SEO. It’s a term that is thrown around a lot these days, but what does it actually mean? SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” It is the process of optimizing a website so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Why is this important? Because 85% of web traffic comes from organic search. In other words, if your website isn’t optimized for SEO, you’re missing out on a lot of potential traffic and revenue. That’s where an SEO audit comes in.
How Important is SEO?
As we touched on, SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” Optimizing for search engines helps your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Why does that matter?
The first result on a Google search gets ~32% (or nearly a third) of all clicks. The second-page results, on the other hand, split about 0.78% of all clicks between them.
If you want to show up when your customers are looking for you, SEO is critical.
What is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit is a comprehensive analysis of a website’s SEO health. It takes into account factors such as site structure, content, on-page optimization, link building, and much more. It’s a tool to help you optimize your website so that it’s easy to read for both humans and Google bots alike.
The goal of an SEO audit is to identify areas where a website can improve its SEO so that it can rank higher in SERPs. It identifies the spaces that could use a bit of fixing, offers suggestions to make these improvements, and creates a personalized action plan to improve your SEO over time.
Why Do You Need an SEO Audit?
There are many benefits of an SEO audit. Both from a sales and a brand reputation perspective.
While every business is unique, all businesses need customers. And 63% of all shopping begins online (both in B2B and B2C spaces). Leads that come from SERPs have a 14.6% close rate, whereas outbound leads (leads that come from cold calling, cold emailing, etc.) have a close rate of 1.7%. That’s almost a 10x improvement!
Why is that the case?
If Google recommends you, that’s a built-in trust signal for your prospective customers. This is why Google is so picky about which pages it recommends – it’s in Google’s own interest to recommend high-quality/reliable pages and content.
If your website isn’t optimized, your competitors may score these sales instead of you. Here’s how an SEO audit can help:
SEO Pays Off
Profitworks estimates that SEO efforts have a 275% return on investment. This means that for every $1 you spend on SEO, you can expect a $2.75 return. Very few tactics have this direct of a return.
Higher Ranking
First and foremost, an SEO audit can help you find the details you’re missing to help your website rank higher in SERPs. Here’s the thing: people are already searching for you and your content. How likely is it they’ll find you?
If you don’t optimize your website to be easily readable by the major search engines, they may recommend a competitor’s website over yours.
Higher Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
Secondly, it can help improve your website’s click-through rate (CTR). The higher your website or article ranks, the more likely it is that someone will click it.
Think about the last time you searched for something on Google. Did you scroll to the last suggestion or click over to the second page? In most cases, the answer is no. We tend to click the first viable suggestion.
A Better Website Experience for Humans and Bots Alike
Finally, an SEO audit can also help you find and fix any technical issues that may be holding your website back.
Having a user-friendly and bot-friendly website will help you maximize the amount of time a visitor lingers. If your website is buggy or slow, the user experience will be worse. The search engines know this and will reduce your exposure automatically.
Where can I get an SEO Audit?
Lavendai Creative offers a comprehensive SEO Audit that covers all the bases. We will evaluate your website’s design, development, content, and on-and-off-page SEO. You’ll receive personalized recommendations and an action plan to improve SEO and help your clients find you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that you’re familiar with SEO and SEO audits, let’s get into a few questions you may still have about SEO for business.
How long does an SEO strategy take to pay off?
SEO is not a quick fix. It’s a long-term strategy to build a sustainable flow of warm leads to your business. It takes between 6 and 12 months for SEO to start producing results. And by results, we mean a measurable increase in traffic and sales.
Does SEO pay off?
The short answer is, yes. It helped you find this article, didn’t it? Jokes aside, let’s talk numbers. In B2B, for example, SEO generates 44% of ALL revenue across sources and industries, making it the most powerful marketing strategy of all. There’s something powerful about being recommended by Google.
Is an SEO audit worth it?
Absolutely. While we’re a bit biased, the small upfront investment in getting the details right will help you lay a foundation to build from. The audit is a detailed report that will show you what’s working on your site and what isn’t. It can be used as a roadmap to make changes that will improve your website ranking.
Closing Thoughts: How do I get an SEO audit?
We hope you now understand the benefits of an SEO audit and how it can help your business. Whether or not you want us to help you with your SEO audit, we hope you walk away from this article having gained something of value.
Lavendai Creative offers a full SEO Audit that is done by humans, not an algorithm. We’ll personally comb through the details of your website’s design, coding, and content, as well as its on- and off-page SEO. You’ll get specific suggestions and a step-by-step strategy for improving your SEO so that your clients can find you. Our team has the experience and knowledge to generate results. Click here to ask us a question.
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