Website Audit: The 5-Step-Process That Works

Warum ein Webseiten Audit?

Webseiten bewegen sich in einem dynamischen Kontext. Technologie, Nutzerverhalten, Marktverhältnisse, etc. verändern sich regelmässig. Das führt dazu, dass Unternehmen ihre Webseiten auch immer wieder anpassen müssen, um mit diesen Veränderungen mitzuhalten. Ein Audit deiner Webseite zeigt dir auf, ob es an der Zeit für eine Anpassung ist und wie weit die Überarbeitung gehen sollte.

Mit einem Audit beantwortest du bspw. folgende Fragen:

1. Wie viel Sichtbarkeit generiert deine Webseite bei deinen Zielgruppen?
2. Wie erfolgreich generierst du Leads aus diesen Zielgruppen?
3. Wie kannst du die Performance deiner Webseite weiter verbessern?

Viele Firmen spüren zwar, dass sie die Webseite überarbeiten sollten. Sie können aber nicht genau sagen, ob es mit der etwas veralteten Gestaltung zu tun hat, an der technischen Performance liegt oder vielleicht doch mit dem Inhalt zu tun hat.

Das Ergebnis des Audits vermittelt dir eine klare Entscheidungsgrundlage. Du kannst mit gutem Gewissen entscheiden, ob du die Webseite umfassend überarbeiten solltest oder ob moderate Anpassungen genügen, um deine Ziele zu erreichen.

Die 5 Elemente eines Webseiten Audits

Kurz zusammengefasst: Ein Webseiten Audit ist eine Kombination aus quantitativen Daten und qualitativer Analyse. 

Die 5 Elemente eines Webseiten Audits

Kurz zusammengefasst: Ein Webseiten Audit ist eine Kombination aus quantitativen Daten und qualitativer Analyse. HeadStarterz analysiert regelmässig Webseiten anhand der wichtigsten Parameter. Der vollständige Audit umfasst folgende Parameter:

1. Technische Performance
2. Sichtbarkeit und User-Akquise (SEO)
3. Nutzerführung und Lead Generierung
4. Design (Branding)
5. Inhalte und Positionierung

In gewissen dieser Bereiche lohnt sich der Blick zur Konkurrenz. Dieser Vergleich hilft, die Resultate des eigenen Audits einzuordnen. 

Schauen wir uns die einzelnen Parameter etwas genauer an.

1. Technische Performance

Der Audit beginnt mit einer technischen Analyse. Es gibt viele Tools zur Suchmaschinenoptimierung (SEO), mit denen Reports zu den wichtigsten Faktoren generiert werden können. Checks, wie bspw. mit dem Site Audit von Semrush, geben dir einen Überblick über die «Gesundheit» deiner Webseite. In diesen Checks werden bspw. fehlerhafte Verlinkungen, schlechte Seitentitel, doppelte Inhalte oder zu lange Ladezeiten aufgedeckt. All das sind Faktoren, die die Performance deiner Webseite bei den Suchmaschinen beeinflussen.

Why a website audit?

Websites operate in a dynamic context. Technology, user behaviour, market conditions, etc. change regularly. As a result, companies have to constantly adapt their websites to keep up with these changes. An audit of your website will show you whether it is time for an adjustment and how far the revision should go.

An audit will answer the following questions, for example

1. How much visibility does your website generate among your target groups?
2. How successfully are you generating leads from these target groups?
3. How can you further improve the performance of your website?

Many companies realise that they should revise their website. However, they cannot say exactly whether it has to do with the somewhat outdated design, the technical performance or perhaps the content.

The result of the audit gives you a clear basis for decision-making. You can decide with a clear conscience whether you should comprehensively revise the website or whether moderate adjustments are sufficient to achieve your goals.

The 5 Elements of a Website Audit

Briefly summarised: A website audit is a combination of quantitative data and qualitative analysis. 

A good audit provides a comprehensive view of the technical health of the page, the visibility generated, user navigation, design and content. 

HeadStarterz regularly analyses websites based on the most important parameters. The full audit includes the following parameters:

1. Technical Performance
2. Visibility and User Acquisition (SEO)
3. User Guidance and Lead Generation
4. Design (Branding)
5. Content and Positioning

In certain of these areas, it is worth taking a look at the competition. This comparison helps to categorise the results of your own audit. 

Let's take a closer look at the individual parameters.

1. Technical Performance

The audit begins with a technical analysis. There are many search engine optimisation (SEO) tools that can be used to generate reports on the most important factors. Checks, such as the Semrush site audit, give you an overview of the ‘health’ of your website. These checks can reveal, for example, incorrect links, poor page titles, duplicate content or loading times that are too long. These are all factors that influence the performance of your website in search engines.

You don't have to be a developer to do this. However, it helps if you analyse and classify the results with an expert.

A competent partner will support you in making informed decisions. This way, you can correct any errors and really make an impact with the website redesign.

Special attention should be paid to technical performance:

• Do the website's internal and external links work?
• Does the website load fast enough (desktop and mobile)?
• Are the accessibility standards complied with?
• Is the website responsive on all devices?
• Are the other programming best practices adhered to?

