Performing an SEO audit – step-by-step instructions for the SEO check of your website

A well-conducted SEO audit can make the difference between a successful online presence and one that disappears into the depths of the internet. But how do you start such an audit and what needs to be considered?

In this comprehensive tutorial, I will take you by the hand and show you step by step how to carry out an SEO audit.

From the technical condition of your website and the analysis of your current keyword rankings to competition analysis and the optimization of your backlink profile – we cover all important aspects.

You will learn how to carry out a detailed SEO analysis using tools such as Screamingfrog, Google Search Console and Semrush. You can then work on improving your SEO in a targeted manner.

1. technical SEO audit with the ScreamingFrog

Screamingfrog is a powerful tool that helps you identify and fix technical SEO issues on your website. With Screamingfrog, you can crawl your entire website to analyze and optimize various technical aspects.

A technical SEO audit is crucial to ensure that your website is optimally accessible and indexable for search engines. This is how we create the basis for your SEO success.

Installation and setup of Screamingfrog

1. Download and installation: Visit the Screamingfrog website and download the latest version of the Screamingfrog SEO Spider. Follow the instructions to install it on your computer.
2. Licensing: Screamingfrog offers a free version with limited functions. For a comprehensive SEO audit, it is advisable to purchase a license to gain access to all functions.
3. Setup: Start Screamingfrog and enter the URL of your website in the search bar. Click on “Start” to begin the crawl.

Carrying out a crawl of the website

After you have started the crawl, Screamingfrog will analyze your entire website. Depending on the size of the website, this process can take a few minutes.

As soon as the crawl is complete, you will receive a comprehensive overview of all technical aspects of your website.

It is now important to prioritize. Some points should get your attention immediately, others you can put on the back burner or ignore completely.

Critical Tech-SEO aspects:

• Status codes (404, 301): Check the status codes of all pages. 404 error pages (pages not found) should be fixed or redirected to relevant pages. 301 redirects (permanent redirects) should be set up correctly to redirect the Juice link.
• Canonicals: These tags are generally used to handle duplicate content. You should make sure that everything is configured correctly here.
• Duplicates: You can quickly recognize duplicate meta titles or duplicate meta descriptions. Avoid duplicates or handle them accordingly using canonical tags.
• Robots blocking: You should also check this element carefully. If you are unintentionally blocking some parts of your website from the crawlers, fix this as quickly as possible.
• Index & NoIndex: Similar to Robots.txt, but a little softer. You ask crawlers not to index a URL. If some pages are set to Noindex, check whether this should also be the case.
• HTTP URLs: Switch to HTTPS as quickly as possible or adjust the HTTP links accordingly. Most modern browsers block HTTP URLs by default. Bad for attracting customers.

Other important problems:

• Multiple / missing H1 headings: This problem often occurs when your CMS is configured incorrectly. You should take care of this as soon as possible.
• Titles that are too long or too short: Both are not optimal and at the same time you can also check the titles themselves to see whether they are always provided with the respective main keyword.
• Missing alt texts: This leaves a lot of potential for the image search. However, this can be particularly interesting for stores.
• Page title same as H1: Here you are also wasting potential for the placement of other keywords in these elements. Main keyword in the title, other alternatives in the H1!
• Href lang problems: For multilingual websites, the href lang tags should be set correctly so that search engines can cope well with the different language versions.

You should address these points first if there are problems with your site.

Everything else such as meta descriptions and loading times (as long as they are not mega bad) can wait for now.

You should also take a look at orphan pages and the distribution of your internal links in general. Do your most important URLs also get the most links?

Of course, you need to know which pages are particularly important for you. So let’s move on to the content part.

2. traffic inventory & current keyword rankings

We use Google Search Console and Semrush to find out how our page performance and keyword rankings are currently doing.

The Google Search Console and Semrush are two very valuable tools for analyzing your website traffic and your keyword rankings.

Google Search Console gives you insights into your website’s performance in Google search, while Semrush provides detailed data on your rankings, competitors and much more. Together, they allow you to take stock and analyze your website comprehensively.

How much traffic do I get via Google?

To understand how your website is currently performing, you need to analyze the traffic. This includes the sources from which users access your website as well as the performance of individual pages.

Open the Google Search Console and navigate to “Performance”. Here you can see which search queries users are using to reach your website:

Click on “Pages” to see the overview of services at page level:

In both views, you can sort by impressions & clicks. This gives you a quick overview of which pages and which search terms are currently bringing you the most clicks.

Although you can also see your average position for a keyword here, Google only gives you an average value, which always lags a little behind.

We therefore switch to Semrush to check the rankings.

For which keywords does my website rank on Google?

Semrush also offers a detailed overview under “Organic search > Positions”.

Of course, keywords with high relevance and high search volume are particularly important here. In which position can you be found for your most important keywords?

Tip: Also take a look at keywords for which you can be found on page 2 – 3. Sometimes unused keywords are hidden here that could be interesting for you.

