CDN – what is it?

CDN stands for Content Delivery Network. Otherwise, it is a distributed system that is responsible for delivering website content to users in the shortest possible time, based on their geographic locations. Thanks to it, a large amount of content can reach specific people quickly and without any interruptions. CDN is believed to be a very simple solution to speed up the performance of websites. Users don’t have to wait too long for data to load from the site they’ve decided to visit. Such a network of servers is dispersed in many places, and content resources are displayed to specific people from the points closest to them.

Higher page loading speed thanks to the use of the CDN system can be seen especially in the case of those site elements that are considered to be heavier. This, for example, graphics. There is a lot of potential in CDN, which is why it is talked about more and more often, for example in the context of increasing the efficiency of websites or their effective SEO. Thanks to it, the physical distance between the server and the user is reduced.

How does the CDN work?

When opening a website that uses CDN, the request is sent to the server closest to the specific person. Thus, it does not have to wait long for all the data to be loaded. In short, the CDN consists of several elements:
– source server,
– distributed internet infrastructure points,
– routing system.

The process of the CDN system operation is invisible to us, as website viewers. Everything is done in the background. When a user enters the address of a site that uses CDN, the so-called process begins. mapping. The network selects the appropriate server in terms of the user’s locations and responds to his request by displaying the previously cached content. POPs, i.e. data centers located all over the world (often referred to as points of presence) play an important role here. Their task is to download, save and store in their cache “copies” of the page content. What if there is a problem with processing data from the server closest to a given person? The network then searches for another nearby point. If the real server becomes unavailable due to a failure or similar factors, the CDN will act as a proxy and display the previously processed content despite the problems.

Due to the specificity of operation, the CDN system is somewhat associated with internet clouds. However, there are some differences between these areas. Thanks to the cloud, the data is stored on the server, not on the computer’s hard drive. It can be compared to an internet flash drive. The user has unlimited access to his files, he can view and download them via various devices from anywhere in the world. CDN is an extensive network of internet infrastructure points. Responsible for the distribution of content from the so-called starting server to others. If necessary, i.e. when sending the request, information is transferred to the user from the CDN server closest to him.

What is the CDN for?

The CDN system is used primarily to increase the efficiency and speed of loading a website. Using it means that the user’s request travels a shorter physical distance than when the content of the site is located on one server. You can illustrate this with a practical example. A person living in the United States wants to open a website based in the UK. If this one doesn’t use CDN, it won’t load fast enough because the request has to travel a very long distance, including the Atlantic Ocean. In the case of a content distribution network, this is faster because the data is sent from a server closer to the person, for example in a specific US state.

You should be aware that nowadays internet traffic is mostly handled by CDN. This solution is used both by the websites of the largest companies in the world (including Amazon) and small enterprises. The content distribution network is very popular, in particular among providers of online streaming services and other multimedia services. It allows for greater comfort of using streaming services and reducing the risk of long buffering of content. The CDN is also used by companies dealing with cloud computing and e-commerce websites. The system in question is willingly implemented also due to the increased security. Due to the fact that most of the traffic is not handled by a hosting provider, but only by CDN servers, the risk of cybercriminals attacks is reduced.

CDN system – advantages

There are several benefits to using a CDN, one of the most important being performance gains. It can be said that thanks to a distributed network of servers, the content of the website is closer to the user. At the moment when he wants to open a website, the content does not have to cover a very long distance (in the physical sense), therefore it is displayed faster on the device screen. This is due not only to faster website loading times. This way you can also minimize packet loss. The CDN system works especially well when the website is visited by people living on different continents.

Reliability of access should also be mentioned. Each time you try to open your site, the request goes to the locations closest to the user. Even if one server is temporarily unavailable, it will automatically redirect to another one nearby. In this way, the so-called automatic redundancy. The use of the CDN system makes it possible to guarantee constant network availability, regardless of the operation of the main server and those making up the network. What happens without this solution? Users see an error page on their screen, and this discourages them from revisiting the site. Thus, the CDN allows you to improve UX.

It is also believed that the content distribution network often plays an important role in the SEO process. It shortens the website loading time and prevents unnecessary failures, which affects its position in the search results. In addition, the issue of security must not be forgotten. When using a CDN system, traffic is mostly handled by the servers and not by the hosting provider. As content distribution network providers usually apply additional security, the risk of attacks, especially DDoS blocking access to services using network congestion, is reduced. In addition, many servers offer the option of using an additional SSL protocol.

