The 5 Minute SEO Audit

Posted by Mark Thompson in SEONov 3rd, 2009 | Comments

Tools to have installed prior to performing this SEO audit.

- SEO Toolbar

- Web Developer Toolbar

- Reverse IP Checker

- Copyscape

0:00 – 1:00 (Domain History)

- Check PageRank

- Check # of inbound links

- Check Domain Age

- Check # of Pages Indexed

1:00 – 2:00 (Technical Issues)

- Check canonical issues: www vs non www vs index.html

- Check robots.txt: Is the site blocked from search engines?

- Check for XML sitemap (usually domain.com/sitemap.xml)

- Check URLs: Look for potential crawling issues – Parameters

- Check backend code: (analytics script, tables vs css, on-page vs include file javascript/css)

2:00 – 3:00 (On-Page Issues)

- Check Title and Meta Description Tags: Keyword Rich

- Check Navigation: Any crawling issues (flash/javascript), well thoughout navigation structure

- Check Content: (keyword rich anchor text, internal linking, consistent layout)

- Check for Plagerism: Take 1 url and put it in copyscape

3:00 – 4:00 (Off-Page Issues)

- Reverse IP Check: any bad domains on the same hosting?

- Check Competition

- Check for Malware: Put url through Googles safebrowsing dianostic tool

- Check for Local Business Listing: Use Google Maps – Correct listing in Google?

4:00 – 5:00 (Rankings)

- Pull basic keyword research (Google Keyword Tool)

- Check site rankings (Rank Checker Tool)

Whenever I analyze a new site, there are a number of factors I will look at including on-page and off-page optimization. Here are some of the most important things you can look at, that can done within 5 minutes.

Tools installed prior to SEO audit

Websites opened prior to SEO audit

Ready, Set, Go!

0:00 – 1:00 (Domain History)

Check PageRank
Check # of inbound links
Check Domain Age
Check # of Pages Indexed

1:00 – 2:00 (Technical Issues)

Check canonical issues: www vs non www vs index.html
Check robots.txt: Is the site blocked from search engines? (domain.com/robots.txt)
Check for XML sitemap (usually domain.com/sitemap.xml)
Check URLs: Look for potential crawling issues – Parameters
Check backend code: (analytics script, tables vs css, on-page vs include file javascript/css)

2:00 – 3:00 (On-Page Issues)

Check Title and Meta Description Tags: Keyword Rich
Check Navigation: Any crawling issues (flash/javascript), well thoughout navigation structure
Check Content: (keyword rich anchor text, internal linking, consistent layout)
Check for Plagerism: Take 1 url and put it in Copyscape

3:00 – 4:00 (Off-Page Issues)

Reverse IP Check: any bad domains on the same hosting?
Check Competition: Put main keyword/phrase in Google (look at “Results 1 – 10 of about 328,000,000 for keyword“)
Check for Malware: Put url through Google safebrowsing dianostic tool (http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=mysite.com)
Check for Local Business Listing: Use Google Maps – Correct listing in Google?

4:00 – 5:00 (Rankings)

Pull basic keyword research (Google Keyword Tool)
Check site rankings (Rank Checker Tool)

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About Mark

Mark Thompson is an Internet Marketing Expert, specializing in Search Engine Marketing & Optimization, Blogging, and Social Media.StayOnSearch is a blog dedicated for internet marketers, web professionals, and business owners looking for tips, guides, and resources to improve their web presence through various web marketing tactics & strategies.