Of course, this evaluation only works under 2 conditions:

1. You already know your keywords, otherwise you should start with a keyword research start
2. Your website can already be found for some keywords

Creation of a report on current performance

Once you have collected and analyzed all the data, create a detailed report on the current performance of your website. The report should include the following points:

1. Traffic sources: An overview of the various sources and their shares of total traffic.
2. Main keywords: A list of the most important keywords for which your website ranks, including their positions and search volume.
3. Most important pages: A list of the pages that generate the most traffic and their respective performance.
4. Potential for improvement: Identify pages and keywords with potential for improvement and then create an action plan for optimization.

The detailed analysis and the report on current performance give you a clear overview of the status quo of your website. These findings are the basis for targeted optimization measures that will sustainably improve your visibility.

3. competitive analysis and keyword research

To improve your SEO strategy, you should know who your main competitors are. Competitors are websites that compete for the same keywords and target groups as your own website.

Who are our SEO competitors?

Start with a list of the most obvious competitors based on your business sector and niche. These can be direct competitors who offer similar products or services, as well as indirect competitors who are fighting for the same target group.

Semrush can also help you at this point. Switch to the “Competitors” tab in Organic Research to get an overview of your competitors.

Of course, this only makes sense if your domain can already be found for your most important keywords. Otherwise, simply take a look at the respective search results and see the first positions.

Analysis of competitors

Once you have identified your main competitors, you need to analyze their performance and strategies.

How do they perform compared to your own website?

Compare the rankings and traffic of your competitors with your own. In Semrush, you can view the organic visibility, traffic volume and main keywords of your competitors. Check for which keywords they rank better than you and which pages generate the most traffic.

What strategies work well for them?

Examine the SEO strategies of your competitors. Take a look at their on-page optimization, content strategies and backlink profiles. Note which content performs particularly well and why. This information can help you to develop your own strategies or improve existing ones.

Collect all this information and incorporate it into your SEO analysis.

4. backlink audit

Backlinks, i.e. links from other websites to your own, are an important factor for search engine optimization (SEO).

They signal to search engines that your website is trustworthy and relevant. High-quality backlinks can improve your rankings and generate more organic traffic.

Therefore, a regular backlink audit is crucial to check and optimize the quality of your backlinks.

You also want to find out whether you can keep up with your competitors when it comes to backlinks or whether you have some catching up to do.

Carrying out a backlink audit with Semrush

A backlink audit helps you to analyze the quality and relevance of your backlinks. Semrush offers comprehensive tools to make this process efficient.

Open Semrush and navigate to the “Backlink Analytics” tool. Enter your domain and start the analysis. You will receive an overview of all backlinks that point to your website. Pay particular attention to:

• The referring domains
• The anchor text of the links
• The landing pages on your website
• The quality of the links (Is the source a reputable site? Does it have a lot of links and get a lot of organic traffic?)

Comparison of your own backlinks with those of your competitors

Use Semrush to compare your backlinks with those of your competitors. Under “Backlink Gap” you can enter your domain and those of your competitors to see how you compare.

As already mentioned, pay attention to the number AND quality of the links. Backlinks from pages with a high authority are particularly interesting (the authority score from Semrush gives you a direction here, but don’t put the value on the gold scale).

Of course, this analysis also shows you potential targets that you want to attack in a link building campaign!

5. evaluation of all information from the SEO analysis

Once you have carried out your SEO audit, it is time to compile and evaluate all the information. This evaluation should give you a clear overview of the current state of your website and its performance compared to your competitors.

Here are the essential questions your SEO website audit should answer:

1. What is the technical status of my website?
2. For which keywords can I already be found and which search terms still offer potential?
3. What are my most important pages? Which ones are not performing so well?
4. Who are my competitors?
5. How strong are my competitors? (In terms of amount of content, backlinks, etc.)

Conclusion and next steps

Once you have gathered all the information, you can think about a concrete action plan to improve your SEO strategy:

• Prioritize the measures: Focus first on the most urgent technical problems and the biggest opportunities with keywords and backlinks.
• Implement the action plan: Implement the identified optimization measures step by step.
• Continuous monitoring: Monitor the performance of your website regularly and adjust your strategy if necessary.

FAQ – Frequently asked questions about SEO audits

What does an SEO audit involve?

An SEO audit is a comprehensive review of your website to identify all aspects that influence search engine optimization. A full SEO audit includes:

1. Technical SEO: Checking factors such as page load times, status codes (404, 301), meta tags, H1 tags, internal links and XML sitemaps.
2. Content audit: What content is already available and for which keywords do we currently rank? Where does our traffic come from? Where is there still potential?
3. Competitor analysis: Comparison of your website with the main competitors in terms of rankings, content and backlinks.
4. User-friendliness (optional): Review of mobile optimization, usability and navigation on the website. This should actually be the standard.

How much does an SEO audit cost?

The cost of SEO audits can vary greatly depending on several factors such as the size of your website, the scope of the audit and the experience of the SEO expert or agency. Roughly speaking, the cost of an SEO audit can be in the following ranges:

• Basic audit: Between 500 and 1,500 euros, ideal for smaller websites or companies that need a basic check.
• Comprehensive audit: Between 1,500 and 5,000 euros, suitable for medium to large websites with a more comprehensive analysis requirement.
• Premium audit: From 5,000 euros, for very large websites or e-commerce platforms that require in-depth analysis and ongoing advice.