What is SEO audit?

Audit is control. In enterprises, this wording is used primarily in the financial and organizational context. By adding “seo” to it, we signal focus on this sphere, so: AUDIT SEO – controlling the adaptation of the website to the guidelines of search engines; assessment of the solutions and technologies used and the keyword strategy adopted; assessment of the effectiveness of actions to increase the level of visibility on the web.

A comprehensive audit aims to assess existing efforts to increase visibility. It can be carried out regardless of whether they were taken or not. The task of the auditor is not only to analyze specific solutions or to place keywords in a given headline, but also to look from a broader perspective, taking into account current trends in search engine guidelines.

When SEO audit should be carried out?

In the company’s life cycle, audits are performed at several strategic points. It is similar with a seo audit. Three moments can be distinguished here in particular:

A. start of the page or its redesign, combined with a change in some functionalities – a change in the page often introduces confusion in brand visibility, especially if it is not carried out under the watchful eye of a specialist. Changes in URLs, page layout, content modification or limiting them … a look with a trained eye allows you to overcome this chaos and identify places that could potentially delay ranking in positions. In the case of starting the page (we mean not only starting from scratch but also refreshing it, connected e.g. with a change in CMS), it is worth handing it over to the positioner before it becomes available to the public. Earlier evaluation of solutions and introduction of modifications during work on the site will facilitate activities not only for positioners, but also developers who build the site.

B. a sharp decrease in visibility, no traffic from the search engine – at the time when such a dramatic change occurs, it is necessary to determine its causes. While the fluctuation is not caused by a modification of the algorithm of a given industry (such as high-profile changes in the medical industry that caused turbulence in traffic even on the largest health portals), which will be easier to track, drops in one domain will require deeper analysis and observation.

C. launching the campaign on other platforms and expanding marketing activities in the media – why is an audit necessary in such a situation? Let’s say you start activities and sales in an online store. Because of the products, you focus primarily on social media activities. Not every customer will go to the page directly from the Instagram bio link – some will look for the company in the search engine. Some will not remember the brand name and will search for terms associated with it or, e.g., hashtags, which they use on Instagram. Good visibility built around these slogans and proper presence in SERPs does not allow “clients” to be “lost” and will help direct them straight to the product card.

A comprehensive assessment of activities, made at a strategic moment and by an independent observer, is a great basis for organizing further work. Thanks to the knowledge contained in the audit, work planning and necessary time and financial expenses will be much easier.

To provide a full answer to the question of when it is worth performing a seo audit, it is also worth mentioning the necessity or need to check the activities of the positioning company. The subject may seem quite controversial, after all, “non-binding and free” audits are one of the methods of taking over customers. However, if we manage to abandon negative associations, we can easily see that the audit can help “look fresh” at the site and it is possible that we can see the potential for action in new places. More on how to look at the audit will be provided later in the text.

What gives a site audit for over $ 2,000?

How to start here without clichés … paid audits allow for an individual approach to the site. The price of a comprehensive audit is made up of many factors, primarily the time, knowledge and experience of the positioners who carry it out. Added to this is the cost of paid tools, which we support when evaluating a website or site.

Packet audit – this is the solution for those who prefer to have full clarity and all information in one place. The audit in the package covers everything that is smaller than it. The information contained in the document is expanded, however, with further elements that broaden the scope of data on visibility in the search engine and deepen their analysis.

Let’s discuss the following elements of the audit:

A. meta tag analysis – checking the elements contained in the <head> part of the page, which are displayed in Google search results. Properly prepared title and meta description will contain relevant keywords and encourage you to enter the website. The audit will provide information on whether these items are saturated with keywords, have the right length, and appear throughout the entire domain. Duplicates will also be indicated.

B. analysis of the page in terms of the lack of duplicates – the audit will indicate all possible copies of the page – whether they are non-redirected versions of http and https, or copies created on subdomains or created during the process of building the page and available to network robots.

C. content analysis on the site – a comprehensive content study will allow you to evaluate the content – its usefulness for the user, keyword saturation and comparison with competitors.

D. head section analysis – in addition to title & meta description, <head> also contains other elements important for positioning – meta robots, some canonical links.

E. correct structure of subpages – control of access to pages, convenience of use and finding information on pages, as well as internal linking – elements important both because of the orientation of web robots on the page but also because of the user’s convenience.

