How Often Should I Conduct An SEO Audit for My Website?
An SEO audit is like the Swiss army knife of search optimization tools. It helps you identify errors across the board and highlights some areas you want to focus on when optimizing your website to meet search algorithm changes.
While you may know that an audit is needed, one of the biggest questions asked by our clients is – how often do we need to conduct an SEO audit for your website?
There are a lot of different factors that will answer that question, but before we dive in, let’s dissect what an SEO audit is.
What Is An SEO Audit?
If you have ever had a physical checkup at the doctor’s office, then you have an idea of what an SEO audit is. An SEO audit is essentially a full-body scan of your website, revealing core areas for improvement.
While there are many ways to perform an SEO audit, we focus on the following:
Technical SEO Factors: site speed, crawlability, indexing, mobile friendliness, etc.
On-Page Elements: meta descriptions, internal/external linking, image tags, etc.
Content Strategy: content quality, information hierarchy, etc.
Authority: NAP, social signals, backlink profile, etc.
For our advanced audits, we may also do a competitor audit, UX metrics, an analysis of local SEO, and more. The overall goal is to help you spot problems that might impact your search ranking and capitalize on new opportunities that will increase rankings.
SEO Audits Can Vary By Industry
How often you should audit your website for search will depend on various factors since there is no specific window of when an SEO audit should be conducted. However here are some considerations based on the industry and the website itself:
Fast-Paced Industries
If you are in an industry like tech or fashion, then you may need to update your website more frequently as these are rapidly changing sectors. Your SEO needs to keep up with the breakneck speed these industries move so a short audit each month, then a larger audit every quarter or year may be more suitable.
Stable Markets
Businesses in more stable sectors, such as manufacturing or local services, would not need an audit each month because the SEO landscape for these industries does not change as quickly. Less frequent audits, such as every quarter or even six months, would be more than enough to keep a pulse on SEO trends.
Website Size and Age
Naturally, larger websites with hundreds or thousands of pages need audits more frequently. Simply said, there's more land to cover and more potential for problems to arise. Thus, for larger websites, we would recommend breaking up the audit into monthly work and for example, spending an hour disavowing backlinks while also doing a monthly audit for technical issues.
Likewise, more frequent audits can assist you in building a solid SEO foundation and promptly resolving any teething issues if your website is still in its infancy. For smaller websites, a six-month audit would be good so that attention can be paid to building a formidable framework.
No matter what industry your business falls in, here are some of the considerations for a quarterly, six-month, and yearly SEO audit, which is the most common schedule.
Conducting A Quarterly SEO Audit
For many businesses, a quarterly SEO audit is a sweet spot because of:
Business Reporting: Align your SEO audit with other business reporting from various departments so it can be presented to leadership in one package.
Algorithm Agility: Google and search engines frequently release updates. A quarterly audit can help you get ahead of any changes that may have long-term impacts.
Competitive Advantage: A Quarterly audit may give you an advantage over market competitors who may be slower to change SEO trends.
Seasonal Shifts: There are many seasonal variations across many different industries. Quarterly audits allow you to identify seasonal trends and adjust your strategy accordingly.
For example, below is a Google trends pull on “long sleeve shirt.” It is expected that this keyword would increase in the fall and winter months as shown:
However, what information can be drawn about other trend lines? An SEO audit can help determine the relevancy of this term, and when to put these shirts on sale.
The Six-Month SEO Audit
As mentioned, the biannual search performance audit is good for websites that are smaller or that are in a more stable business environment. This method focuses on:
Implementation: By allowing yourself more time between audits, you can focus on structuring and implementing key changes from the previous audit.
Resource Conservation: Similarly, less frequent audits can also be cost-effective for businesses with limited SEO budgets or business resources.
Stability: If your SEO is stable, then a six-month audit means less tinkering, which will help you keep a consistently strong search presence.
The Yearly In-Depth SEO Review
No matter what type of business you are in or how big or small your website is, we recommend doing a comprehensive SEO audit each year. This is in addition to any smaller SEO audits you have previously conducted.
This is because a yearly SEO audit can:
Provide Specific Analysis: A more thorough yearly analysis can focus on the specifics of each aspect of SEO, allowing you to hone in on specific measures for long-term impact.
Locate Trends: By looking at an entire year’s worth of data, you can identify specific trends and patterns, such as when users are more likely to increase engagement on your website.
Improve Strategy: Your annual SEO audit should allow you to create a new strategy for the upcoming year, from content planning to a list of goals and milestone breakdown.
Increase Competitive Advantage: Each SEO audit will help you gain an advantage over your competitors, but conducting a year audit will help you create a robust and detailed strategy for how to outrank competitors.
Consistency is Key in Search Performance Audits
There are many SEO audit tools you can utilize to diagnose the search issues of your website. However, the most paramount is consistency.
Establish a Schedule: Adhere to a regular audit schedule, whether it is quarterly, biannually, or annually.
Employ a Checklist: Create a thorough SEO audit checklist to make sure you always address the important details.
Implement Continuous Monitoring: To track performance in between audits, utilize programs like Google Analytics and Search Console.
Remain Up to Date: To keep your audit process informed, stay up to date on SEO news and algorithm changes.
Act on Insights: The actions that an audit motivates determine its effectiveness. Don't forget to put each audit's suggestions into practice.
No matter what frequency you choose, it is important to remember that SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it effort. Search optimization is a very immersive part of the marketing funnel and utilizing it to the fullest can increase your organic traffic tremendously.
Get A Free SEO Audit Today
Did you know that our comprehensive SEO audits start for free? Save time and money by letting us roll up our sleeves and dive into the search performance of your website so it gets the attention it deserves.
Your future number-one ranking will thank you!