Big enterprises can find out about what CDN means in one more area, which is costs. The use of a content distribution network is less expensive than rebuilding the entire infrastructure, when it will be necessary to use a larger number of servers.

Is it worth choosing a CDN?

In many cases, the CDN turns out to be a very good solution. Nevertheless, the decision to use a network should always be thought out and carefully analyzed. If the majority of website users live in the same region as the hosting, a CDN system is often not necessary. It even happens that implementing it brings more harm than good. Due to a non-essential connection point between the visitor to the site and a nearby server, performance may be degraded.

However, in a situation where the website is popular among users from different parts of the world, CDN is the right choice. There are many providers of this type of service, including:
– Fastly – a commercial CDN network used, for example, by BuzzFeed, The New York Times and Pinterest. It gives many configuration options, provides a high level of security, and at the same time increases the efficiency of websites.
– Cloudflare – one of the largest global networks with data centers in Europe, the United States and South America, as well as in mainland China and Oceania.
– Akamai – one of the largest enterprises in the world, handles approx. 30% of Internet traffic. His clients include BNP Paribas, Honda, Douglas or Ubisoft.
– KeyCDN – a network suitable especially for beginners without much experience with CDN. Supports 6 continents and ensures easy integration.

Importantly, the use of this type of service does not have to be associated with a very large expense. Some providers give you the opportunity to try their offer first in a demo version, and you can easily find free plans with basic functionality. It is worth thinking about CDN especially if you want to acquire new users from other countries or even continents. Thanks to the content distribution network, it becomes easy to optimize your website in each geographic zone. Its use is recommended in particular:
– online stores,
– services with nationwide coverage,
– large, popular websites and those that store valuable data (due to the increased risk of attacks),
– multilingual websites,
– parties with a pronounced foreign movement.

In fact, any website that, for specific reasons, is to operate faster than before, can decide to implement the CDN system. The content distribution network makes sense not only in the case of foreign traffic. Since it affects the site loading faster, it helps it to gain a higher position. Of course, you have to bear in mind that the CDN requires skilful implementation. Only then can you notice all the advantages of this solution.

What is brand monitoring?

Brand monitoring is a branch of social listening – that is, monitoring data flowing from the Internet and drawing conclusions from it that will shape the company’s image strategy. Since the explosion in social media popularity, we have access to a vast body of knowledge about customer preferences and behavior. The analysis of this data allows both corporations and small businesses to better adjust their business strategies to the expectations of consumers.

Brand monitoring therefore consists in analyzing the data that relates directly to the image of a given company among consumers. Statistical analysis of online statements on given topics allows you to obtain information in a few moments that required costly focus research just a few years ago. Now, it’s just a few clicks away to find out how we stand out against the competition.

How to listen to the voice of the client?

Of course, this is not all: thanks to brand monitoring, we can find out where the most talked about us is (both online and in the real world), how our marketing activities are received and what topics are most often talked about in our industry.

Modern social listening tools – such as SentiOne – allow you to analyze any topic in terms of emotional attitudes. Advanced AI algorithm is able to recognize whether a given statement is positive or negative. We can therefore analyze the mentions of your latest marketing campaign and find out what internet users think about it.

Just another click and we will also find out which keywords are most often used in relation to the campaign. In this way, we will identify which aspects of the campaign were taken away from the heat and which completely missed. We click again – and we see demographic data. Who turned out to be the target group?

It all sounds complicated. Yes, the detail of the data shared by social media platforms allows you to carry out analyzes for long hours, from any angle that we are able to come up with. Fortunately, this does not mean a lot of effort and resources. On the contrary – thanks to automation, we can receive reports and analyzes on any topic weekly, daily, even hourly, if we need such accuracy.

Brand monitoring – best practices and common mistakes

How does brand monitoring work in practice? What should you watch out for and what should you avoid?

First of all: under no circumstances can we limit our monitoring to just a few channels. In today’s internet, it’s easy to forget that there are communication platforms other than Facebook or Instagram. This is a big mistake! Our clients are not monolithic – we can find them everywhere. A decent monitoring strategy assumes collecting data from as many sources as possible, from social platforms (not only Facebook, but also, for example, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit …), through industry websites, to blogs and even discussion forums!

This means, of course, choosing the right software. The number of sources monitored is one thing – the data processing capabilities are another. Why do we need access to tens of thousands of mentions when we have to analyze all of them manually? The software we choose must be able to process the found content: keywords used, hashtags, sentiment (positive / negative), etc. Automatic reporting is also welcome.