F. correctness of subpage code – indication of errors in the code, incorrect use of html, css, js or broken parts that may interfere with the correct loading of the page or prevent the use of some of its functionalities.

G. analysis of page indexing capabilities – controlling exclusions and bans on web robots that may prevent data collection.

H. analysis of website mobility – not only whether the website is responsive, but also whether the speed and solutions used enable proper use of the website on smaller screens of mobile devices and with a weaker Internet connection.

I. display speed analysis – the issue of page rendering speed also applies to the desktop version; tests allow you to specify elements that delay pages loading and find solutions to eliminate these problems.

J. analysis search console – data collected in Google Search Console allow you to determine the status of the page in the Google index. Audit of older domains without GSC analysis will not be complete – the console provides detailed data on how crawlers crawl, how Google really sees pages and what errors it encounters. In the case of a new, new site and new domain, complete GSC analysis may not be possible – the data collected will be residual.

K. standard link profile analysis – similar to GSC analysis – for a domain with history. The analysis allows determining if and which pages contain links leading to a given domain.

L. detailed analysis of the link profile – a more detailed study of links allows determining the dominant sources of links and assessing their value.

M. detailed analysis of keyword potential – assessment of the selection of keywords based on the number of searches, click-through rates and Google search engine trends specific to a given industry.

N. examination of the substantive content of the page – in the extended version of the audit we also provide information on whether the site contains the necessary data, enabling users to find the necessary information. Deficiencies in product or service descriptions and the need to add additional technical information will be indicated.

O. Crawl Budget – an important element for large websites that provides information on how many pages in a given domain are able to scan the Google search engine.

P. detailed competition analysis – what are they doing better, what makes them higher and / or have better visibility in the search engine? Competition analysis allows you to see solutions that work in a given industry.

Q. detailed analysis of website visibility – during the audit, a wide visibility test is carried out, which requires the use of several independent tools. Analysis of the collected data allows you to get a full picture of the visibility of pages and tips for further development.

R. indications of changes – the extended version of the audit also allows you to include dedicated domain guidelines, whose introduction is aimed at improving the results of the website in Google search. The guidelines apply to all the elements listed above – the selection of keywords, their placement on the page, the number and quality of texts, the speed of the site. The audit also suggests places that allow increasing the diversification of incoming link sources or pointing places for links necessary for a given industry.

How long does it take to audit the website

The time of conducting the seo audit and receiving its final version will depend on the scope in which it is to be performed. This “high-end audit” also contains guidelines and may take up to two weeks to prepare.

The size of the website also has an impact on the duration of the seo audit. Sites with several dozen tabs, due to smaller working material, are analyzed much faster. Larger websites usually require more work. If it is necessary to provide extensive guidelines, deadlines are usually set individually.

What does the positioner do at this time? He prepares at this time an analysis of all the previously mentioned points. The work on some is facilitated by the provision of Google Search Console and Analytics – the data collected by Google robots allows you to quickly outline the main problems and areas where corrections need to be made. During work, other tools are also used to analyze traffic, website statistics and Google search engine data.

How to read a website audit?

Automatic audits, which some agencies use to take over clients, usually highlight all the negative elements that the auditor was able to find. They are dominated by a narrative emphasizing deficiencies and shortcomings – often without indicating specific places where they were noticed. In most cases, it comes down to a critique of the actions of other positioners.

A professional audit will focus on all aspects of the site – it will indicate correctly carried out work and places where the site does not stand out from the competition and does not deviate from Google guidelines.

By analyzing, for example, an online store’s website, the positioner is aware that the store’s engine does not allow changes. Therefore, information on this subject will be included in the audit, with an annotation that the X engine on which the store is located does not allow making the required changes. These types of remarks should be considered when planning the reconstruction of a website. If the CMS used is a niche solution (e.g. proprietary solutions), and the positioner does not have full access to the site, he will not have knowledge about whether given technical solutions allow the introduction of suggested changes.

How do you get started with the suggested changes?

A. Technical issues
By analyzing the page, the positioner indicates problematic places in the code. Some of them result from old solutions that should be replaced by newer ones. Others may require changes and, for example, shifting some snippets of js code, which will allow the website to load faster. In the case of popular CMS and templates, some code fragments are permanently embedded in the solution and their change requires advanced actions on the part of the developer. The introduction of some suggestions may involve additional costs, hence our attention at the beginning of the text – changes on the website should be consulted with the positioner already in the development phase.

