Could an SEO content audit help your website’s pages rank high enough to appear at the top of search engine results pages? According to a recent study by Sistrix, the clickthrough rate of Google’s first organic result on its SERPs (search engine results pages) is nearly 30%. For the tenth result, this figure is only a little over 2%.
If your content isn’t on the first SERP, the chances of people finding and viewing what you have to offer them decrease dramatically. But what’s the best way to achieve greater online visibility and a higher ranking on search engine algorithms?
Below, Peppermonkey Media shares some of the warning signs that your site’s SEO content needs a comprehensive performance audit. They also discuss how their Spring Lake, NJ-based digital marketing company could help as a top provider of search engine optimization services.
Your Organic Traffic Isn’t Rising
Years ago, before search engines like Google enacted rigorous website ranking signals, businesses could maintain steady traffic to their websites without much effort. However, today’s algorithms continuously change the way they look for the most relevant and engaging content for query results. As such, your website’s traffic might plateau or stop completely if you don’t find a way to update the content for greater relevance.
An SEO audit outlines the performance of every piece of content on your website, including product pages, service pages, landing pages, and blog posts. Your site could have reduced traffic for several reasons. However, performing a content audit will pinpoint specific problems by reviewing various SEO data points on your pages, including:
- Broken links
- On-page optimization
- Website structure
- Web page speed
You Focus Too Much on SEO Tools
A common mistake business owners make with the content on their website is that they solely use search engine optimization practices to make their web pages appealing to an algorithm. However, since these algorithms are ever-changing, SEO won’t work forever. With this approach, you would have to adjust optimization for the latest algorithm changes, an impossible standalone strategy.
Due to the influx of business websites, brands now have plenty of SEO tools they can use to enhance their content and boost their search engine rankings. The options also include plugins on content-building websites like WordPress and free online applications. However, even though the tools make it easier to adjust SEO and edit content, using them alone doesn’t mean you are making the appropriate changes.
Use caution; employing many tools and applications to optimize your pages without auditing them first can easily reduce your content’s impact.
You’re Nearly Six Months Away From Your Website’s Busiest Period
Seasonal web pages might receive most of their traffic during specific times of the year. For instance, if you run a floral arrangement website, you might see a significant uptick during major holidays or in the spring’s influx of weddings and anniversary celebrations. So, if you know you’re only several months away from your busy season, it’s helpful to organize an SEO content audit.
Conducting the audit between six to eight months in advance provides plenty of time to assess your web pages and make changes. An optimized website has the best chance of helping you reach your target audience at the time when potential customers are most likely to search for your goods and services.
Annual assessments are another way to ensure your content features its best-performing copy throughout the year.
Your Web Traffic Is Not Converting Into Leads
If you want to boost your business by generating potential sales through your website, web traffic won’t be enough. Converting traffic is the only way to turn a visitor into a paying customer and impact your bottom line.
Is the problem unrefined keyword optimization? Could your site be ranking for terms unrelated to your services and products? If either of those issues comes up, you’ll have a high bounce rate.
An SEO audit is one of the best ways to spot these keyword problems and improve your bounce rate to generate leads. For example, the audit results will show you which keywords your web pages are ranking for most often. It will also identify keyword opportunities to optimize content.
An audit of your site’s optimization will review your content and other factors to see if everything meets your goals and reaches your targeted audiences. The results should help you enhance your content’s optimization, which can make your company or brand appear more credible to web users.
Your Search Engine Rankings Are Falling
Are your website’s rankings dropping? Slipping down the SERPs happens for many reasons, including Google algorithm updates, aggressive SEO tactics from competitor websites, and duplicate content.
If your rankings drop, you might also experience the temptation to make serious changes to your web pages or redo them entirely. However, such drastic changes can cause your search engine rankings to drop even further.
Before attempting to fix the issue yourself, ask the following questions:
- Is a competitor’s website replacing your position in SERPs?
- Are your web pages loading quickly and providing a stable user experience?
- Do your pages cover similar topics to high-ranking competitors?
- Did another company or brand recently publish content similar to what your own web pages feature?
Sometimes, drops are temporary because rankings fluctuate constantly. However, when rankings continue falling or you answer “yes” to any of the above questions, you should schedule a content audit so that you can create a new SEO strategy.
Improve Your Site’s Content, User Experience, and Visitor Engagement With Peppermonkey Media
Are you ready for a professional and thorough SEO content audit to improve your website ranking? Peppermonkey Media’s digital marketing specialists have over ten years of experience helping small businesses contend with big-name brands online. Ask us about pay-per-click ad campaigns, web designs, social media marketing, and everything in between.
We’re SEO experts who understand how content marketing helps SEO boost organic growth. So, leverage Peppermonkey Media’s free digital strategy session online, or call (888) 231-9764 today to request a digital marketing consultation or SEO content audit for your website!
