Improving the performance of your web site is an ongoing job, with updated, relevant, well organised content the key to achieving your on-line objectives. As a business owner or marketer a lot of this will be done via gut instinct. However, you can automate a lot of this with actual facts and figures via a number of paid for and free tools available. These are essential to help you cut corners and keep on top of your site which is constantly evolving both internally and externally.
Today I repurchased Screaming Frog, an SEO Spider Tool that I used to have for a few years but let it lapse. It is extremely handy for discovering a whole range of issues with a web site such as:
- Broken links (my main reason for purchasing)
- Missing Title tags
- Meta Description information (it also does keywords but that holds no relevance)
Within all the reports, it is possible to drill down into individual items and see where the links are, where they are going and readily fix them. A newer feature (I think) is the ability to find images that have been uploaded that are over 100kb – this is important as the page loading speed is a critical factor in your visitors enjoyment and therefore also Google Page rankings.
In addition to this tool, I also use SEMrush via one of my customers for their web site. This is a comprehensive suite of tools for you to track your web sites performance in Google, linking it into Google Analytics and Webmaster tools, page suggestions, volume of searches each month by keyword which helps when creating pages and what to target. If you can afford it and have time to implement the suggestions, the $99 a month is an invaluable resource.
I’ve covered other tools that are suggested via the BrightonSEO blog, but using your own Google Analytics information and drilling down into what is popular (or not) can reveal a lot of information. If you have a search tool, you can add this to Analytics to see what people are tying into your web site which has previously helped us recommend what pages need to be more prominent or new products that aren’t already available – if you have set this up, it is under Behaviour | Site Search | Overview.
Google search console has been around for many years and assuming you have registered your URL you can access a wealth of useful information to help your site. The tools also include keywords, your current position and the volume of searches (a basic form of the SEMRush information) but can reveal what you should be prioritising on your web site. I first used a similar tool in Overture (long since gone) to revolutionise our Cater For You business after seeing the most popular searches and adjusting our product range accordingly.
If you would like me to analyse your site via a tool and /or my eyes, then please contact me.