B. Content
Some of the sites audited have poor content. Building a text database takes time, but creating content suitable for the user and web robots will pay off in many fields. The comments included in the audit will help determine the direction and prioritize the addition of certain content.

C. Site Links
The audit will contain information on the number and quality of links and compare them with competitors’ links. It will also indicate places where the owner of the page can add a link himself – e.g. by asking contractors to update the data on their page and supplementing them with their link to the page.

SEO audit – positioning game

SEO audit is a great start to website positioning. Having all the knowledge about the current status of the page in one place, you can easily plan changes. Note – performing point-by-point optimization is a persistent task! Preparation and updating of the code, followed by supplementing the content is a process that only in the first phase can take several weeks. It is also worth considering further cooperation with the agency – optimization work and all activities related to it will not disturb the normal work in the company, and the effects will appear faster!

Marketing indicators – what for?

Why measure at all? The answer seems obvious. Thanks to the analysis of key performance indicators (KPI), among others:
– you get measurable results of your marketing activities,
– you see which of the published content worked better and which worse
– you can accurately calculate the translation of the costs of marketing activities into profits from finalized transactions,
– it’s easier for you to plan your next promotional campaigns – so as to better tailor them to market requirements.

The problem, however, is that with the development of tracking and analytical tools, the number of indicators has also increased significantly. Of course, each of them matters. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to break through the thicket of numbers and percentages. So it’s worth knowing which indicators – available e.g. in Google Analytics, on the FB fanpage’s administrative page or in CRMs – have a really great impact on the assessment of the effects of marketing activities. So we discuss the most important ones.

Different marketing indicators for each type of message

Remember that when it comes to indicators that are important from the marketer’s point of view, there is no single, universal combination of the key ones. There are no indicators that will be relevant in every situation. All because the interactions with the recipient of each type of content released to the web are slightly different. For example, on the landing page you will observe data related to the acquisition of leads, but already in organic activities in social media – rather those related to the involvement of users under your posts. So choose the meters for each type of marketing message that you release into the world. The indicators depend on the purpose of the campaign.

What to measure by analyzing the effectiveness of the website?

When looking at website traffic, it’s worth paying attention to:

– traffic on the site – the number of page views, the number of unique website users and the percentage of those returning to the website are important,
– average time spent on the website and Bounce Ratio – this will show you whether the prepared content engages users so much that they want to get to know the information closer, or reject them immediately,
– traffic sources – so how did the users get to your site: by entering its address in the browser, via the search engine, or maybe from social media or thanks to other external links? This will help you spread out your accents well when it comes to promoting your site on individual channels,
– conversion rate – how many visitors to your site took the action that you expected. For example, on a landing page it is leaving a lead;
– the proportion of leads to conversions – so how many of the people who initially expressed interest in your offer went through the entire marketing funnel,
– cost of acquiring a lead / client – i.e. the proportion between the amount of expenditure on the promotional campaign and the results obtained.

It is also worth making a “heat map”, so check which areas of the website were of particular interest to readers – so as to make any corrections to the layout and increase the range and conversion rate.

Analysis of marketing indicators in social media

Slightly different indicators count in social media. It is also an important marketing communication channel that strengthens the brand image and acquires sales leads. But what indicates that your actions on the fanpage bring results? The indicators that should pay your special attention are:

– number of views (reach) – of course, organic reach is the key, i.e. the one achieved without reaching for a paid promotion,
– the number of clicks on the post – will show how much information you presented on FB or Instagram was of interest to the recipient. Each click is evidence of initial interest in communication and that the post attracted attention but was not scrolled,
– leads obtained through posts in social media – i.e., e.g. contact details left on the landing page to which they directed messages on FB or from lead ads,
– engagement rates – it’s about the number of: likes / reactions, comments and interactions – the more, the higher the effectiveness of your actions,
– user generated content – i.e. posts / materials related to your fan page by users, e.g. those in which your profile has been tagged. This type of traffic can be obtained, for example, by working with influencers, or by organizing competitions in which the task is to perform just such an action.

If you reach for paid promotion tools – conversion rates are also important, i.e. the cost of a single post view, click and conversion.

What about sales-related indicators? When analyzing activities in social media, it is usually difficult to obtain unambiguous and error-free data. However, the cost of activities carried out here should be included when calculating ROI, and thus the overall return on investment in promotion compared to the outlays made.