It is a serious mistake to ignore the lessons we can learn from monitoring. If, according to the data, consumers talk about us on Twitter and we do not use this channel for marketing – this is a missed opportunity to reach the customer! If negative mentions of a competitor’s product indicate a missing feature we offer – why are we not using this in an upcoming marketing campaign targeting competitors’ dissatisfied customers?

Brand monitoring and skilful use of the data it provides opens up a wide range of possibilities. We can regularly review negative reviews about us to find out what our weaknesses are. We can observe trends in our industry – or mass culture – to create RTM campaigns. We can keep an eye on the competition so that they never take us by surprise.

Real-time brand monitoring – how to prevent a crisis

Most importantly – we can also watch the mentions of our own brand to detect and react to potential image crises.

There are many potential indicators of a growing image crisis. A sudden jump in the number of mentions about us is one of the most important – if it is not related to the launch of a new campaign or the launch of a new product. This is where automated sentiment analysis comes into play. Are the new mentions negative? If so, what keywords are the most frequent?

We are not able to predict the image crisis. A defective product or a serious error in accessing the service will sooner or later happen to anyone. The only thing we can control is how we respond to the crisis. Brand monitoring gives us the advantage of time, allowing for an almost immediate response.

In some cases, we may even be able to stop a potential crisis before it escalates – if social media mentions a bad experience with our brand starts appearing, we will be able to apologize and offer compensation right away.

We can also react to mentions containing particularly sensitive keywords. The selection of these terms is an individual matter for each industry; for example, brands in the beauty industry may want to monitor slogans such as “animal tested” and “side effects”.

Modern brand monitoring solutions enable automatic “monitoring” of our mentions around the clock. If they discover a sudden spike in mentions or a brand association with a sensitive topic, they will automatically notify the right people such as the brand manager or customer service team.

Is brand monitoring worthwhile? Of course!

As you can see, modern brand monitoring is an indispensable tool for any company that is present on the Internet. Since the pandemic forced us to go online almost completely, it is hard to imagine a brand that would not be able to take advantage of the benefits of social listening.

Our verdict is therefore obvious: if you are not already monitoring the brand, it is worth considering. This is one “magic bullet” that will deal with both research for marketing campaigns, image / competition analysis, and save your company from escalating potential image crises!

Why is it worth putting an FAQ on the website?

– Provides the customer with immediate help – the user can quickly find an answer to his question, which shortens the shopping path. You can read more about customer path mapping in e-commerce in the article on our website.
– It saves time – both for you and the client. Regardless of whether the questions are answered exclusively by you or the company is handled by an extensive customer service and technical support department, each interaction takes time and involves an employee. The FAQ allows you to skip direct contact for the most common questions, but do not leave them unanswered.
 – It proves that you care about consumers – the FAQ in a clear, friendly form presents various procedures on the company-client line. Transparent presentation of opportunities in future cooperation (whatever form it may take) is a great value for the user, as well as a great way to show your experience, customer-friendly approach and build trust.
– It has a positive effect on SEO – the FAQ is a full-fledged subpage that, like others, affects the positioning of the entire website. This creates a great potential for improving SEO, including thanks to internal linking. In addition, it is a subpage with a lot of content, willingly “clicked”, with opportunities for systematic expansion of the content – web robots like it!
– Allows Google Featured Snippets to appear – a properly constructed question-answer scheme may be considered by Google as valuable enough to appear as a highlighted fragment above the search results.
– Provides data – thanks to analytical modules, you can check which issues (and how) are most often checked by users, which allows you to refine procedures and implement the necessary changes. The FAQ is a great source of knowledge about customer needs.

In many places – from large online stores to small service business sites – the FAQ, despite being published by poor execution, is on the verge of uselessness. A poorly made list of frequently asked questions is not only of little value to the user, but can even irritate him and lead him to redirect his internet steps elsewhere.

FAQ – selection of questions

The first step, of course, will be to refer to your and customer service experience. You perfectly know the needs of customers and the topics that are most often discussed in communication. It is also worth taking a look at the websites of the closest competitors operating in the same industry – many issues will probably be similar. In the case of online stores, must-have is, for example, a clear presentation of payment mechanisms, returns policy or warranty procedures.

FAQ – structure

A typical FAQ list has a rolling question-answer structure. It is very important to properly group the questions into specific categories – asking about the features of a product or a selected service package is a slightly different matter than a loyalty program, login data or the account deletion process. Categorizing topics greatly facilitates navigation and accelerates the user reaching the issue of interest.

The questions should be presented in first-person form – just as the client would type them. You should also use friendly language and avoid industry jargon.

