SEO Website Report – The Importance

The SEO Website Report must be the first step of any SEO project initiation. Without a thorough SEO Website Report it is not possible to determine the current Search Optimization status or future recommendations. The SEO Website Report is the base document from which SEO Strategic Planning will be developed.

The following evaluation criteria are not strictly Search Engine Optimization and include other related issues which are required to make a website successful. SEO should utilize a heuristic approach for the overall good of the website.

SEO Website Report – What’s Included

The SEO Website Report should provide a comprehensive report of all aspects of the web sites current use of the various techniques to:

• Obtain good results in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
• Increase website traffic
• Improve website conversions
• Evaluate website usability

SEO Website Report – Organic Search Optimization

Organic Search Optimization is the foundation of a well developed and presented website. Getting it right is crucial to long term Optimization and business goals.

The following items should be analysed by your SEO Consultant during the initial SEO Website Report:

• Web page URLs
• Keyword selection and content integration
• Use of various media images/video/audio
• META tags including Title, Description, Alt and Keyword
• Web development code including Javascript and CSS
• Inbound link quality, quantity and anchor text

SEO Website Report – Competitive Analysis

Understanding your website’s competition is just not crucial to your website’s success it is critical to the success of any business regardless of the trading environment online or offline.

A comparative analysis should be completed on a minimum of 3 competitors. However a comprehensive investigation of the website’s competitors that achieve top 5 results for your primary keywords should be investigated. Depending on business niche this may include a high number of competitors.

The competitive analysis should investigate the following:

• Competitors keyword/keyword phrase usage
• Rankings for high value keywords
• Assessment of inbound links for quality, quantity and anchor text
• A visual evaluation and assessment of general website issues

SEO Website Report – Pay Per Click

Pay Per Click is a valuable tool when properly utilised to drive targeted traffic to your website. However, due to PPC advertising cost’s ability to become excessive quickly careful analysis of current programs is required.

SEO Website Report issues which require evaluation include:

• PPC keyword and keyword phrase usage and cost
• Pay Per Click advertising companies used
• Evaluation of advertising copy
• Landing page analysis

SEO Website Report – Social Media Utilization

Social Media and Networking is potentially beneficial however, in my opinion business niche related.

Social Media evaluation should include:

• Assessment of current Social Networking utilization
• Evaluation of Social Media opportunities for business niche
• Blog usage, frequency and blog commenting

SEO Website Report – Website Usability

Web Usability has a significant impact on website visitors. A successful SEO program which increases website traffic can be a waste of time and money if the website is not immediately usable and user-friendly.

Website Usability issues to be evaluated include:

• Information Architecture
• Website navigational structure
• Evaluate content for clear and concise writing
• Clear and intuitive web interface

SEO Website Report – Conversion Optimization

There are numerous issues which affect the success of web site conversions. Some of these issues are related to web usability and others can be combined within a Pay Per Click advertising analysis.

Conversion optimization evaluation will evaluate some of the following issues which potentially affect conversion rates:

• Professionalism of web design
• Ad copy and Landing pages for keyword relevance and calls to action
• The Conversion funnel pages leading to the final conversion objective
• The website processes such as shopping carts etc

SEO Website Report – Recommendations

The recommendations section of the SEO Website Report is of course one of the most important aspects of the report. Essentially any report no matter the topic is to discover the problems and to suggest recommendations to resolve them.

In general the recommendations section will provide an outline on an issue by issue basis of how the SEO project should proceed. The recommendation section of the initial SEO Website Report is not meant to be a substitution for SEO Strategic Planning which will provide your business with additional goal analysis and in-depth details of how the recommended tasks will be completed.

SEO Website Report – The Cost

The cost of the SEO Website Report will of course vary depending on the size and complexity of the website. Some SEO firms will provide a free initial report however, remember you get what you pay for a good report takes time and effort to prepare.

The most common method of providing SEO Website Reports is a quote based the expected time involved at a specified hourly rate. Many SEOs will rebate the initial cost of the report if the client proceeds with an SEO Program.

SEO Website Report – The Conclusion

The SEO Website Report is required if you are to develop an effective Search Optimization program. As with everything we do shortcuts just don’t work and often end up with extra costs and time being required to accomplish the sought-after goals.

As the old saying goes “Do it once Do it right”

source:  www.seowizardry.ca