Whether you have just launched your website or have been enjoying the results of your site for a year or more, you should be conducting a periodic website audit to guide both ongoing improvements and to build a foundation for a redesign when the time comes.
Hopefully, you’re checking your regular site traffic at a minimum. We recommend clients conduct a more detailed review at least once a quarter to ensure there are no lost opportunities and their websites are continuing to best represent their brand.
Hearing the word “audit” may make you cringe, but a website audit process is simply a review of your site from two perspectives: your visitors and yours. Here are a few key considerations that should be reviewed when you evaluate your website.
Website Audit Checklist
Ask yourself these questions as you navigate your website:
1. When was the current version of your website launched?
If your site is more than 2 years old it is unlikely it includes many of the features (including mobile responsiveness) visitors have come to expect. And even if it looks fine, the outdated architecture may make it difficult for search engines to properly index your site, reducing the chances you will show up in popular searches.
2. Do you have a blog and do you update it regularly?
A good blog will:
- Improve your search ranking because the blog posts give you a steady stream of rich, relevant content which increases the chances your site will show up in Google searches.
- Give you a way to showcase work samples, case studies, customer testimonials, product updates and company news.
- Fuel your social media updates.
- Build credibility, authority and Google author rank.
3. Do you have a way to capture client information on your site?
These pages should be a part of an inbound marketing program which shifts the emphasis from pushing information at people to content which pulls interested people to your website.
4. Does your website still speak to your target market?
Has your business model shifted since you launched your site? Who are the different potential buyers for each aspect of your products and services? Is there content on your site designed to speak to each of these? Have you considered whether your Web audience might be different from your traditional markets, and if so, how do you capitalize on that?
When was the last time you did a website audit? What did you find?