2 Visibility and User Acquisition (SEO)

An important function of a website is the acquisition of users. Websites that are found for the relevant search queries continuously generate new contacts. Put simply: More visibility = more opportunities for new business. 

2.1 Overall Performance

We analyse how users find your website and where they come from. We differentiate between the following sources:

• Direct
• Organic
• Social
• Email
• Referral
• Paid

Organic traffic is particularly interesting for visibility. These are the clicks that landed on your website via the search engines. These are users who started a search on Google, for example, and found your page in the results.

2.2 Content Analysis

One level deeper, we analyse the content on the website. Which pages perform well and which content tends to fall off?

Pages that achieve many organic clicks generate visibility among (new) contacts. 

These pages are so-called ‘landing pages’. They are the gateway for users to your website and other content. These pages must be optimised so that users are motivated to click through or take other actions (‘call-to-action’). For many (but not all!) websites, the homepage generates the most clicks. Topic-specific content (blog articles, FAQs, etc.) is also often valuable. These acquire many users via search engines who are not yet familiar with the company.

Users who land on these pages also have a proven need for information. Otherwise, they would not have searched the internet for relevant keywords. This makes the users who land on these topic-specific pages particularly interesting.

Analysing the content also includes an overview of the search queries for which the website is found. This makes it possible to determine whether the page sufficiently covers the relevant keywords or whether search queries of important target groups are not taken into account. 
 

This reveals relevant gaps. You may be missing out on important business here. 
 

Helpful tools: Google Analytics (GA4) and Google Search Console are the best-known tools in this phase. However, you can also use other analysis tools. GA4 in particular is very complex and not very clear at the beginning.

3. User Guidance and Lead Generation

In the third step, we analyse what happens on the website. This is no longer about acquiring users, but about how they are guided through the content and navigation elements on the website.

User guidance (UX/UI design) is one of the core tasks of web design today. A website is carefully designed: Where do users arrive? What information do they need at this point? How is the content of the website interlinked? Where do we place ‘call-to-actions’ (see below)? Which design elements best support our goals? etc.

Of course, many users don't click through the entire website and quickly leave again. Nevertheless, you should manage to develop interested people into leads. This requires opportunities for engagement in the right places. Such so-called ‘call-to-actions’ are, for example, opportunities to register for a newsletter, download forms for guidelines, webinar registrations, contact forms or others.

It is important to understand how users are currently behaving on your page. The audit gives you an overview of how your website is performing in this area and where there is potential for optimisation.

Your website should not be a dead end.

Give your users the opportunity to obtain in-depth information and network with your brand. This requires a fully thought-out user journey and the corresponding graphic and content realisation.

This is important in this phase:

• Clear goals and deliberate ‘user journeys’
• Core messages tailored to the needs of the target group
• Optimised landing pages
• Attractive ‘call-to-actions’
• Internal links

4. Design (Branding)

Of course, the design of your website also plays an important role. The design has a significant influence on how your target groups perceive your brand and how much credit you receive from them.

Website design is a demanding discipline. In addition to general rules dictated by the format, the page should reflect your brand identity and appeal to the relevant target groups.

Here are 3 tips for good branding for companies. 

The audit provides you with feedback on how your company currently appears to the outside world through the design of the website. This enables a comparison with the intended brand identity and the needs of the target groups. You will find out whether the design of your website is helping you to achieve your goals or whether an update is required.

The following points are important here:

• Branding guidelines
• Brand identity
• Needs of the target groups
• Modern, fresh design
• General principles of web design

5 Content and Positioning

The website should effectively communicate your company's value proposition. In this area, we analyse whether the core messages on the page are clear, coherent and effective.

Does the website communicate why it is worthwhile for the target groups to work with you? Does it show why talented employees should join your team? And does your website show what sets you apart from the competition?

Many companies communicate far too generically. They don't dare to clearly address the specific pain points of their target groups. They fear that this could exclude other customer groups.

The audit therefore also shows where the messaging on the website should be more precise, which messages are not received or are missing completely. Another common mistake on websites is the amount of text. Websites are quickly overloaded. This leads to content being ‘scrolled over’, not taken in or simply clicked away. This is also uncovered in an audit.

This is important in terms of content and positioning:

• The company's value proposition
• Needs of the relevant target groups
• Clarity and coherence of the core messages
• Language and wording

Conclusion of the Website Audit

In order to categorise the findings, certain results can be compared with the performance of the most important competitors. For example, for which keywords are they found? Or how is the messaging on their website organised?

The result of the audit should not only be to find out whether the website needs to be revised. Many companies that commission an audit already know that they need to revise the page. The key questions are what needs to be done effectively and what will actually bring improvements.

The audit formulates clear recommendations and specifies what is important for the revision.

How HeadStarterz Can Help

We regularly analyse websites, formulate recommendations and implement optimisations (content and design) ourselves.

As an external company, we approach an audit with the necessary distance. This outside perspective is necessary for many companies in order to eliminate ‘blind spots’. 

Perhaps this article will help you to carry out certain analyses yourself - all the better. If you need support in categorising the results or deepening the analysis, you are welcome to contact us at any time.

For more information: hello@headstarterz.com