With frequent updates to Google’s algorithms and constant changes to best SEO practices, it's important to keep an eye on your website performance and give your site a thorough checkup every now and again.
On Mevvy.com, we’ve dedicated a full category to such tools and apps because we believe that keeping your online image spotless is the most important of all tasks in marketing.
In this article you’ll find a step-by-step guide on how to best conduct these checkups, and how to make the most out of the results you get!
Step 1: Perform a Complete Background Check on Your Own Website
- Get a full technical report with Woorank, ahrefs, or Search Enabler.
- Produce a full analytics report with SimilarWeb.
- Run a comprehensive spell-check and link verification on your website with CheckDog.
Step 2: Verify the Proper Performance of Your Website
- Check whether your website displays correctly in all browsers with BrowserBite.
- Perform a speed test of your website load time with WebpageTest or APM Cloud Monitor.
- Get your latest [entity display="Google" type="organization" subtype="company" active="false" activated="false" deactivated="true" key="google" ticker="GOOG" exchange="NASDAQ" natural_id="fred/company/1821"]Google[/entity] Page Rank with PR Checker.
- Find out how your website looks on iOS devices with iPadPeek.
Step 3: Check the Web for Duplicate Content
- Use Plagspotter or CopyScape to find unauthorized copies of your website text.
Step 4: Ask Colleagues and Friends to Participate in a Short Test
- In order to understand what your website visitors actually see (and remember), set up a test with Clue.
Step 5: Analyze Your Strongest and Weakest Backlinks
- Extract the full list of backlinks with SEO Spyglass, Open Site Explorer, or Backlink Watch.
- Take note of specific keywords, and find out which page of [entity display="Google" type="organization" subtype="company" active="false" activated="false" deactivated="true" key="google" ticker="GOOG" exchange="NASDAQ" natural_id="fred/company/1821"]Google[/entity] or Bing results your website appears on for those terms by using ULancer Keyword Tool.
Now that you’ve collected the most vital information about your website performance, it is time to apply the same tools and apps to your biggest competitors’ websites. Go through Step 1 through 4 once again, applying these tools to your competition, and then compare the results.
Follow Up: Change What Can Be Improved, Keep and Adapt What Works
Having gone through numerous checks and tests has certainly created a long list of necessary amendments. Many of these changes will go hand in hand with the usability checklist on Userium. Use it to guide you in your improvements!
Once you’ve completed your to-do list, there are some other tools that can help you monitor your website’s performance -- even while on the go!
- If you are not sure about page versions, use Optimizely or Convert to conduct A/B tests.
- Install a heat map service like Crazy Egg to keep track of your visitors mouse movements and clicks on the site.
- Get a detailed demographic profile of your visitors with Social Engage.
- Keep monitoring your website performance via Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools.
Following these steps will certainly help you improve your search engine ranking, your conversion rate, and your overall website performance.
If you have had success with any apps or web tools other than the ones we’ve listed here, feel free to share them with us in the comments!
