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Is It Worth Having An Automated SEO Audit?
Tools like Ahrefs and Semrush have become industry standards for affordable, accessible SEO audits for millions of site owners. And in their own ways, they can provide useful insights at base level.
But if you’re serious about boosting your SEO profile, climbing the ranks and growing your business, automated SEO audits simply don’t cut it.
Three key points to consider:
1. SEO Expertise Needed – Unless you have an SEO background, you're unlikely to get maximum (if any) value from the complex data returned by an automated audit system.
2. No Direct Strategy Alignment – Automated auditing software may provide generic insights and suggestions that have no alignment with your goals or KPIs.
3. A Static Snapshot – When an automated SEO audit is performed, it only reflects how your site is performing at that specific time, which may hold little practical value.
So while there’s nothing inherently wrong with automated SEO audits as a starting point, that’s really all they are. To gain the accurate, relevant insights you need to make informed long-term decisions, a thorough, professional SEO audit is the only viable option.
Why Professional SEO Audits Prevail
Far from an unnecessary cost, an expert SEO audit is a crucial investment in your visibility and appeal. One that could pay dividends, arming you with the insights you need to climb the rankings and outperform your competitors.
Here’s what makes manual SEO auditing a cut above the automated option:
1. It Focuses On Your Business – Not Static Metrics
What matters most with all forms of SEO is ensuring you get the best possible ROI. Subsequently, what matters most to one business might be less significant to another. While automated SEO typically focuses on several fixed metrics, manual SEO prioritises the specific metrics that mean the most to you.
Organic CTR, domain authority, bounce rates, leads, pages per session – your entire audit targets exactly what you’re most concerned about. Which in turns paves the way for better insights, and more informative decision-making.
2. It’s Broken Down for Easier Digestion
Unless you have a team of skilled SEOs with long-term experience, the complexities of an in-depth audit can be overwhelming. And if you can’t make sense of the data you’re presented with, it’s impossible to confidently assign tasks to web designers, content writers, and members of your marketing team.
With a professional audit, you receive a detailed but digestible SEO roadmap – a step-by-step guide on what to do next, which your entire team can understand. With everyone on the same page from day-one, the implementation process is much simpler.
3. It Takes Future Shifts Into Account
Crucially, a professional SEO audit ensures future factors are taken into account, which could influence your performance long-term. The most prevalent of which being inevitable updates to Google’s search algorithm, and the rapid rise of AI in web search.
A skilled, forward-thinking SEO can consider the likely future of the search market, and tailor your SEO roadmap to effectively future-proof your site. And with regular SEO auditing, it becomes possible to remain one step ahead of even the most significant events, negating the need for damage control in the wake of any major shifts.