What Would A Site Audit Do For Me?

Don't worry, a site review or audit doesn't have anything to do with the tax collector coming to check on how well you're maintaining your business records.

A web site review or audit is a detailed analysis of your site that is used to show you what you're doing right and would could use a bit of attention.

And if you're aim is to improve your site's usability, efficiency and profitability, you're going to want to get a site review done as quickly as possible.

So What's A Site Review/Audit All About?

A well-rounded review provides you with actionable information for these key areas of your web site:

• Quality and effectiveness of content
• Appropriateness and quality of design elements
• Usability
• Site performance
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) effectiveness

Each of these areas must work together to create a complete user experience. And although there is no one area that is more important than another, there is also no one area that you can afford to neglect. Here's why:

The Importance Of Content

Content drives your site's success. Whether you are selling products or services, it's the power of the written word that turns visitors into customers.

Every word on your site is a valuable sales tool. Poor content breeds poor results. It doesn't matter how good your product or service is, or where your price point is set, if your content isn't getting the job done.

Design Elements Augment Your Content And Help Build Your Brand

Your site's design, including your logo, template, fonts and other graphical images, create an instant impression to a first-time visitor. If your site looks amateurish or garish, you may end up chasing customers away before they even have a chance to fall under the spell of your copy.

Usability

Award-winning copy and stellar graphics don't mean a thing if your site is too hard to use. Complication kills sales. The harder someone has to work to find what they are looking for, or to use what ever it is they are looking for once they find it, the better the chances of losing a sale to a competitor with an easier to navigate site.

Site Performance

Slow sites lose business. How many times have you clicked a link and ended up moving on to another site because you grew tired of waiting for a page to load? In this instant gratification world called the Internet, even a few seconds of wait time can be unacceptable to impatient users who know there are plenty of other sites offering whatever it is you offer.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the foundation that supports everything else on your site. Build it and they will come? Not so fast. Nothing else means very much if you don't have traffic. And if your site copy and design doesn't support the principals of SEO, plan on buying traffic for the rest of your life, because no one is going to find you on the first page of the search engines otherwise.

You Need An Unbiased Assessment

And that's what you get from a site review/audit. Pay careful attention to the report's findings; fix what needs fixing, and you'll find that the report will bring you financial returns that far exceed what the report cost you.