When you approach an SEO firm, one of the first things that will happen is an analysis of your site. This may often happen before you even sign on with the company.
An SEO analysis is much like the quote a builder might prepare before renovations are performed on your house. It is needed to assess the search engine-friendliness of the site, and estimate just how much work is needed to bring the site up to scratch. This allows you to assess your situation, and allows the SEO company to assess how much time to set aside for your project.
This kind of analysis doesn’t even require an SEO company. A smart business owner will familiarise themselves with the basic elements of an SEO analysis and perform one occasionally on their site. This kind of running assessment can help you keep track of your site’s health and give you plenty of forewarning before any SEO touch-ups need to be done.
A basic SEO analysis will look at two main things: search engine-friendliness and usability. In looking at these two things, an eye will be kept out for problem areas.
Search engine-friendliness
The first thing is to assess the basic search engine-friendliness of your site. There are many things a site can do to put the search engines off. Search engine optimisation experts look for these when first assessing a site, as it can indicate whether the SEO will be an uphill struggle or not. Search engine-friendliness doesn’t necessarily mean the site will already have a high ranking, but it does mean that the SEO tactics employed on the site will have a better chance of success. You can talk to us at SEO Consult about the elements of a website that make it search engine-friendly.
Usability
Once the site’s interaction with the websites has been analysed, the next thing is to determine the site’s ability to get and hold traffic from the search engines. This is important not only because of the users themselves, although they naturally have an important role in your business. The search engines will be looking for usability factors as well, so an easy-to-use website is easier to SEO.
The best way to assess usability is to assess the site from a user’s perspective. Enter the site either through a search engine or through a browser. It’s preferable to look at the site on a number of different computers and browsers if you can.
The initial things to look for include page load times, content that catches the eye and easy-to-understand information. These things should hit you within the first four seconds of looking at the page. The next thing to look at is site navigation, which should be clearly visible. Finally, look for anything that will put the user off and make them distrust the site.
These are the elements of a basic SEO analysis. An SEO company will look far deeper into your site to determine the work needed, and it can help to make note of this process.
