Below you will find a comprehensive list of the different on page SEO factors we evaluate during an audit. Why they are important, what data we’re looking for and how these factors can will be improved for better search ranking.
Additionally, when Ladder Up performs an audit we also provide off page SEO strategies to improve search ranking.
Meta descriptions, H1 tags, Title tags – We audit these items to look for duplicates, missed opportunities and relevancy. We improve this factor by editing existing tags and descriptions to be more accurate, revising duplicate information and populate missing information.
Redirects and Broken Links – We check for 301’s and 404’s which indicate broken links, missing pages and redirects. We work to reduce the number of redirects as much as possible and eliminate missing pages and broken links by adding redirects when necessary. We aim to keep redirects low, not in terms of how many we have in total but how many times the redirect is happening. This is normal maintenance that we’ll want to stay on top of so that it’s not affecting your ranking.
URLs – We want to make sure these are short and relevant. We take a look at the average length and the relevancy of the current URLs. Then we go back and clean up the ones that aren’t relevant by editing them to remove all unnecessary text and focus on a relevant path that is short and includes the keyword.
Image Alt Tags – We looked at how many are missing and how accurate the descriptions are based on the content of the page. We revise previous posts and pages on the website and to ensure that alt tags and descriptions are present and relevant.
NAP– Stands for Name, Address, Phone number, we look for consistency with these across all occurrences. When talking about consistency we mean brackets and periods, spelling and abbreviations not just the information. This can be improved by adding the address to the google business pages listing and changing the phone numbers to match or adding both numbers to both the website and the listing. We also be search for your NAP to see if it is present on other website where your business is listed to make sure this information is exact and consistent.
Google Business Pages – We check to see if this exists. If it does we add more information where we see the opportunity and we come up with best practices for you to manage this listing. The more this is populated the more credibility it gives the business which encourages Google to promote it. This can be improved by adding more information and encouraging customers to leave reviews. If it doesn’t exist we set up a new listing for you.
Backlinks – We check to see how many backlinks you have and the quality and relavncy associated. To improve this ranking factor, we directly contact candidates that we think would be good sources for back links and we work on creating great content or coming up with an effective content strategy to create valuable content that reputable and relevant industry professionals and your audience would want to link to. We also review your existing content to look for missed opportunities and opportunities to optimize existing links.
Page Speed – We check your page speed insights to see how fast your website is performing on both mobile and desktop. If your website is performing poorly and is slow enough to affect the user experience and your ranking we get a developer to make structure and server improvements.
Readability – Our readability test reviews your website in comparison with other industry players. We check to see if you’re on the same playing field. Our aim is to revise your content to improve your readability to match your audiences needs based on what the top search results reveal about your audiences reading level.
For a more in-depth over view of each of these items and to learn more about SEO check out “Introduction to SEO” webinar on our “News” page or contact us today to get your very own SEO audit done.