10 Things I Need to Know Before Starting a Website Audit
An email comes in and I’m pumped, another website to dissect. I load up my browser with Google Analytics, SEMRush and Moz. Then open up SEOSpider and type in the URL…
and wait.
I like to think of myself as a Gladiator of the web. Olivia Pope fixes Washington. I fix websites.
Let me pause right here. Yes, Olivia Pope is a fictional character but she is bad ass.
I am bad ass at fixing people’s websites. Stick around and you will realize that I’m Shonda Rhimes #1 Scandal fan. I’m also a born-again screenwriter. Please accept my apologies, so we can move on.
Okay, let’s get back to my bad-ass-ness. Conducting website audits is one of my favorite things to do. I love dissecting the story you are trying to share with your users. I love uncovering how you users are getting lost within that story.
Stories are my thing. Understanding your story and your user’s journey is what helps me with your website audit.
10 Questions I ask every client before starting any website audit
- What do you feel is wrong with the site now? Do your clients or customers feel the same way?
- How much traffic is your site receiving? Do you have an analytics report we can review?
- What are you doing to drive users to your site now?
- What do you think we will find in the audit? What are you hoping to discover?
- How often do you update the content on your site?
- What are the business goals of the site? What do you want users to walk away with?
- Who are your competitors in the space?
- What keywords are relevant for your site? What keywords of phrases do you want your site to appear within the top 10 listings?
- Do you have the resources to create and update content for your website?
- Do you have a list of clients available to distribute a user survey to?
Originally published at stephanielelie.com on April 24, 2017.