The answers in the FAQ are usually short and as specific as possible – the user came to the page in order to obtain a concise, factual answer. This is no place for grass-talk. If the explanation requires more than a few paragraphs of text to be accurate, it is probably worth considering creating a separate subpage, and providing basic information in the FAQ, followed by a link to a more comprehensive article. If you decide to publish an extensive answer in the FAQ, be sure to take care of the appropriate structure of the text – take care of the right headings, legible text and division into paragraphs.

It is worth paying attention to the right choice of keywords – the question must be easy to find. An appropriate structure based on structured data also means that in the search results the elements of a given FAQ will be presented in an extended form, the so-called rich snippets.

At the end of the list, it is worth placing a contact form or at least a link to it in case the user does not find an answer to his question or needs clarification of some issues with the consultant.

Video and FAQ

Sometimes short films appear as part of the FAQ, most often simple animations (so-called explaining). This may be a good solution in some situations (e.g. when an issue requires specific steps that are easier to present graphically than text), but it has many disadvantages. First of all, a large part of people “scans” the text with their eyes faster, ergo assimilates the necessary information more efficiently than it would be in the case of even a few dozen seconds long film. The video itself will not affect SEO as much as the traditional text form, and it will also slightly extend the loading time of the subpage.

The answer in the form of a video makes sense especially in the case of typical technical support issues, e.g. assembly instructions for a given product or presentation of its specific function. Of course, you can always use a mixed form – text and video, which will complement each other.

FAQ – update

First of all, the FAQ cannot be treated as a complete whole. It is an important element of the website and should be a constantly evolving organism – in most companies, new questions arise every day, some of which perhaps should be on your website.

Creating a website can, however, be a heavy burden on the budget of young companies. The basic cost of the site consists primarily of the price of the domain and hosting as well as the work of the graphic designer and developer. Another cost is the time that you need to spend to find the right technologies and even prepare content, graphics and photos. The choice of solutions that do not require the involvement of external specialists is associated with the need to increase the time required to prepare the site. However, website creators have limitations that can prevent them from gaining customers effectively. Let’s take a closer look at popular solutions and consider when building a page with the help of a creator will pay off, and when we should, however, choose other solutions.

Website Builder – what is it and how does it work?

Website creators are a kind of computer program that allows you to create a website without knowledge of HTML and CSS, not to mention other languages. Creating a page from scratch, we choose the background color and add further details by selecting a specific element from the available collection. The graphic design we created and the background content added in it are rewritten into the language understood by web browsers. Boom – the website is ready.

The main principle of website creators has not changed substantially since the appearance of the first program of this type. Modern versions, however, have much greater capabilities and faithfully stick to the principles of creating pages and Google guidelines. Modern solutions allow in some cases to run seo processes and effective positioning of websites created with the help of one of the currently popular creators – Wix, Squarespace or wordpress Elementor.

Website creators from 10 or more years ago offered very limited customization options, and no one thought about adaptation to mobiles devices or positioning.

Website creators – where did their popularity come from?

Website creators allow you to quickly create a functional website. Depending on the advancement of the creator, they allow you to modify ready templates, add colors, icons, and format text. Thanks to these solutions, creating a website does not always have to be associated with high costs. Most creators provide some functionality for free or in the form of a subscription – and the price of such is much lower than the fees associated with the work of a graphic designer and programmer.

An additional advantage of creators is their friendliness to non-technical users. Services like WIX present the functionality of their program in an accessible way and help you build your dream website step by step. The tutorial and the ability to prepare the site according to your own vision (limited only to the choice provided by the platform) allow you to start the promotion even on a very limited budget and … do not require the involvement of developers.

The number of platform users that have enabled the creation of their own website in recent years has begun to grow – in proportion to marketing efforts undertaken, among others by Wix, Weebly or Squarespace, which sponsors a whole range of Youtubers. Wix deserves special attention here – the advertisements of the website could be seen during the last few Super Bowl games, and they took part in, among others Karlie Kloss, Jason Statham and Gal Gadot.

