be paid to whether linking enables the site hierarchy correctly, covers all pages, and isn't too deep (too many subcategories).
• Breadcrumb Navigation: This is an element worth implementing for both SEO and user experience. Breadcrumbs facilitate returning to higher-level pages in the hierarchy and recognizing where we are.
• Page Load Time: This is crucial for user experience and, to a lesser extent, for SEO. However, it's still important to ensure that the store's load time meets the standards set by tools like Pingdom. This may necessitate actions to improve speed, such as optimizing image size or code minification.

Optimized content serves as the backbone of SEO, but it also plays a pivotal role in driving sales. What content-related aspects should be emphasized in an SEO audit of a store?

• Keyword density: It’s a good idea to evaluate the presence and saturation of relevant keywords within the text and compare it with competitors holding higher rankings.
• Content volume: It’s vital to ensure that SEO-driven content is sufficiently long. It might necessitate expanding product descriptions or informational sections.
• Meta title and description: It’s necessary to tak a closer look at meta data. Is it infused with targeted keywords, compelling for click-throughs, and of suitable length?
• Content quality: Uniqueness and utility are paramount. Mere keywords won't suffice for effective positioning. It's imperative that each page hosts unique, premium content tailored to your store. Moreover, content should enrich user experience by offering comprehensive product insights or pre-purchase/contact guidance.

Prior to commencing partnerships with stores, we conduct a comprehensive assessment of the inbound link profile as part of our link audit and store positioning endeavors.

A robust link profile is advantageous, whereas low-quality links run the risk of incurring Google's wrath. What aspects do we scrutinize?

• Link quality: We evaluate whether links come from domains with high authority and if the linking pages are thematically relevant to your store.
• Quantity of links: Typically, online stores lacking prior SEO efforts may possess minimal or no incoming links. We diligently ascertain the number of inbound links.
• Growth pace: While the number of links holds significance, the rapid acquisition of numerous links within a short timeframe is ill-advised. Such practices run the risk of being penalized by search engine filters.
• External expert publications: Publications featuring links to your store on respected portals can serve as valuable assets in the off-page optimization realm. Furthermore, they contribute to enhancing your brand's reputation.

In the realm of e-commerce, prioritizing User Experience (UX) and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is paramount.

Alongside an SEO audit, we recommend commissioning an UX audit to identify any impediments hindering the customer journey.