How to find yourself in the ocean of data?

As you can see, there are still quite a few marketing indicators that matter, and the ones above are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, CSR actions (related to corporate social responsibility) may have completely different performance evaluation indicators, and nevertheless enter into marketing areas (e.g. from the purchase of each product X we allocate the amount of Y to the organization Z).

If you have the impression that it is difficult for you to be among the indicators, you can always go to specialists. They will look at all the data and indicators that have been generated, analyze their relevance and draw conclusions. As a result of their work, you will receive a transparent report that will show you clearly how your marketing activities translated into achieving your goals. It will also be a source of tips for the future – you will learn from it how to improve your work so that its results are even better. Marketing indicators – and more precisely their design in the context of a given action and goal – is one of the most important challenges for a marketer. However, the correct architecture will also make them an unparalleled ally in operations and reporting.

Facebook Blueprint – available certificates

Level Associate:
– Facebook Certified Digital Marketing Associate

Level Professional:
– Facebook Certified Media Planning Professional
– Facebook Certified Media Buying Professional
– Facebook Certified Marketing Science Professional (Pilot, available only on individual invitation, related to data analysis and visualization, requiring, among others, knowledge of Python, MySQL, and Big Data issues)

Level Developer
– Facebook Certified Ads Product Developer
– Facebook Certified Ads Product Developer II
– Facebook Certified Ads Product Developer III

What is the exam process in Facebook Blueprint?

The exam conditions are very precisely defined by Facebook. If we fail to do so, we may be disqualified, so you should read them well before taking the exam.

You can use the option of taking an exam at work. The conditions for taking the test are to disable all programs and applications, stay in a room where there is nobody else. During the exam, we are observed by the examiner, who can ask to show any place in the room at any time through a webcam built into the laptop. He may also notice when we make any “suspicious move”

Facebook Certified Ads Product Developer I

Facebook Certified Ads Product Developer I is a certificate that was created in place of the former Facebook Bronze Certification. To obtain a certificate, you must complete two parts: a multiple-choice test and an exercise in which a previously created pixel should be installed on the test page, along with several selected events, parameters, a code responsible for advanced matching, and a pixel should be connected to the directory on FB. The exam is a condition of joining Facebook Marketing Partners, and checks knowledge of:

– creating and managing Business Manager and its resources
– creation and implementation of the FB pixel, along with all available events and parameters, and the use of custom conversions
– creating catalogs and catalog-based campaigns
– understanding and implementing processes related to (Advanced Matching) in manual or automatic implementation
– connecting the FB pixel to the catalog
– solving problems related to incorrect pixel implementation,
– troubleshooting problems related to directory errors
– solving problems related to problems connecting pixel signals with products from the catalog

Facebook Certified Media Buying Professional

Facebook Certified Media Buying Professional is an exam for people professionally managing Facebook ads. The exam covers issues in the field of planning, setting, optimization and reporting of campaigns. Exam questions concern practical issues, most of them contain a description of an imaginary situation and possible variants of behavior in it.

Unlike the Product Ads Developer exam, in this case, we can start with a mock exam with 30 questions, the result of which has no effect on the final exam.

How much does the Facebook Bluprint certificate cost?

Each exam takes $ 75.

How do you study for the Facebook exam?

I describe the level of difficulty of both exams as high – certainly, in order to approach it at all, it is necessary to have practical experience in working with various types of campaigns. On the Facebook Certified Media Buying Professional exam, the questions cover a whole spectrum of topics, including reach and frequency campaigns, unavailable for most accounts. In order to take the exam, in my opinion it is necessary:

– reworking the Blueprint course
– min. 1-2 years of experience working with different types of campaigns and on large budgets, regular use of different types of campaign optimization, regular testing of new solutions
– understanding the optimization rules, the ability to respond appropriately if the campaign does not go according to plan – e.g. if the result is not adequate, or if the campaign does not spend the budget

For the Facebook Product Ads Developer I certification exam, it is necessary to have experience with the implementation of the pixel along with all events and parameters, on various CMSs and directly in the code. Unfortunately, after all we do not get information as to where we made mistakes.

Pros and cons of the exam process itself?

After the exam, we wait up to a few minutes for the result and it’s hard for me to imagine that anyone at that time would be sure of success. The level of difficulty of the questions is high, therefore passing the exam gives enormous satisfaction and certainty that we do our work at a high level.

