Why Annual Website Reviews are a Must-do

A website audit checklist to walk you through it

Your business has a lot of moving parts and most require that you not just keep a consistent eye on them but put constant energy into them. And, while things like posting on social media and replying to client emails ask for time and attention on a daily basis, there is one important part that hangs out in the background, doing its thing, only tapping you on the shoulder every once in a while—your website. 

Sure, building your website takes a lot of time and energy when you are getting it set up but, after a while, a lot of pros end up treating it as an item to be checked off of the list as opposed to a part of your business that needs to grow along with you. (Because let’s be real—you have enough on your plate!) So today, we wanted to put it back on your list and encourage you to add a website review to your end-of-the-year to-dos. No need to hop on Google and figure out how; read on for what you need to look at and a website audit checklist to make it easy!

Review your website analytics

The reason doing a website review is important is that you want to make sure that your website is actually working for you around the clock! And, the main way to evaluate whether or not it has been, is by taking a look at your website analytics. Whether you have Google Analytics set up or are logging into your website to review whatever is built into your platform, here are the things you want to review and why: 

Page views – Knowing how many times the pages on your website are being visited is one of the metrics you can use to judge the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. And, it is a good idea to check how many page views your website gets at different points in the year (think your slow season vs. booking season). In addition, you want to know which pages of your website are the most visited as well as which are the least and then come up with a plan to improve those pages.

Bounce rate – Another important metric is your bounce rate or the percentage of people who visit just one page of your website and take no further action. This number speaks to how engaging your website is and, if you can see which pages people are bouncing from, you should do what you can to make those pages more effective.

Time on page – If you want to understand whether or not you are on the right track with the content (copy and design) of any particular page of your website or blog, “time on page” is the metric to look at. The data point is just as it sounds (how much time did the average visitor spend on a page) and if you are getting people to stick around, that is a sign of quality content. If people are spending just a few seconds on a page, it is a good indicator that it’s time to make some changes.

Evaluate your SEO keywords

You’ve likely heard a lot about SEO (search engine optimization) and, when it comes to items you should look at during a website audit, your keywords are definitely on the list. And, if you haven’t researched specific keywords and phrases to use on your website, now is the time! Here is what you should evaluate:

• What keywords and phrases are people finding you through?
• Are you showing up for a mix of branded (keywords that contain your company name) and non-branded keywords (generic but relevant)?
• Are there any new keywords you should incorporate into your strategy?

Ubersuggest is a great free SEO tool you can use to find the answers to these questions. You can run a few reports for free each day, we suggest using the “Keyword Ideas” and “Site Audit” tools. You can use the Keyword Ideas tool to research which non-branded SEO keywords might be good to use, and you can use the Site Audit tool to see all the keywords you rank for as well as track your progress.  

Audit your website copy and content

Your taste, style, story and pricing change over time, so if you want to avoid feeling like your website says nothing about you, or worse, doesn’t reflect the level of service you provide, it is imperative that you audit and update your website copy and content every year. No, you don’t need to change every image or rewrite every word—but you do want to make sure it reflects your current brand and services. As you click through the pages of your website, ask yourself:

• Do the images on my website show off my best work?
• Are the details about my services and pricing accurate?
• Do I have a keyword defined for each page and is it included in my copy?
• Is there a clear next step or call to action (CTA) on each page of my website?

Pro-tip: If you’ve never thought strategically about the content that is on your website, now is the time. Here is a piece that dives into website content strategy to help.

Test the functionality

When you are doing a website review, it is incredibly important to test, test, and test again. Links on websites break all of the time (sometimes because you added or deleted a page and sometimes for what feels like no reason at all!), so block some time to make sure everything works as it should. Remember to:

• Click on every link and button on your website
• Test your contact form
• Look at and test everything on a desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone
• Looking at everything on different browsers is also a good idea

Your website audit checklist

Ready to schedule a website review for yourself? Here is a straightforward website audit checklist to guide you through it!

1. Review your website analytics
2. Evaluate your current keywords and keyword strategy
3. Define a goal and/or action for each page of your website
4. Add CTAs or buttons where necessary
5. Make updates to your website copy
6. Make updates to the images on your website
7. Check all links and buttons to make sure they work
8. Test your contact form
9. View your website on a desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone
10. View your website on multiple browsers

Scheduling time to take care of all your end of the year business audits? Be sure to make sure these essential business tasks are on the list!

Photo Credit: Audit Stratford Productions/shutterstock.com