Implementing changes from an SEO audit – whose job is it?

An SEO audit is an essential part of SEO efforts, and it cannot be skipped in order to achieve satisfactory organic results at a later stage. It is always the first step in building an effective SEO strategy, so significant changes are made to the website.

Audit.

What information do we get as a result of an SEO audit?

As a result of the audit, we receive optimization recommendations, which consist of a list of all errors that can demarcate the site’s visibility in search results and information on how to fix them. In many cases, the indicated ways to fix errors are mainly suggestions since there is not always only one right way to optimize a given element.

Optimization recommendations after an audit, in principle, can be divided into 3 main groups:

• recommendations for technical changes to the site
• recommendations for changes to the site’s content
• recommendations on changes to be implemented in the link profile

What form can the conclusions of an SEO audit take?

The conclusions of an SEO audit overwhelmingly take the form of a written – document or presentation, within which an analysis of the various elements of the site in the context of the Google Guidelines for Webmasters was carried out.

Each relevant element is taken under the magnifying glass by a specialist, who, using tools, indicates whether it is correct or requires action and what it should be. The written form here allows you to keep the chronology of actions and not miss anything important.

The written form allows you to keep the chronology of actions and not miss anything important.

A common practice is to discuss the various elements with the client or directly with the person/team in charge of their implementation at a later stage to prevent any misunderstandings resulting from a difference in knowledge of SEO topics.

How to prioritize and sequence the implementation of changes from the SEO audit?

The specialist conducting the audit should initially indicate the priorities and order of implementation of changes from the audit, even at the stage of its creation. The most glaring errors, directly affecting the website’s visibility in the search engine, should always be fixed first.

First of all, the most glaring errors should always be fixed first.

First and foremost among such glaring errors will be technical errors such as, for example:

• too long loading time
• unsuitable for mobile devices
• server errors
• lack of up-to-date software
• incorrect application or lack of ssl certificate
• blocking of page content for search engine robots
• duplication of content due to site design
• orphan pages

Simpler technical issues will follow, parallel with creating additional content and optimizing existing content to include words or entire groups of keywords that are expected to form the basis of a site’s SEO strategy.

Finally, you should focus on your link profile and take steps to optimize it, expand it or remove unwanted backlinks.

What access to the site should you have in order to implement the changes from the SEO audit?

To implement all the changes recommended as a result of the SEO audit, you must first have access to the site. By access to the site we mean access to:

• content editor (CMS)
• page code
• site server
• domain panel
• Google Search Console tools

Of course, you will not always need access to each of the above elements. For sites built with SEO requirements in mind, it may be necessary only to correct content, so access to the site code will be completely unnecessary for us.

However, in the vast majority of cases, the above access is necessary to make website optimization changes.

Is the SEO agency/positioner performing the audit always responsible for implementing the changes to the site?

The SEO agency or positioner is not always responsible for implementing changes on the site. We can confidently say that, in most cases, this is not the case. This is primarily because many companies/specialists do not want to undertake changes to a site built by another entity without its full documentation, and such clients have very rarely.

Of course, we are referring here mainly to technical changes, the introduction of which can jeopardize the operation of the site in question without knowing the assumptions that accompanied its creation. In such cases, the best option is for the site to be optimized technically (especially from the strictly programming side) by its author.

The best option is for the site’s author to optimize it technically (especially from the strictly programming side).

Slightly different is the case with the introduction of changes that can be made from the CMS level of a given site; here, in most cases, changes can be implemented directly by a specialist or SEO agency without any problem.

Do you need to know programming to implement the changes from the SEO audit on the site?

The answer to this question depends primarily on what changes we need to implement. Changes in the content layer, which can be done with a CMS or dedicated plug-ins, can be done without any programming knowledge or with a little knowledge of HTML and CSS.

However, in the case of major technical problems, you can’t do without a programmer, especially if serious optimization of Core Web Vitals is involved.

The Core Web Vitals are not a good idea.

Who is responsible for controlling the implementation of changes from the SEO audit?

Whoever implements a given SEO audit, the specialist who performs it is responsible for verifying that all the identified errors have been corrected.

We can call such an action a post-implementation audit, which consists of going through all the original problems limiting the site’s visibility again, verifying that they have been removed effectively and in their entirety, and, if necessary, reporting any necessary corrections.

What are the next steps in SEO activities after the implementation of the audit?

If a site has already been optimized for SEO, we can implement further strategies to build its search engine visibility. The most natural next step would be to expand the site’s content so that it contains more valuable information and, thus, keywords.

Parallel to this, it is worth starting link-building activities that will build trust and authority for the site and complementarily support content activities.