I have been conducting website audits for a number of years but was wondering how others go about this process.  I’m sure that many use some of the same tools that I use but would like to know your favorites and what your procedure is?  I will give a short breakdown of how I go about it but would like your comments and recommendations.

My Website Audit Process:  These are the steps and tools I use to audit my client’s websites.

• SEO Profiler – I use this tool for a number of items that I check.  I first check the weekly audit for any errors or warning and clean them up.  I next review the keyword and page rankings to see what adjustments can be made to improve page rankings.  Lastly I take a look at their backlink profile to see what links have been added recently and review them to ensure there are no problems with new links.
• Webmaster Tools – I review each client to see if there are any new warnings or errors that have been detected by Google and make corrections where necessary.  I also take a look at the most linked sites to see if there are any new ones that may be a problem
• Link Research Tools – I run a Link DTOX report to see if any links may be a problem that were not shown in the other tools I use.  I take action to get any problem links removed or changed to nofollow.
• Broken Link Checker – this is a free online tool to identify any broken links.  I take immediate action to correct any detected.
• Hubspot Marketing Grader – this free online tool can provide some valuable information on how your website is performing from a marketing perspective and give recommendations for improvement.
• WebSiteOptimization and GTMetrix – these are two free online tools that can give excellent information and recommendations to improve your website such as files that should be optimized, site speed and lists the various files and their sizes that are being loaded for a homepage.

I use the above tools on a weekly basis to ensure that my client’s websites are performing at their top efficiency.  I find that regularly new errors or warning show up so a monthly or longer period for conducting a regular website audit can cause a negative impact which could impact on visitors for a longer period than my clients would like.  The total audit takes no more than an hour or two each week and I have found that it pays dividends in the long run.

I would love to hear what tools and procedures that you follow to keep your client’s websites in top shape.