Pros and cons of website builders

It can not be hidden that the independent creation of websites is quite popular. Is it, however, a universal solution? Let’s look at the pros and cons of such programs:

Pros:
– costs, a definite plus of creators is the ability to build a site after the so-called “Costs”, which I mentioned earlier. Part of the functionality is available for free, some for a fee or as part of a subscription, which can be terminated at any time or with a monthly notice period;
– intuitive navigation, adapted to the skills of non-coding people – pagebuilders do not require their users to know about coding pages, language skills and rules for creating websites. Website creation is done by means of graphical navigation – drag & drop or selection of subsequent options from the drop-down list of available elements;
– security – one of the biggest problems associated with having a website is to provide yourself and your guests with an adequate level of protection for their data. When using the creator, the responsibility for the tightness of the solutions used remains with the creator of the service;
– time – if you believe the ads, taking a page will take about the same as a break from work. In fact, choosing the right options and template and making the final decision about the appearance will take a few hours. Still, it’s a lot less than creating a page from scratch;
– all-in-one – modern creators are solutions that allow you to create a page from scratch and in one place. This includes not only the site design itself, but also domain and hosting issues;
– help – the platform user (depending on the subscription paid) can benefit from extensive support – guides, tutorials and consultants. Thanks to this, building your own website becomes quite a pleasant experience.

Cons:
– lack of full freedom in creating the page – the number of templates and solutions to use the site – depending on the plan – is limited. Additional restrictions are also technical issues of the platform. Moving subsequent elements can be partially blocked, and adjusting their size very time-consuming;
– slow, heavy site – if in recent years page builders have made a great step towards optimization for speed, some of the solutions still leave much to be desired. Another problem is the limited or complete inability to modify the page code. This creates unnecessary lines of code, e.g. by creating unneeded nests and enlarging the DOM, which Google Page Speed ​​Insights points out as one of the reasons why websites slow down. Too many unnecessary elements that could be described in a more optimal way are the risk of more rejections for mobiles device users with a worse internet connection;
– Restrictions resulting from the plan or application – e.g. the ability to create up to 10 subpages, the ability to use only a few additional applications, restrictions on adding links on the site, etc.
– Lack of possibility to fully optimize the page – the lack of access to the code prevents full optimization under search engine guidelines, and thus – restrictions related to ranking, among others on Google. More about positioning on creators in a moment.

There are more pros than cons? However, this is not a confirmation of the universality of the solution which is page builders. It all boils down to the purpose for which we create a given website and what we want to include thanks to it.

Positioning and website creators – a bumpy relationship

Website positioning created on Wix or Squarespace platforms is one of the most controversial topics in the SEO world. Most specialists still remember the times when the creator in principle prevented any optimization of the website. The problem was, among others, the inability to set a unique <title> for the subpage, creating friendly addresses, or even adding the Google Search Console code to the <head> section. Modern platforms are more seo friendly, but they still do not enjoy much sympathy among positioners. Why?

Inability to fully optimize – Optimization under seo guidelines is content and code activities. While adding content and saturating them with keywords should not be a problem, technical optimization is the way it is. The appearance of the given elements on the page is important for the user, however, wishing to conquer SERPs you should also pay attention to how the site is seen by network robots.

During positioning, it is necessary to change the content, among others titles, descriptions, headers. Creators of the type Wix or Squarespace allow you to add your own elements from this range – all changes are made via the panel. Interestingly, Wix still promotes adding the meta keywords tag and filling it with about 10 keywords, which in the positioning environment is considered unnecessary archaism. The meta keywords tag has no longer fulfilled its original role for years and is de facto redundant on the site.

Adding more advanced elements, e.g. schema tags, goes beyond standard services.

In the case of Squarespace, adding schema tags requires modification of the page’s <head> – pasting the generated code in the right place. Here, basic basic knowledge of html structure will be useful.

In this situation, Elementor seems to be the best solution – it works with popular wordpress plugins intended for SEO, e.g. Yoast SEO. However, there is still the problem of too large DOM – excessive number of nested elements that delay rendering of the page.

Unsociable seo technologies – One of the problems Wix had to deal with for some time was generating the page “on the fly” – with the help of JavaScript. As a result, the site content was virtually invisible to robots. Currently, the situation has changed – both Google has made a big step in “dealing” with JavaScript, and Wix has put greater friendliness in the solutions recommended by Google.

Unsatisfactory speed test results – In recent years, Google has significantly increased the focus on adapting websites for mobiles devices and for fast rendering also for slower connections. If you look at the results of speed tests of pages made using the selected creator, it is easy to say that speed demons are unfortunately not.

The biggest problems include unused code fragments and too large DOM. These elements can be modified, provided that we have access to the code.

Here you should do justice to the creators indicated above – most of the solutions actually try to keep up with trends and implement on their platforms photo optimization and formats preferred by Google, code minification and prioritizing loading of the most important elements of the page.

