Website Audits – why is my marketing not working
Domain name – a unique address that identifies your website on the internet.
The Greenlight Web team works with clients to make many improvements and advise on new content strategies to make our clients more visible to their target audiences. This often starts with a series of website audits to establish the baseline, establish a set of metrics to track improvement and conduct an annual re-audit.
Historically, our audits can include the following:
- Speed and performance of the website
- Website Security
- Website SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
- In 2024, we have added a new dimension:
Website hosting carbon neutrality. Is your website energy efficient? For most businesses, visibility on Google is a key driver and a measure of marketing success, so we thought it useful to share the key factors affecting that, and there are many in the world of SEO.
What are the key factors for
Google ranking websites?
Google uses a complex algorithm with numerous factors to rank websites in search results. While the exact algorithm is proprietary and constantly evolving, here are some of the key factors that significantly impact Google rankings:
On-Page SEO Factors:
Content Quality
High-quality, relevant, and informative content that meets user intent. Content should be well-researched, comprehensive, and provide value to the audience. A good page is described as a power page on which Google wants to rank, as it demonstrates knowledge sharing.
Meta Tags
Well-optimised meta titles and descriptions that accurately describe the content and include target keywords.
Internal Linking
Proper internal linking to related content within the website to help search engines understand the site structure and distribute page authority. This has obvious benefits to users of the site when learning about your business.
Page Load Speed
Fast loading times for pages, as slow websites can negatively impact user experience and rankings.
- Keyword Optimisation
Proper use of relevant keywords in titles, headers, meta descriptions, and throughout he content. Don’t overdo it; keywords should be naturally integrated without keyword stuffing. - URL Structure
Clean, descriptive, and keyword-rich URLs that are easy to read and understand by both users and search engines. - Mobile Friendliness
A responsive design that ensures the website is accessible and usable on all devices, particularly mobile phones. Mobile phones have become the number one channel for website content. - User Experience (UX)
Easy navigation, intuitive design, and low bounce rates. Positive user experiences signal to Google that the site is valuable. Making your business easy to trade with is essential in the fast-paced modern economy, often more important than price.
Off-Page SEO Factors:
Backlinks
High-quality backlinks from reputable and authoritative websites. The quality and relevance of the linking site are more important than the quantity of links.Social Signals
Engagement on social media platforms, such as shares, likes, and comments, which can indicate content popularity and relevance.Brand Mentions
Citations and mentions of the brand or website on other websites, even without a direct link, can positively influence rankings.Events
Evidence of event attendance and contribution demonstrate industry knowledge and involvement.
Technical SEO Factors
Crawlability
Ensuring that search engine bots can crawl and index the website without issues. This includes having a well-structured XML sitemap and a robots.txt file that doesn’t block important pages.Secure Website (HTTPS)
Having an SSL certificate ensures the website is secure. HTTPS is a known ranking factor for Google.Schema Markup
Implementing structured data to help search engines understand the content and context of the website’s pages can enhance search visibility.Canonical Tags
Canonical tags can be used to prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the preferred version of a webpage.
Content Factors
Content Freshness
Regularly updated content to keep it relevant and current. Fresh content can attract more visitors and improve rankings.
Content Length
Longer, in-depth content often performs better in search rankings as it tends to be more comprehensive and detailed.
Multimedia Elements
Use images, videos, infographics, and other multimedia to enhance content quality and user engagement.
Local SEO Factors
Google Business Profile
An optimised and verified Google Business Profile with accurate business information, reviews, and photos.
Local Citations
Consistent and accurate NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information across local directories and citation sites.
Reviews
Positive reviews on Google and other review platforms indicate trustworthiness and customer satisfaction. Your SEO Agency should focus on these key factors to improve your website’s chances of ranking higher in Google search results, thereby increasing visibility, traffic, and potential conversions.
Find out more about Greenlight Web’s SEO Services
Free Website Audits
When working with new or potential clients our SEO specialists complete a set of basic audits using automated tools to judge where improvements can be made, It is good practice to validate your website SEO performance from time to time, just to make sure your marketing is being built on firm foundations. Regular audits improve your return on investment.
User Engagement Metrics
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of users who click on a website’s link in the search results. Higher CTR can indicate the relevance and attractiveness of the search listing.Dwell Time
The amount of time a visitor spends on a page. Longer dwell times suggest that the content is engaging and valuable.Conversions
Whether your goal is a direct sale on an e-commerce website or a sales enquiry on a business brochure website, outcomes are key.
Our detailed audits will score your website between A and F on each of the above factors, identifying where you should consider improvements first. Depending on the scale and complexity of your website and your business objectives, Greenlight Web can provide a quotation for completing an in-depth gap analysis of your website in relation to the key factors of Google’s algorithms and the key messages you want to be visible to potential clients, investors or other stakeholders.
To discuss or commission an audit please contact us
