Whether you are working with an established site or a new venture, there are always ways to improve the sites functionality. Even the most popular websites can suffer from slow loading times, broken links, and coding errors that lead to a poor user experience. In the cases where you don’t immediately find a problem, issues can still lurk within your site and if they’re indexed by the search engines, hidden errors can decrease your website authority. Nowadays though, it is easier than ever to spot problems. Site auditing tools can analyze to a high level of detail, picking up everything from the major issues to the minor errors. With that in mind, what are the main site auditing tools you should be using today?
GTmetrix
GTmetrix focuses on optimizing page speed, identifying problems that can cause lagging or bottlenecks. The tool reports back a general performance score but then offers detailed scoring for a list of technical factors. Each of these factors can then be improved, leading to quicker loading times and a better visitor experience.
Google Search Console
The Google Search Console has an array of features, with many helping you to provide a better service to visitors. You can quickly see if any pages are not indexed and submit them for crawling, identify any problematic backlinks, check for malware issues, and study how Google views your site.
DareBoost
DareBoost simulates a real visitor, reporting back the server location and browser used during the audit. The tool then offers a detailed report of the speed and performance the simulated visitor received. For each factor, DareBoost provides a score and a suggested course of action, so you can quickly fix any errors without having to be overly technical.
Bright Local
Bright Local features a suite of SEO tools for local businesses. Among the various options, including citation builders and review monitoring, you also get a number of auditing tools. The SEO audit tool offers recommendations available in a report format which is very helpful if you are dealing with local clients.
Deep Crawl
Deep Crawl is a comprehensive product, offering detailed reports about site architecture, on-page SEO, and site content. The level of detail might be confusing for those with limited technical knowledge, but it is important to track improvements at a deep level if you want the biggest impact. Along with the usual site speed reports, Deep Crawl also offers recommendations on thin content and complex navigation systems, so you can provide a better user experience.
Google Mobile-Friendly Test
Mobile devices account for more than half of all traffic in many niches, so the search engines place a great importance on mobile accessibility. The Google Mobile-Friendly Test is a simple application that checks if a URL will appear correctly on a range of mobile devices. You also get a screenshot of the page, so you can see how it looks on a smartphone.
Website Auditor from SEO PowerSuite
Website Auditor is a downloadable app that you run on your own computer. The audit focuses on both technical and content aspects of your site, so you can cover all bases for SEO and user satisfaction. The technical side looks at all coding or speed issues, while the content editor lets you analyze your articles as they are being created.
A site audit doesn’t have to be a time-consuming process, with most issues being fairly minor. There could potentially be serious issues, particularly when you are dealing with a client who has an older site. However, the important thing is to identify the issues and start the repair work, so you stand the best chance of achieving high rankings. These site auditing tools might vary in complexity, but they will quickly become go-to products in your collection of SEO aids.