The problems we encounter when trying to position websites on Squarespace, Wix or built using Elementor, however, do not completely eliminate the chances of building visibility in Google search engine. There are other factors at stake – first and foremost the purpose of creating the page and the niche that the site is about.

Wix, Squarespace, Elementor … solutions for special tasks

Website creators make it easier to appear in the virtual world, but they do not quite prove themselves as professional websites for larger companies targeting competitive industries. We can talk about increasing the visibility and positioning of pages on Wix, Squarespace or other creators in the case of small, local businesses. The condition here is the use of more extensive subscriptions that allow access to advanced site modification options.

The solutions proposed by popular page builders will work to build a page from an amateur photographer’s portfolio or a page that will contain basic information about a service closely related to the local operation, e.g. a community day-care center for children. Positioning a site built on the Squarespace or Wix creator, whose ambition is to search for keywords like “New York dentist” may not be effective. In this case, making a lighter page – e.g. on WordPress, with the option of connecting an external system for booking visits, will pay off. Full access to the website’s code will facilitate optimization under current Google guidelines, and the possibility of facilitating registration of patients from the website level will significantly improve the calendar of visits.

Finding the perfect solution that will allow you to mark your position in the search engine and compete with larger players requires appropriate research and time expenditure. In this case, saving on technologies and choosing a “cheaper” solution may block the possibility of further development.

You cannot deny the universality of solutions such as page builders, but you can not put an equal sign between them and success in search engines. Seo adaptation promoted by Wix and Squarespace is primarily the ability to preserve the basics of seo activities, i.e. care for content delivery, the ability to set titles and descriptions, and the ability to connect your own domain and codes to GSC. However, positioning activities are much more than that – technical optimization requires changes that are simply not possible with subscriptions to page building platforms.

So who should you recommend such solutions to? First of all, businesses that do not have the ambition to compete in the race for the highest positions in SERPs. The website on the platform is a solution for those who target inbound traffic from social media and based on searches with the brand name or paid advertising. A website based on WIX or Squarespace will be perfect as a portfolio for young photographers, models and companies that base their content on photos and gain most contacts through activities, e.g. on Instagram.

Popular website creators

Wix – allows you to create pages using a graphical creator based on drag & drop activities. We create a page based on templates that we can use to use the editor to suit our needs. The creator allows you to create a page for free, but editing the page is limited, and our site will display ads. The extension of functionality is possible in one of several subscription plans.

Positioning your site on Wix – the creator allows you to add individual titles and descriptions for each page. Extended optimization is available thanks to the Wix SEO Wiz application, which guides you step by step through the basic activities related to online visibility – including adding Google Search Console code.

Squarespace – just like WIX, allows you to build a site based on a template related to the theme of the page. Here, however, we create and modify elements without dragging them on the side. There are 4 subscription plans available, and the larger the amount, the more possibilities of creating a page.

Positioning on Squarespace – all basic optimization elements are available – you can set titles, descriptions, URLs and even redirects. However, users complain that the positioning modification options are scattered across the platform and finding them is not always easy.

Weebly – as in the case of other popular options, also here the site is built using drag & drop. The creator, however, does not allow full freedom in arranging elements – it imposes the size and arrangement of elements, according to the selected template.

Positioning on Weebly – as with other programs, Weebly allows you to enter seo-essentials – titles, descriptions, and even altos. There are also no problems with adding codes necessary to control the page. The program also automatically generates the sitemap.xml file.

Elementor – WordPress plugin allows you to build a page in the drag & drop system, with the help of which you can create the entire layout of the site. Its definite advantage is the multitude of options that allow you to create an unconventional page. The feature-rich free version allows you to create a fully functional website .. The PRO version allows you to better adapt the design to your needs and work with other WP plugins, e.g. WooCommerce, i.e. tools for online stores.

Positioning on Elementor – creating a page with the help of a creator increases its volume. Elementor, however, prides itself on the speed of his solutions. With the help of other wordpress plugins (Yoast SEO, All-in-One SEO) you can perform quite satisfactory optimization.

What is SEO audit?

Audit is control. In enterprises, this wording is used primarily in the financial and organizational context. By adding “seo” to it, we signal focus on this sphere, so: AUDIT SEO – controlling the adaptation of the website to the guidelines of search engines; assessment of the solutions and technologies used and the keyword strategy adopted; assessment of the effectiveness of actions to increase the level of visibility on the web.

A comprehensive audit aims to assess existing efforts to increase visibility. It can be carried out regardless of whether they were taken or not. The task of the auditor is not only to analyze specific solutions or to place keywords in a given headline, but also to look from a broader perspective, taking into account current trends in search engine guidelines.

