Maximise Your Online Presence: What to Expect From a Free SEO Audit
Search engine optimisation, more commonly known as SEO, is the process of improving your website to increase its visibility on Google, as well as other search engines.
To give you a better idea of why SEO is vital, here’s a statement from renowned marketing leader Chad Pollitt. He says “SEO is not something you do anymore,” but it is what happens when you do all things right.
But SEO success doesn’t happen overnight. If you want your site to rank high on search engines, you must take some steps to optimise it, and one of them is the SEO audit.
An SEO audit evaluates how well your site is optimised for search engines. Most businesses would choose the popular route – to hire SEO experts. However, the cost of a single SEO audit is typically between $975 and $21,000. That’s expensive.
Thankfully, there are free SEO audits available around. Free of charge, these are perfect for businesses who are just testing the waters of search engine optimisation.
In this guide, you won’t just learn what to expect from a free SEO audit but also some free SEO audit benefits, how it is different from a paid SEO audit, and more. Let’s get started!
Free SEO Audit vs. Paid SEO Audit + Free SEO Audit Benefits
With a free SEO audit, you’ll be able to analyse your website’s performance and spot areas for improvement to increase its visibility in search engine results pages, or SERPs.
Like the free trial of a software, free site audit and website analysis tools are limited when it comes to their features. Paid SEO audit tools provide a more comprehensive search engine optimisation report.
However, that doesn’t mean getting a free SEO audit won’t do you good. Here are some of the most impressive free SEO audit benefits:
- Determines technical issues that impact your site’s performance
- Evaluates on-page SEO attributes such as keywords and meta tags
- Reviews the backlink profile and domain authority
- Highlights aspects that must be improved
- Offers actionable insights without cost
- Helps prioritise SEO tasks for better ranking
Key Components of a Free SEO Audit
What are the most essential components of a free SEO audit? Read on.
1. Technical SEO Analysis
A technical SEO analysis is regarded as the foundation of any SEO program. Without expert analysis, you won’t be able to troubleshoot what happens behind the scenes.
This process ensures your website’s platform, architecture, and hierarchy are sound while also guaranteeing search engines can properly crawl, render, and index your site without a hitch. Various website analysis tools can make this happen. Without a technical SEO analysis, any effort made concerning SEO will be wasted.
2. On-Page SEO Analysis
A free SEO audit also covers on-page SEO analysis. Also referred to as on-site SEO, this process optimises web pages not only for their content for search engines but also for users.
Specifically, common tasks under on-page SEO analysis include optimising a site for search intent, title tags, URLs, and internal links.
3. Off-Page SEO Analysis
On the other hand, off-page SEO analysis, as its name implies, involves activities done outside a website, but with the goal of also increasing its search engine rankings.
Actionable tasks here include encouraging branded searches, building backlinks, and increasing engagement (such as shares) on social networking platforms.
Those are three of the most important components of a free SEO audit. This time, let’s find out the best tools used today in a free SEO audit.
Leverage Your Site Performance Assessment With These Best Tools Used in a Free SEO Audit
1. Semrush
This is an all-in-one marketing tool with several SEO capabilities. Though Semrush offers paid packages, you can start your site performance assessment with its free plan.
Its services include keyword research, link building, competitor research, cost per click, pay-per-click ads, ad on-page and tech SEO, among others.
Additionally, it also lets you check organic traffic sources, track positions, analyse content, audit backlinks, and arrange social media.
2. Ahrefs
Another popular free SEO checker you can use for your audit is Ahrefs. Like Semrush, it also presents a comprehensive evaluation of your websites in terms of SEO.
Once Ahrefs finishes auditing, it can provide you details, such as your site’s status, last crawl, health score, and internal URLs having errors, as well as the URLs crawled. Over 42,000 companies use this tool today.
3. Google Search Console
This is also a free SEO audit tool that helps you get to know your website better. It provides details on traffic, rank, clickthrough rate or CTR, indexing, enhancements, and experience.
But remember, Google Search Console will require you to enter all the details of your site before commencing the audit.
What a Free SEO Audit Won’t Cover
Nevertheless, a free SEO audit is limited. Let’s admit it. It is for free so you won’t get access to the details that a paid SEO audit offers. Here are the things a free SEO audit doesn’t cover:
- In-depth keyword research
- Competitor analysis
- Detailed backlink analysis
- Advanced diagnosis of technical SEO issues
- Assessment of content quality and relevance
- Insights on conversion rate optimisation
- Local SEO optimisation factors
- Advanced interpretation of analytics
- Comprehensive evaluation of site architecture
- Assessment of social media integration and impact
- Holistic recommendations on digital marketing strategy
A free SEO audit may not be as grand as a paid one. However, if you own a startup or small business or are a new blogger who wants a quick yet comprehensive overview of your site’s SEO health but doesn’t want to commit to a paid SEO service yet, this free SEO audit is the perfect choice for you.
This can provide valuable insights into rudimentary SEO issues, serving as the ideal starting point for improving search engine visibility and making a remarkable online presence.