When small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners are presented with the idea of a website audit report, they usually think of a technical website check. And this is correct… partly. It is true that an audit will examine the website’s backend, particularly site architecture and possible coding errors. However, a comprehensive web audit report is more than just a routine site “checkup.”

The best audits serve as an analysis of your current online marketing strategy and how your website can better play its role in this strategy. An audit therefore, also brings marketing benefits for your business. Here are at least seven of such marketing benefits.

1. Determine Your SEO Foundation

Perhaps the biggest indicator that you are getting a comprehensive website audit report is the inclusion of keyword analysis. Keywords and key phrases will always be at the heart of search engine optimization (SEO). Whether you’re building a website, writing a blog post, or sharing a video on YouTube, keywords will always be crucial in any SEO initiative. With the right keywords, your web pages can appear when prospect customers look for your products and services on search engines.

Despite this, 56% of today’s SMB websites do not have on-page keyword information, said BIA Kelsey. Keyword information communicates your site’s content to search engines. Other parts of the audit will determine whether this info is present in your site or not but the keyword analysis will tell you what terms you need to put on-page to better communicate to search engines. Keywords will be the foundation of all your succeeding SEO efforts. That’s how important they are.

2. Ensure Your SEO Efforts Yield Results

According to BIA Kelsey, 26.4% of SMB websites can’t be found in an online search. That’s why so many website owners look for SEO services. SEO can help your web pages rank higher on search engines, making you more visible to potential customers. But for search engines to rank your pages, their “crawlers” or “bots” first need to find and crawl your pages. Are you sure no piece of faulty code is blocking bots from finding your site? Are you sure your URL structure is able to communicate well to bots? Is your site architecture SEO friendly at all? Only a thorough backend check will answer these questions and ensure that you do not waste money on optimizing a faulty website.

3. Increase Phone & Email Inquiries

Can your business use some extra inquiries? Then why does your website not have contact information that’s strategically placed to be seen by visitors? According to the SMB DigitalScape report, a staggering 60% of small business websites do not have a phone number on the home page (and you’re wondering why the phone is quiet). Some 74.7% do not have an email contact link on the home page. Some 65.7% do not have a contact form that consumers can use to request information. A website audit will check all your pages for contact info. The report will recommend exactly where you need to put the information so prospects can immediately spot it and inquire about your products and services via phone or email.

4. Avoid the ‘Malware, Spammer’ Reputation

If your website has been infected with malware and search engines detect it, you may still be displayed in search results (but not for long). And when users click on it, they’ll encounter a red warning page stating, “Your computer might catch a virus if your visit this site.” Say goodbye to 100% of visitors and say hello to your new reputation as a “spammer and malware website.” An audit will ensure your website is free of any malware.

5. Meet Customers’ Expected Online Speed

According to Forrester and Akamai, 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less. What happens when your website fails to meet this expected online speed? Naturally, your visitors will be disappointed, especially the 52% high-spending online shoppers. Page load speeds matter and a website audit will show you exactly what’s preventing your web pages from loading fast and meeting the two-second expectations.

6. Generate More Sales from the Internet

Consumers love getting to know products, services, or businesses they are interested in. 68% of consumers spend time reading content from a brand that interests them according to a research by the Content Marketing Association. Some 78% believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with consumers, the Custom Content Council said.

Despite this, a study by User Interface Engineering discovered that people can’t find the information they need on a website 60% of the time. A website audit will check your content and ensure it covers the information your customers need to read to trust you and buy from you. Subsequent optimization is based on content analysis and keyword research.

7. Discover Your Online Marketing Priorities

Finally, a website audit will make recommendations on how you can improve your website in a way that will help your overall online marketing strategy. An audit is usually a preparatory move for SEO. However, in some cases, SEO cannot be immediately carried out because there are more immediate concerns that need to be addressed. For instance, it’s possible that your website is not mobile responsive and does not load properly on mobile devices. In this case, the priority is making the site mobile-friendly first. The beauty of getting a comprehensive website audit report is that recommendations will be listed with priority tags so you’ll know which action to take first. Sometimes all you need to succeed online is focus on what needs to be done first, and you’ll get that from an audit report.

Learn How Website Audit Can Help Your Business

A website audit report checks your site for possible technical glitches and usability problems. But more than that, it gives you insight into the actual state of your online marketing. You’ll get recommendations on which actions you need to take first to ensure that your website will rank well on search engines and will convert visitors into inquiries and sales for your business.

We’ll give you free consulting on website audit so you’ll understand how our service can benefit not just your website but your marketing and your business in general. Call us now or send us a message so we can schedule your free consultation.