As a digital marketing expert who has spent over 20,000 hours building and ranking websites and running SEO and SEM campaigns, I can’t stress the critical importance of conducting a thorough SEO audit before pushing a website live. Recently, I was asked to perform a final check on a newly designed website that was set to replace an older version. What I discovered during this audit underlined the potentially catastrophic consequences of overlooking essential SEO elements.
Assessing the Impact of Changes
The first step in my audit was to compare the old and new websites. The previous site had about 100 pages, with 20 service pages significantly contributing to organic traffic. These pages were essential as they ranked for key search terms and actively brought in visitors from Google. Although the new website was visually appealing and equipped with the updated copy, they should have included these crucial pages.
If the website had been launched without these pages, visitors from Google would have encountered 404 errors, leading to a severe drop in organic traffic. Without proper redirects, Google would eventually de-index these pages, losing established SEO value and user trust.
Importance of Redirects and Permalink Structures
Another significant issue was the change in permalink structures for blog posts. In Google’s eyes, every blog post would appear as a new entry, thereby losing any existing SEO value. To mitigate this, it was imperative to either retain the original permalink structure or set up 301 redirects to ensure the continuity of SEO benefits. Proper server configurations and URL management are critical to avoiding these kinds of technical errors that can harm a site’s performance and accessibility.
Keywords and Content Alignment
I also requested a list of target keywords from the client. To my shock, not only were the keywords not incorporated into the new website, but there was also no plan to integrate them in the future. Effective SEO requires targeting keywords in strategic locations like H1 titles, permalinks, and throughout the content. This oversight would have severely hampered the website’s ability to rank for desired search terms.
Meta Descriptions and SEO Titles
Every page on the new website lacked meta descriptions, and the SEO titles began with the website name rather than the keyword. While Google can generate meta descriptions, it’s far better to create optimized ones manually to control how search results appear. Similarly, SEO titles should focus on the content rather than start with the website name to improve click-through rates.
Ensuring Proper Server Configuration
In addition to content and structure issues, it’s vital to ensure proper server configurations to avoid errors like URL rejections or connection refusals. These technical aspects are often overlooked but can significantly impact the user experience and the site’s overall accessibility. Ensuring all URLs are accessible and correctly formatted is crucial to maintaining a seamless user experience and avoiding unnecessary disruptions.
Maintaining URL Integrity
Another critical aspect is maintaining URL integrity. If not handled correctly, changes in URL structures can lead to broken links and lost traffic. Ensuring old URLs redirect to new ones without losing SEO value requires meticulous planning and implementation. This process involves setting up 301 redirects for all changed URLs to maintain the flow of SEO juice and user traffic.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the consequences of not performing a thorough SEO audit before launching a website can be severe. From losing organic traffic due to 404 errors and incorrect permalink structures to failing to incorporate essential keywords and meta descriptions, each oversight can significantly impact a website’s performance. As an SEO professional, I ensure that all elements are optimized to maintain and enhance a site’s search engine ranking and user experience. Proper server configurations, URL management, and content alignment are all critical factors in this process.
