Annielytics Self-Guided Site Audit Checklist

Put on your Google Shoes (not Converse, work boots!) for this light site audit, which covers some key areas that must be in order. Plus, saving time by only checking core pages first.

Doing your own DIY site audit but need help getting started? This 156-page document will have you auditing like a pro!

PageSpeed

PageSpeed is one of the key aspects of website performance. Google rewards sites that deliver fast user experiences; slow pages may struggle to rank well in search results.

Google’s Lighthouse API’s PageSpeed tool provides an effective means of assessing website speed. It provides reports on both desktop and mobile page loads, detailing critical issues as well as recommendations for improvement. In addition, its reports include real user data for Core Web Vitals metrics.

These metrics are calculated based on various criteria, such as First Meaningful Paint (FMP), First Input Delay (FID), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). You may observe some metrics have different distributions between devices due to lab data being based on testing in controlled environments while real-life websites don’t always perform equally for users. Field data provides more accurate measurements but may not always be accessible during Lighthouse evaluations.

Site Structure

Site structure refers to how your content is organized on your website, from how pages link together to user experience and SEO considerations. Without an organized page hierarchy, Google may struggle to understand your website and rank it accordingly.

One effective strategy to enhance your site structure is using taxonomies such as categories and tags to organize related content together. You could also implement internal links, navigation menus and breadcrumbs so users can navigate smoothly across your website.

An organized website structure increases your odds of receiving sitelinks in search results, which appear as neatly-arranged links at the top of search engine results pages, providing direct shortcuts to pages on your website and serving both humans and bots well. We suggest making a flowchart of your website structure, noting categories and subcategories, any pages no longer relevant and any pages which no longer seem useful or may have changed in purpose.

Metadata

Metadata is data that provides details on other data. Metadata can help support regulatory compliance requirements, enterprise-wide data governance initiatives, and help you use information resources efficiently and effectively.

Metadata, commonly referred to as the “data about data,” contains vital information on its meaning and technical structure for classification, organization, labeling, sorting and searching purposes. Metadata plays an essential role in maintaining high data quality while making sure all users can access all of the same information.

Metadata refers to any digital image or online document’s filename which contains information that can be used for classifying, organizing, labeling, sorting, tracking and searching purposes. Metadata may be classified as structural, descriptive or navigational based on how its information is being utilized and may also fall into one or more of four other categories: logical or operational.

Links

If you want to conduct site audits like an expert without hiring someone else to do it for you, take advantage of my comprehensive DIY template that walks through 156 checkpoints with step-by-step instructions and explainer graphics. Rand Fishkin of Moz has even recommended it (see video below), making this option an incredible value at $295!

The Ping attribute allows UAs to preload content from links targets before users arrive, helping to reduce load times for them. While optional, this should be taken into consideration if you want your page speed up as much as possible. Ping-from/Ping-to HTTP request headers are supported by most UAs.