Why should a local SEO audit be carried out?
An SEO audit is a useful tool for focusing attention on areas of your online presence that require improvement. It will assist you to decide whether the money you’re paying on an SEO service is worth it from the perspective of a business owner: Are they finishing key components of a digital marketing campaign? Do they fulfill all of your contract’s requirements? Is it advantageous to your company? You may have faith in the marketing firm you work with, but you should double-check that you’re getting what you are paying to the local SEO experts in New York that you have hired.
How often should your local SEO be audited?
When it comes to performing audits, there are no hard and fast rules. Once a year would be a fair benchmark to aim towards as a business owner with other responsibilities.
Perform a quick and straightforward local SEO analysis
While most individuals would instantly head to their website and look at the technical aspects, it is recommended to start with keywords, which is where your potential customers will search first. To begin, conduct some preliminary research into the keywords and queries that your prospective clients would use to find a firm similar to yours.
You’ll copy your keywords and look up their search volumes. These are preliminary estimations of the number of times the word is searched on a monthly basis. The higher the monthly search volume, the more users are searching. However, this usually means that certain keywords are more competitive and hence more difficult to rank for. Open a spreadsheet and paste the keyword and search volume list into it. You’re going to bring it up again soon.
Analyze the on-page optimization of your website for local SEO signals:
A quick look at the content: The next step is to perform a fast content audit of your website and blog. You’re not going for full-fledged Editor-in-Chief status here. You simply want to ensure that your content isn’t being copied elsewhere (or that it hasn’t been plagiarised) and that it isn’t spammy or reads like it was written by a third-grader.
Perform a Page Speed Insights test:
Page Speed is significant because it influences how quickly a person can access your site and how rapidly search engines can explore it. This has an impact on everything from rankings to how long visitors stay on your site. Page Speed Insights from Google is a web-based service that ranks your site on a scale of one to one hundred.
There are distinct scores for your mobile and desktop versions of your site. The analysis’s findings will give you specific suggestions for boosting Page Speed. These are primarily server-level problems that necessitate technical solutions. Keep track of your results because you’ll need them in the future. Use the Page Speed Insights tool to determine your mobile and desktop score, as well as possibilities for diagnostic repairs.
If you have a developer, you might want to have them fix/address any issues discovered by the PageSpeed Insights tool. GTMetrix is another great tool for determining your site’s speed.
Examine your internet presence from a social standpoint
Reviewing your social media presence is a crucial part of maintaining control over your branding. In our opinion, branding is a potentially big ranking element that will continue to grow in relevance as Google’s algorithm evolves.
First, see which social media platforms your organization uses. If you’re a hands-on business owner, you probably already know most of this, but double-checking and verifying is always a good idea. Facebook and Twitter are almost required for most businesses. Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other social media platforms may be necessary depending on your niche. Make sure you’re active on any relevant social media platforms.
Evaluate your online reviews
Local companies rely heavily on online reviews. Reviews aren’t simple to come by, rather it’s for a company to produce a large number of them without doing anything. That is why it is critical to monitor your online reviews and develop a strategy for obtaining new reviews on a consistent basis. You should look for reviews of your organization online or go directly to sites where you know there are reviews for your organization.
In all, the importance of local SEO and its audit cannot be neglected. It forms an integral part of any company’s digital marketing strategy. So, hire an SEO agency that not only creates performance-oriented campaigns but also conducts audits regularly. This will help to gauge performance, identify non-performing parts and create even more strong campaigns.