When SEO audit should be carried out?

In the company’s life cycle, audits are performed at several strategic points. It is similar with a seo audit. Three moments can be distinguished here in particular:

A. start of the page or its redesign, combined with a change in some functionalities – a change in the page often introduces confusion in brand visibility, especially if it is not carried out under the watchful eye of a specialist. Changes in URLs, page layout, content modification or limiting them … a look with a trained eye allows you to overcome this chaos and identify places that could potentially delay ranking in positions. In the case of starting the page (we mean not only starting from scratch but also refreshing it, connected e.g. with a change in CMS), it is worth handing it over to the positioner before it becomes available to the public. Earlier evalsuation of solutions and introduction of modifications during work on the site will facilitate activities not only for positioners, but also developers who build the site.

B. a sharp decrease in visibility, no traffic from the search engine – at the time when such a dramatic change occurs, it is necessary to determine its causes. While the fluctuation is not caused by a modification of the algorithm of a given industry (such as high-profile changes in the medical industry that caused turbulence in traffic even on the largest health portals), which will be easier to track, drops in one domain will require deeper analysis and observation.

C. launching the campaign on other platforms and expanding marketing activities in the media – why is an audit necessary in such a situation? Let’s say you start activities and sales in an online store. Because of the products, you focus primarily on social media activities. Not every customer will go to the page directly from the Instagram bio link – some will look for the company in the search engine. Some will not remember the brand name and will search for terms associated with it or, e.g., hashtags, which they use on Instagram. Good visibility built around these slogans and proper presence in SERPs does not allow “clients” to be “lost” and will help direct them straight to the product card.

A comprehensive assessment of activities, made at a strategic moment and by an independent observer, is a great basis for organizing further work. Thanks to the knowledge contained in the audit, work planning and necessary time and financial expenses will be much easier.

To provide a full answer to the question of when it is worth performing a seo audit, it is also worth mentioning the necessity or need to check the activities of the positioning company. The subject may seem quite controversial, after all, “non-binding and free” audits are one of the methods of taking over customers. However, if we manage to abandon negative associations, we can easily see that the audit can help “look fresh” at the site and it is possible that we can see the potential for action in new places. More on how to look at the audit will be provided later in the text.

What gives a site audit for over $ 2,000?

How to start here without clichés … paid audits allow for an individual approach to the site. The price of a comprehensive audit is made up of many factors, primarily the time, knowledge and experience of the positioners who carry it out. Added to this is the cost of paid tools, which we support when evalsuating a website or site.

Packet audit – this is the solution for those who prefer to have full clarity and all information in one place. The audit in the package covers everything that is smaller than it. The information contained in the document is expanded, however, with further elements that broaden the scope of data on visibility in the search engine and deepen their analysis.

Let’s discuss the following elements of the audit:

A. meta tag analysis – checking the elements contained in the <head> part of the page, which are displayed in Google search results. Properly prepared title and meta description will contain relevant keywords and encourage you to enter the website. The audit will provide information on whether these items are saturated with keywords, have the right length, and appear throughout the entire domain. Duplicates will also be indicated.

B. analysis of the page in terms of the lack of duplicates – the audit will indicate all possible copies of the page – whether they are non-redirected versions of http and https, or copies created on subdomains or created during the process of building the page and available to network robots.

C. content analysis on the site – a comprehensive content study will allow you to evalsuate the content – its usefulness for the user, keyword saturation and comparison with competitors.

D. head section analysis – in addition to title & meta description, <head> also contains other elements important for positioning – meta robots, some canonical links.

E. correct structure of subpages – control of access to pages, convenience of use and finding information on pages, as well as internal linking – elements important both because of the orientation of web robots on the page but also because of the user’s convenience.

F. correctness of subpage code – indication of errors in the code, incorrect use of html, css, js or broken parts that may interfere with the correct loading of the page or prevent the use of some of its functionalities.

G. analysis of page indexing capabilities – controlling exclusions and bans on web robots that may prevent data collection.

H. analysis of website mobility – not only whether the website is responsive, but also whether the speed and solutions used enable proper use of the website on smaller screens of mobiles devices and with a weaker Internet connection.

I. display speed analysis – the issue of page rendering speed also applies to the desktop version; tests allow you to specify elements that delay pages loading and find solutions to eliminate these problems.

