Don't waste time with an SEO audit
One of the first things most SEO agencies will pitch is an SEO audit. There are many reasons for this, but leaving at aside, should you invest in an audit?
This week’s newsletter is sponsored by the Digital PR agency Search Intelligence, which uses PR methods to grow a link portfolio and North Star Inbound, which is a recommended agency for SEO and content strategy. See their case studies linked in the newsletter.
An SEO audit is among the first things most SEO agencies will pitch. There are many reasons for this, but leaving aside the cost, should you invest in an audit?
Let's explore whether an SEO audit is a waste of time and resources for many businesses.
There are instances where audits will make sense, such as when you are acquiring a new business, a site has experienced a penalty, you are a new employee coming into an SEO challenge, or you want to get a whole picture of a site.
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Outside these narrow instances, an audit can likely be skipped as part of the SEO process.
Search is a moving target
Search engines, notably Google, are constantly updating their algorithms. What worked yesterday may not work today, and what works today may be obsolete tomorrow.
Audits typically take time to conduct and are then wielded in internal meetings for months and even years afterward. This means that if the landscape has changed, internal teams are using an outdated playbook and set of recommendations.
There is no one size fits all
Many SEO audits follow a standardized checklist that may not be tailored to any specific business, industry, or target audience. This cookie-cutter approach often results in generic recommendations that don't address a particular vertical's unique challenges and opportunities.
This is a major reason many sites have inappropriate SEO strategies, such as e-commerce sites that spend all their SEO dollars building blogs or b2b sites with too many landing pages.
Tech SEO is not a magic wand
SEO audits often emphasize technical factors like meta tags, site speed, and URL structure. While these elements are essential, they can distract from what truly matters: driving value for users in a way that will move business KPIs.
An audit that prioritizes technical tweaks over other improvements risks wasting efforts on things that don’t drive the business forward.
Audits are not a strategy or solution
SEO audits can create a false sense of control over your search engine rankings. In reality, many factors that influence your position in search results are beyond your direct control, such as:
- Your competitors' SEO efforts
- Changes in user behavior and search trends
- The introduction of new SERP features that may push organic results further down the page
Obsessing over audit results and rankings can lead to frustration and wasted effort trying to control the uncontrollable.
SEO audits often reduce the complex world of search to a series of data points and metrics. This approach can cause you to lose sight of the real people behind the searches – your potential customers.
They are costly
SEO audits can be expensive, especially if you're hiring a reputable agency or consultant (If someone charges $50 for an audit, run). For many small- to medium-sized enterprises, the cost of a comprehensive audit and implementing its recommendations may not justify the potential returns.
Consider the costs of SEO, as I discussed in that previous newsletter.
For businesses with limited resources, these investments might be better spent creating exceptional content or improving products and services.
Audits might focus on the wrong metrics
SEO audits often emphasize improving metrics like domain authority, keyword rankings, or backlink profiles. While these metrics can provide some insights, they often don’t necessarily correlate with business success.
Focusing too heavily on vanity metrics can lead to wasting time chasing them. Even if those metrics increase search engine visibility, they are meaningless if they don't translate into tangible business results.
Too much data will lead to indecision
With the wealth of data provided by SEO audits, I have watched many sites fall into the trap of over-analyzing every audit aspect. This analysis paralysis can prevent you from taking action and making meaningful improvements to your website and content strategy.
Audits rarely focus on brand metrics
While SEO audits may touch on aspects of user experience, they often fail to capture the full importance of brand perception and overall user satisfaction. In today's digital landscape, factors like brand recognition, user trust, and the overall quality of the user experience play an increasingly significant role in search rankings and online success.
Focus on immediate KPI’s
Instead of audits, I typically will do a deep dive into anything immediately burning, and that’s what I always suggest anyone do. Rather than doing a complete business health check, it’s a better use of time to either investigate burning issues or find things that can be tackled soon, like with a RICE prioritization sheet.
Audits will give long lists of things to solve without necessarily having the bandwidth and resources to do so. A deep dive into an area that has allocated resources to solve it will be a better use of time because any identified issues will be addressed.
Skip the audit and focus on what matters
You will align SEO with business success by shifting your focus from technical SEO minutiae to creating genuine value for your audience. Search engines are designed to serve users, not websites. By prioritizing your users' needs, you'll have the same goals as search engines, potentially achieving better long-term results than any SEO audit could provide.
Focus on what matters.
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