SEO audit is an important move that can provide in-depth insights on your site’s performance. The auditing process involves the evaluation of the search engine by testing its friendliness in different areas. A search engine optimization auditor will review your website manually and then provide the necessary recommendations on what should be changed to improve the website’s performance.

It is crucial to conduct an SEO audit regularly with the help of search engine optimization company since the ranking criteria used by search engines keep changing every now and then. A regular audit ensures that your website adheres to the current algorithms so that you stay ahead of your competition.

Local Business

Check for Google Penalties

The first step is to check if your website has been penalized by Google. An algorithmic penalty can have adverse effects on your website ranking.

There are two ways to go about checking for Google penalties. The first option is by accessing your Google search console account and then choosing the ‘Manual Actions” option. You will be able to see the reasons for your penalty if at all, your website has been penalized.

The second option is by comparing the organic traffic against the date that Google introduced a change in its algorithms. A clear sign that the website was affected by changes will be backed by a sudden reduction in organic traffic.

Search for Your Website on Google

The second step in an SEO audit is by searching for your site online and then reviewing the results. You should check to see if your homepage appears as the first result or not. Also, check to confirm that the description under the homepage is accurate. If your site doesn’t appear on top of the search results, then it means that your website has several issues that need to be fixed.

Conduct a Technical SEO Audit

Technical SEO involves checking your website to ensure that the search engines have access to your pages can index them appropriately. You can check your website information on Google search console, which provides you with a comprehensive report on your website performance. You should confirm if your website is structured data-enabled, which is used by Google to enhance the presentation of a website.

Performing an On-page SEO Audit

The content on your site is essential when conducting an SEO audit. You should check the heading and the format of the texts, to ensure that they are correctly tagged and formatted. You have a regular posting schedule to ensure that your content is fresh and relevant. Go through your internal link structure and watch out for broken links as well.

Off-Page SEO Auditing

This process involves checking the methods used in promoting your website online. You can review your site by checking the number of unique sites that have links to your site. Also, note the number of links that point to your homepage and those that point to other pages on your website. Check the overall percentage of links that are keyword-based as well. It is important to also consider your social media presence. If your business is inactive on social media, then your rankings will be considerably low.

Now, in brief, let us look at some of the best local SEO practices:

Local SEO has the potential to take your business to the next level. Local SEO works just like regular SEO, with only four main differences, which are explained below.

Furthermore, an increase in the number of people with mobile devices has led to the growth of a new SEO aspect, voice search. This new phenomenon is also a major contributor to local searches. Google estimates at least 40% of all voice searches to be locally driven. This is, therefore, the ideal time for businesses to seek the best marketing servicesto gain a competitive advantage.

This leads to the question, what does local SEO entail. Local SEO contains all the elements of regular SEO with two main distinguishing factors:

● Google My Business
● Local mentions

Google My Business

A key difference between local and regular SEO is Google My Business. This is a feature introduced by Google to make a business stand out using their profile. It is free, but there has been news going around that Google may soon introduce its paid version. This incredible marketing tool is something that you should set up if you want to compete locally in your area of expertise. Here are a few tips that may help you set up Google My Business listing that stands out.

● Feed out your Google My Business listings completely i.e., have a comprehensive profile
● Update the profile regularly with interesting posts with the target audience in mind just the way you do your
Facebook page

● Post attractive pictures and videos about your business in a professional way

Local Mentions

Excellent local SEO practices require that you have local mentions across significant websites. Local mentions include the name of the business, physical address, and contact information such as email and phone number. It is also crucial that these mentions are consistent.

Priya Jatoliya

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