Why is a Comprehensive Website Audit Essential?

User Experience 

One of the primary facets of website performance is the user experience (UX). UX refers to the aspects that affect a user’s interactions with your website — from creative elements and software code. Every detail carries weight, ultimately changing your platform’s conversion potential.

For example, imagine you have an e-commerce website with hundreds or thousands of products. If your audience cannot filter your products by size, usage or price, they may leave your website in favor of one with a better user experience. To ensure they make it to checkout, you must create features with your user in mind. 

A comprehensive website audit provides a deep dive into your website’s user experience. Paradigm’s developers, designers and strategists review your user journey and take note of barriers that prevent form submissions, phone calls or product purchases. Our website evaluations often consider UX elements falling under the following four categories.

1. Utility 

While websites provide ample room for creative storytelling and captivating visuals, we must stop to ask ourselves: Is there value in this content? All creative elements need to serve a purpose, whether reinforcing branding or informing the customer decision-making process. As your website and SEO audit agency, we examine existing content to identify gaps in relevance and opportunities for increased engagement. 

Elements that signal positive utility in a website may include: 

• Concise Messaging
• Visual Hierarchy in Design
• Links to Pages with Related Content

2. Usability

One way we assess website performance during a comprehensive website audit is by determining ease of use. We believe there should be no guesswork in user experience — your website’s structure should be easy to navigate and conducive to accomplishing tasks quickly. 

We search for indicators of good usability, such as: 

• Defined Calls-to-Action (CTAs)
• Properly Functioning Forms 
• Visible Contacts Options 
• Predictable Navigation Structures

3. Functionality 

Paradigm’s website evaluations examine much more than design. As your website and SEO audit agency, we analyze the technical aspects of your platform to ensure it’s working efficiently. Every request your audience makes should be achievable — or, if something goes wrong, they should understand what steps to take next. 

We search for hallmarks of positive functionality, such as: 

• Fast Page Load Speed
• Mobile-Responsiveness
• Efficient Functionality
• Clear Error Messaging 

4. ADA Compliance

Finally, our comprehensive website audits examine ADA compliance by referencing the web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG). You want to be sure your website allows people of all abilities to access your website with ease. 

Compliance serves a dual purpose. For one, compliance demonstrates that your brand is inclusive, authentic and equitable. For another, compliance safeguard your organization. Those who fail to meet compliance standards may be subject to ADA-compliance website lawsuits — leading to hefty fines and permanent damage to a brand’s reputation. 

Our ADA compliance assessment accounts for elements such as:

• Text Alternatives for Photos
• Captions for Video and Audio Content
• Sufficient Color Contrast 

Search Engine Optimization 

The success of many marketing strategies hinges on an ability to rise to the top of search engine rankings. Even if you’ve used keywords throughout your content, there may be challenges in your search engine optimization strategy that set you back.

During comprehensive website audits, our strategy team analyzes content components contributing to your website’s performance on the search engine results page (SERP). As your SEO audit agency, we conduct website evaluations regarding on-page, off-page and technical SEO. 

 

 1. On-Page SEO

We understand how every structure and message on your website impacts how search engines understand you. On-page SEO refers to the elements on your page that you can change, such as website content. 

We primarily examine three on-page SEO elements:

• Keyword Rankings
• Keyword Usage
• Internal Linking

The Paradigm team crafts a report on the findings and provides a set of recommendations for improving on-page SEO. At a minimum, we advise our clients to revisit their keyword strategy to optimize for a more effective set of keywords. 

2. Off-Page SEO 

Without a website evaluation, many business owners don’t realize other websites play a role in how their website ranks. Links to your site from another may improve your SEO by boosting your domain authority — demonstrating to search engines that you’re trustworthy and authoritative in your industry. 

However, Google’s algorithm will penalize your website in the SERP if unreliable websites are part of your backlink profile. During a comprehensive website audit, we investigate off-page SEO elements such as what sites are linking to your website, what their domain authority is and how it’s currently impacting rankings. 

If you have a poor backlink profile, not to worry — Paradigm’’s experienced SEO audit agency team has the ability to clean it up. 

3. Technical SEO 

Technical SEO ensures that your website meets the technical requirements of modern search engines. Though often unacknowledged, technical factors lay the foundations for search engines to access, understand and ultimately rank your content. 

During a website evaluation, we may examine technical SEO elements like: 

• Navigation Frameworks
• Website Load Times
• URL Structure
• Site Security Protocols
• Structured Data Markup 
• Mobile Optimization
• Duplicate Content
• Plug-In Versions

Start Your Comprehensive Website Audit

A comprehensive website audit is the first step in the journey toward digital excellence. For organizations wondering if an agency-led audit is needed, Paradigm’s quick audit tool will flag overarching elements of concern on your website. However, it’s important to remember that it won’t give you the complete picture. 

A partnership with a website and SEO audit agency will give your organization cross-disciplinary expertise and a concrete path to resolving each barrier. With concrete insights and recommendations, you will align your platform closely with your goals. 

Paradigm is an essential partner for all things digital — contact us to start your website evaluation today.