Step 1: Check if Google Can Find Your Website
First, we want to make sure Google knows your website exists. For this, we use a free tool called **Google Search** (yes, the regular Google you know!).
– What to do: Open Google and type in this: `site:yourwebsite.com` (replace “yourwebsite.com” with your website address).
– What to look for: If Google shows results for your website, that’s great! Google knows your site exists. If nothing shows up, it means your website isn’t being indexed by Google, which we need to fix.
Step 2: Speed Check with Google PageSpeed Insights
Next, we’ll check how fast your website loads. A slow website can make people leave, and Google doesn’t like that.
– Tool to use: Google PageSpeed Insights
– What to do: Enter your website URL and click “Analyze.”
– What to look for: The tool will show a score. A score of 90 or higher is excellent. If the score is lower, the tool will give you suggestions on how to improve your site’s speed.
Step 3: Mobile-Friendliness Test
Many people use their phones to visit websites, so your site needs to look good and work well on mobile devices.
– Tool to use: Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
– What to do: Enter your website URL.
– What to look for: If it says your site is “mobile-friendly,” you’re good. If not, the tool will tell you what’s wrong and how to fix it.
Step 4: Check for Broken Links
Broken links are links that don’t work, leading to an error page. These can frustrate visitors and hurt your SEO.
– Tool to use: Broken Link Checker
– What to do: Enter your website URL and run the test.
– What to look for: The tool will show any broken links. You’ll want to fix or remove these links to improve your website’s experience and SEO.
Step 5: Check Your Keywords
Keywords are the words or phrases people use to search for things online. It’s important to know if your website is using the right keywords.
– Tool to use: Ubersuggest
– What to do: Enter your website URL. Click on “Keywords” to see what terms your site is ranking for.
– What to look for: This tool will show you the keywords people are using to find your site. If they don’t match what your business is about, it’s time to update your content to use better keywords.
Step 6: Check Your Website’s Title and Description
The title and description are what people see in Google search results when your website comes up. They should be clear and tell people what your site is about.
– Tool to use: Yoast SEO (free version) if you have a WordPress site, or use Google Search itself.
– What to do: Go to your website and check the title at the top of the page. You can also search for your website on Google and see what the title and description say.
– What to look for: Your title should include the main keyword you want to rank for and be around 60 characters. Your description should be a short summary (about 160 characters) that includes keywords and invites people to click.
Step 7: Check for Security (SSL Certificate)
Google prefers secure websites. You can tell if a site is secure if it has “https” in the URL (instead of just “http”).
– What to do: Look at your website’s address bar. If there’s a little padlock icon or it starts with “https,” your site is secure. If it doesn’t, talk to your web host about getting an SSL certificate, which is usually free.
Final Thoughts:
An SEO audit can seem like a big task, but by breaking it down into these steps, it becomes much easier. That’s it for the day nice and easy to implement. By using these free tools and following this guide, you’ll be on your way to improving your website’s SEO and getting more visitors. Tomorrow I will talk about getting analytics for the site so you know where you are starting from and can monitor your progress.