J. analysis search console – data collected in Google Search Console allow you to determine the status of the page in the Google index. Audit of older domains without GSC analysis will not be complete – the console provides detailed data on how crawlers crawl, how Google really sees pages and what errors it encounters. In the case of a new, new site and new domain, complete GSC analysis may not be possible – the data collected will be residual.

K. standard link profile analysis – similar to GSC analysis – for a domain with history. The analysis allows determining if and which pages contain links leading to a given domain.

L. detailed analysis of the link profile – a more detailed study of links allows determining the dominant sources of links and assessing their value.

M. detailed analysis of keyword potential – assessment of the selection of keywords based on the number of searches, click-through rates and Google search engine trends specific to a given industry.

N. examination of the substantive content of the page – in the extended version of the audit we also provide information on whether the site contains the necessary data, enabling users to find the necessary information. Deficiencies in product or service descriptions and the need to add additional technical information will be indicated.

O. Crawl Budget – an important element for large websites that provides information on how many pages in a given domain are able to scan the Google search engine.

P. detailed competition analysis – what are they doing better, what makes them higher and / or have better visibility in the search engine? Competition analysis allows you to see solutions that work in a given industry.

Q. detailed analysis of website visibility – during the audit, a wide visibility test is carried out, which requires the use of several independent tools. Analysis of the collected data allows you to get a full picture of the visibility of pages and tips for further development.

R. indications of changes – the extended version of the audit also allows you to include dedicated domain guidelines, whose introduction is aimed at improving the results of the website in Google search. The guidelines apply to all the elements listed above – the selection of keywords, their placement on the page, the number and quality of texts, the speed of the site. The audit also suggests places that allow increasing the diversification of incoming link sources or pointing places for links necessary for a given industry.

How long does it take to audit the website

The time of conducting the seo audit and receiving its final version will depend on the scope in which it is to be performed. This “high-end audit” also contains guidelines and may take up to two weeks to prepare.

The size of the website also has an impact on the duration of the seo audit. Sites with several dozen tabs, due to smaller working material, are analyzed much faster. Larger websites usually require more work. If it is necessary to provide extensive guidelines, deadlines are usually set individually.

What does the positioner do at this time? He prepares at this time an analysis of all the previously mentioned points. The work on some is facilitated by the provision of Google Search Console and Analytics – the data collected by Google robots allows you to quickly outline the main problems and areas where corrections need to be made. During work, other tools are also used to analyze traffic, website statistics and Google search engine data.

How to read a website audit?

Automatic audits, which some agencies use to take over clients, usually highlight all the negative elements that the auditor was able to find. They are dominated by a narrative emphasizing deficiencies and shortcomings – often without indicating specific places where they were noticed. In most cases, it comes down to a critique of the actions of other positioners.

A professional audit will focus on all aspects of the site – it will indicate correctly carried out work and places where the site does not stand out from the competition and does not deviate from Google guidelines.

By analyzing, for example, an online store’s website, the positioner is aware that the store’s engine does not allow changes. Therefore, information on this subject will be included in the audit, with an annotation that the X engine on which the store is located does not allow making the required changes. These types of remarks should be considered when planning the reconstruction of a website. If the CMS used is a niche solution (e.g. proprietary solutions), and the positioner does not have full access to the site, he will not have knowledge about whether given technical solutions allow the introduction of suggested changes.

How do you get started with the suggested changes?

A. Technical issues
By analyzing the page, the positioner indicates problematic places in the code. Some of them result from old solutions that should be replaced by newer ones. Others may require changes and, for example, shifting some snippets of js code, which will allow the website to load faster. In the case of popular CMS and templates, some code fragments are permanently embedded in the solution and their change requires advanced actions on the part of the developer. The introduction of some suggestions may involve additional costs, hence our attention at the beginning of the text – changes on the website should be consulted with the positioner already in the development phase.

B. Content
Some of the sites audited have poor content. Building a text database takes time, but creating content suitable for the user and web robots will pay off in many fields. The comments included in the audit will help determine the direction and prioritize the addition of certain content.

C. Site Links
The audit will contain information on the number and quality of links and compare them with competitors’ links. It will also indicate places where the owner of the page can add a link himself – e.g. by asking contractors to update the data on their page and supplementing them with their link to the page.

SEO audit – positioning game

SEO audit is a great start to website positioning. Having all the knowledge about the current status of the page in one place, you can easily plan changes. Note – performing point-by-point optimization is a persistent task! Preparation and updating of the code, followed by supplementing the content is a process that only in the first phase can take several weeks. It is also worth considering further cooperation with the agency – optimization work and all activities related to it will not disturb the normal work in the company, and the effects will appear faster!