One of the most important and crucial tasks ENX2 Marketing implements when it takes on a potential client is taking a look at what the client’s current digital marketing efforts are.
First things first — we immediately check the design to see if it’s appeasing to the eye. We may do a “huh,” with a “not too bad” head bob, or laugh out loud or even gasp in horror at times, but ultimately we sigh in relief knowing that there is hope and potential for all of them. We then all give each other the “we got this” head nod and begin the next phase.
We basically start stalking the client (business) online, going through all of the social media platforms and analyzing what the client is doing, such as how much are they posting; when, how, and what kind of content; how many likes and comments and/or shares; what type of people are connected to them; and so on. Then we do a complete website audit. What this basically means is that we run the client’s website through a few programs, put them all together and see what needs improving, how the site’s general health is performing, and discover any errors that can be affecting the SEO of the site. It’s basically like a checkup at the doctor’s but for your website. And we are the online doctors (hmm, interesting). Which usually brings up the question: If your office or your building needs inspections and repairs or maintenance, why would you not think that the same concept goes for your virtual office? It is crucial! Besides – every business owner wants to know and should know what is going on with her/his business. Your website is crucial to making that money whether you think so or not.
Getting back to point of having an audit and overview performed, this may be a typical action any marketing company will do for a potential client. It is, after all, how we sell you on our services. But what you may not realize is that a site audit is something that your marketing team should be doing.
To really understand how your digital marketing efforts are fairing, you need to know what’s going on wrong as well as what’s going on right. That way you can fix the problems as soon as they arise and you’ll see more successes than failures on your conversion rate.
Some of the most common errors we see on sites can easily be missed by your web designer or SEO specialist. That’s why you need to run a site audit, so there’s nothing missing. In fact, here are a few of the most common errors that pop up on our site audits:
- Missing meta descriptions – Oh meta descriptions can be so pesky! But when you’re creating a page, sometimes you may be so focused on the content, that you forget this simple yet important SEO element. That’s why it’s best to check your work and make sure that meta description is in place before you hit the publish button.
- Alt attributes on photos – Again, something that you can easily miss. Thanks to ease of WordPress, knowing HTML to create website content is not as important as it used to be. And what can be missed is the alt tag on a photo. These tags are used by search engines to get a better understanding of your web page so don’t think they’re not that important.
- Broken links – Sometimes a website will just disappear from the internet. (sometimes they don’t renew their hosting or domains) And if you have a link going to that website, you’re going to end up with a broken link, something that Google frowns upon. Broken link checkers are great, but sometimes they can miss a link or two. That’s why a site audit can be essential, to find these links that no longer exist.
- URL issues – This happens in a lot of older sites. For instance: Do you have URLs that have underscores in them? Better change them and now. Search engines have a hard time understanding what an underscore is and that can impact your SEO. Who would of thought an underscore is the root of your problem?
We suggest that you run a site audit at least once a month, if not more often. It may seem like overkill but you’d be surprised what errors lie on your site. And the sooner your team fixes them, the better your digital marketing will be.
If you have a great in-house marketing team that needs a little guidance, we can help you out. Contact the marketing consulting team at ENX2 Marketing today.