This document outlines the key elements of an SEO audit for discovery and planning purposes. It discusses gathering information about the client and property background, including prior SEO efforts and technical changes. It also involves touring the site to understand content areas. For site redesigns or migrations, the audit should determine the launch timeline, acquire wireframes, and plan for QA. When diagnosing traffic drops or penalties, the audit checks historical data and investigates prior link building and SEO efforts. The overall goals are to be clear on the audit purpose and gather relevant background details and timelines.

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Jessie Stricchiola ~ CEO, Alchemist Media Inc.
SEO AUDITS:
Key Elements of
Discovery & Planning

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Jessie Stricchiola
▪ SEO Since 1997
▪ Founder & CEO, Alchemist Media Inc.
▪ Co-Founder, SEMPO.org
▪ Co-Author, The Art of SEO (O’Reilly, ’09, ’12, ’15)
▪ Qualified Subject Matter Expert in Litigation Matters

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Audit Discovery: Purpose of the Audit
▪ New Site / Startup
▪ First Time Audit (no prior SEO)
▪ Site Redesign / CMS Migration
▪ Domain/Subdomain Migration
▪ Diagnosing Traffic Drops / Penalties
▪ Site “Checkup” Audit (prior SEO)

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Audit Discovery: Client Background
▪ Startup or Established Business?
▪ Who Will Be Point of Contact / What is Their Skill Level?
▪ Development & Engineering - Internal, External, or Both?
▪ Prior Agency Relationships? Why Did They End?
▪ Identify In-House SEO “Owners” and Resources

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Audit Discovery: Property Background
▪ Subdomains / Mobile Versions / HTTPS / Schema
▪ Organic Efforts (Implementations & Impact)
▪ Technical (Redesigns / CMS Migrations / Performance)
▪ Analytics Status (Views / Filters & Configs / KPIs)
▪ GSC/BWT History (Indexation / Analytics / Notifications)
▪ Paid Search Data

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Audit Discovery: Site Tour
▪ Broad Topic Landing Pages
▪ Sub-Topic Focus Pages
▪ User Account Pages
▪ Product Pages
▪ Pagination Pages

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Audit Planning: Site Redesigns & Migrations
▪ Determine Launch Timeline
▪ Acquire Wireframes and Site Architecture
▪ Identify New CMS’s SEO Needs (plugins, modules, etc.)
▪ Plan for Q/A and Crawling/Editing Staging Site

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Audit Planning: Traffic Drops & Penalties
▪ Check/Document Historical Data (GSC, BWT, GA)
▪ Obtain Crawl, Backlink, and Related Data
▪ Investigate Historical Link-Building and SEO Efforts
▪ Inquire About Historical Remediation Efforts

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Summary
▪ Be Clear About the Purpose of the Audit
▪ Identify Client and Property Background Information
▪ Establish Timelines - Historical & Planned
▪ Understand the Site’s Content Areas

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SEE YOU AT THE NEXT #SMX
THANK YOU!