How to Do a Website SEO Audit: The KonMari-Style

This method can be applied in various facets of life, from housekeeping to human relations. You can also apply it to your SEO tests

Why do you need an audit? One case study revealed that after assessing an entire website and implementing SEO techniques, traffic increased by nearly 45%. The audit involved an examination of every image, link and key SEO elements. Another audit, and subsequent SEO improvements, led to a rise in revenue by more than 330% in only six months.

Boost your search engine ranking by using the KonMari method in your SEO audit. Tidy up all at once, organize by category and discard keywords that no longer “spark joy”. Here is your guide on how to do an SEO audit, the Marie Kondo way.

Know your current state

If you have not read the Marie Kondos best-selling books, you may watch her first reality show on Netflix. At the start of each episode, Marie allows families to see the big picture by asking them to pile up their stuff in one area. Soon, there is a huge mountain of clothes on the bed that the families did not realize they accumulated over the years.

How to do an SEO website audit using the KonMari method? First, recognize your current state through a performance review based on the right metrics.

One of the strongest indicators of SEO performance is organic traffic. Check your month-over-month visitor traffic through search engines to know whether your rankings are improving. Then, track organic conversions to recognize the quality of your traffic. For easy assessment, setup conversion events in Google Analytics such as Making A Purchase, Email Subscriptions or Phone Calls.

Audit all at once

“If you use the right method and concentrate your efforts on eliminating clutter thoroughly and completely within a short span of time, you’ll see instant results that will empower you to keep your space in order ever after,” according to theKonMari book

This technique is also true for an SEO audit It is advisable that you test each page and element at one time because a single change can alter your website. An audit does not need to take weeks; you can do it several hours by following a simple process. Start by looking at the big issues affecting your ranking. It can be pages that are not indexing or slow load time. Then, move to each on-page problem.

For easier organizing, you can prepare a KonMari method checklist that lists down every single item in each of the 5 earlier-mentioned categories. This can help you recognize your present status and decide what to keep and what to throw away. “'Does this spark joy?' If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it. This is not only the simplest but also the most accurate yardstick by which to judge.”

Keywords in content, title and description tags are Google ranking factors for 2019. To help boost your ranking, conduct an extensive keyword analysis.

This will aid in deciding which keywords “spark joy” or contain value, and which to discard. When auditing keywords consider the search volume or how many people in a certain area use a certain keyword search for info. Do a competitor analysis and know how difficult it will be to rank for a certain keyword. You can do a manual analysis using free online tools that find, analyze and prioritize keywords. Big businesses use SEO platforms that automates keyword analysis.

One SEO audit case study that you can find useful involves a real estate company that needed to compete with countless other companies in this highly competitive industry. The SEO experts developed a strategy that focused on increasing search visibility for longer tail, conversion-focused keywords. After seven months, organic search traffic increased by 93.91% and the number of leads rose by 191.6%.

Discard links that contain no value

Marie Kondo teaches something more than efficiently managing your wardrobe. She shares a new lifestyle: one that focuses on only things that hold value to your life. More is not always better. It is important to identify the value in every single possession and let go of unnecessary things.

Links are essential SEO elements. Audit your website of all on-page links. High-quality internal links from authoritative pages on domain have a strong impact on search results ranking. The number of internal links to a page suggests its importance relative to other on-page links.

Google must be able to access crawlable link structures to find all pages on a website. One tip is to use only a few links between the homepage and any given page to allow link equity to flow throughout the entire website. This technique can help boost the ranking of your web pages.

Another SEO auditing tip is to check for broken links that are possible signs of neglected or abandoned sites. These do not help your ranking, as well as too many outbound links that may be distracting visitors from the main content.

Transform images into compact files

The KonMari method teaches a novel way of folding clothes. In her book, Marie Kondo recommends folding any garment into rectangle, making them compact for storage. The goal is to deflate clothe and maximize the amount you can store.
Apply the KonMari method in boosting your page ranking by knowing how to optimize images. Images that are too large and of low resolution can slow down load time, thus affecting search engine ranking. First, audit your web pages for unique images that are page-relevant. Discard unappealing photos that do not leave an impression. Second, let go of images that are poor in resolution. Then, compress each image into JPG format, which provides the best quality and the smallest file size. Next, scale down large image files to improve page speed for mobile and desktop. These will speed up the pages and improve your website ranking.

Marie Kondo suggests disposing even sentimental items that most people may have never thought of letting go. “The thought of disposing of them (sentimental items) sparks the fear that well lose those precious memories along with them. But you don’t need to worry. Truly precious memories will never vanish even if you discard the objects associated with them.” However, holding on to these can mean that you cannot let go and move on from your past.

Conduct a content audit

Conduct a full content audit of your website to discard of low-performing pages that might be dragging your site down.

Apply the KonMari method in boosting your page ranking by knowing how to optimize images. Images that are too large and of low resolution can slow down load time, thus affecting search engine ranking. First, audit your web pages for unique images that are page-relevant. Discard unappealing photos that do not leave an impression. Second, let go of images that are poor in resolution. Then, compress each image into JPG format, which provides the best quality and the smallest file size. Next, scale down large image files to improve page speed for mobile and desktop. These will speed up the pages and improve your website ranking.

Marie Kondo suggests disposing even sentimental items that most people may have never thought of letting go. “The thought of disposing of them (sentimental items) sparks the fear that well lose those precious memories along with them. But you don’t need to worry. Truly precious memories will never vanish even if you discard the objects associated with them.” However, holding on to these can mean that you cannot let go and move on from your past.

Conduct a content audit

Conduct a full content audit of your website to discard of low-performing pages that might be dragging your site down.

First, assess low-quality pages with minimal to no organic search traffic. Next, list these down and decide which can be improved and which to delete. Your first images and videos may have sentimental value to you, but these may be too large or need optimization. If a content can no longer be optimized or has been rendered irrelevant, it is better to let it go.

Set up a 301 redirect to a relevant page to avoid losing link equity.

What is a quality content? Google advises writing pages that clearly and accurately describe your topic. Write articles for people, not for search engines. Create unique, useful and appealing content. Ask yourself, “Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn't exist?”

There is a lot of data you can collect in a content audit. It is important to focus on those that are relevant to your goals. If you want to know the unique visits, you can track the traffic generated. Assess content relevancy by measuring the time on page and bounce rate, and user engagement through Likes, Shares and Comments.

Following KonMari in SEO doesn’t mean one audit is enough, but it lessen the small clean ups needed. “Tidy a little a day and you'll be tidying forever,” the decluttering guru wrote. It is encouraged to do a regular assessment of your webpages instead of a one-time Spring Cleaning. This will not only lighten the task of managing your website but also ensure that your pages are always optimized for page ranking. You also remember that search engines constantly update their algorithms and your web pages must be up-to-date with SEO trends.

After an audit process, experience a life-changing moment on your website.