Why do we share content?

What motivates people to share information on their profiles so willingly? The New York Times conducted an advanced study that identified five key reasons why we share content online:

– Improving the lives of others – almost all survey participants (94%) admitted that they were sharing content because they believe that in this way they can improve the lives of recipients of this information. You should therefore strive to create useful content that will help your target audience and its audience.

– Self-definition – two out of three participants (68%) share content online to create their own “idealized version of themselves online”. So when you create content, think about whether it will be something that the recipients will be able to feel proud of or somehow build the content about themselves.

– Develop relationships – four out of five participants share content because they can maintain relationships with others. Consider how your content can help develop interpersonal relationships. Ask your audience to mark their friends in the comments or engage them in other ways, e.g. “share this movie with the biggest dog lover you know”.

– Self-fulfillment and a sense of belonging – everyone likes to feel useful and valuable. The study showed that its participants enjoyed when they shared the content themselves. However, they enjoyed it more when they received interesting and useful information from their friends.

– Manifesting their beliefs – 84% of participants said that they share information as a way to support the topics or brands they care about. So think about whether you are able to create content related to topics relevant to your audience.

So, as you can see in the examples above, the main reason we share information on social media is our relationship with other people.

We share positive content more often

According to the Association for Psychological Science, arousing certain emotions increases the chance that the information will be passed on.

The study explains that sharing stories or information can be partly caused by agitation. When people are aroused, whether due to emotional or other stimuli, the autonomic nervous system is activated, which motivates social activities. Emotional features of content always have a greater effect among recipients. However, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have determined that positive content is more often shared.

How to share emotions in turn? In face-to-face conversations, we often imitate the facial expressions and behavior of our interlocutors to build a sense of unity. The Emoticons in mind: An event-related potential study showed that when we see emoticons, we react just like watching real facial expressions.

So share positive content and decorate it in the right way with emoticons. This is of course the beginning of the road. You must also use creations that cause emotions, as well as the right words that will stimulate you in the right direction.

We all apply the reciprocity rule

Reciprocity and gratitude are of great importance in society, as is altruism itself, which socially pays off. Each of us was taught to say “thank you” and that “it is not right” not to help someone who had done something good for us before. We feel a huge disappointment when someone does not repay us for previous favors and the other way round – we feel obliged to repay for favors.

We look badly at people who, for example, receive something good, but do not show adequate gratitude. We do not want to identify with such attitudes, so we are ready for a big effort to reciprocate for the help we have received.

That’s why people like each other’s pictures, they mean those who marked them before, etc.

This principle – because it is very strong in us – is widely used in marketing. An example would be giving free samples of the product in the expectation that such a gift would encourage you to buy more or trying out some equipment for free (e.g. long ago you could use the Internet for 3 months for free and hardly anyone after that time decided to return the equipment. In this case, not only the matter of gratitude, but also … habits worked.)

Use this rule also in your marketing activities. Free e-books, reports, trendbooks, publications, tool lists, etc. are of great value in the eyes of the recipients. This may encourage them to buy your product, subscribe to the mailing list, like your profile on social media or share your information.

We compare ourselves with others

A company that produced utility software wanted to encourage people to reduce energy consumption at home. Therefore, selected residents received letters saying: “your neighbors reduce energy consumption”, followed by a comparison of figures for energy consumption in the area.

The information presented in this form was met with a vivid reaction. When residents learned that 77% of their neighbors turned off air conditioning, they did the same. As a result, energy consumption in the districts has changed noticeably.

This way of communication brought much better results than typical slogans like “save energy to save money”.

Comparing yourself to others is also linked to the phenomenon of social proof, according to which our position on selected people, issues, etc. is governed by the reaction of the majority. But how to use this knowledge?

User-generated content is a great way to show your target audience what others are saying about your brand. Positive comments and reviews published by your clients are examples of social proof working in your favor.

In addition, another study showed that 76% of customers consider the opinions and reviews of ordinary people to be more reliable than the advertisements of the brands themselves. Theoretically, every marketer knows this, but not everyone emphasizes it strongly enough in advertising.

Summary

You don’t have to be a professional psychologist to understand people’s behavior on social media. Remembering the facts discussed here, you will definitely be able to better engage your target group and gain customers in social media. It is also worth seeking knowledge in professional literature that agile combines the issue of marketing and “imprinted” human behavior.