Happy New Year to all our blog readers and posters. We had a great year 2009. Looking forward to an even better year in 2010. Hopefully we will reach new heights this year. We pleasantly noticed Google was kind to us in the last few days of 2009.. hopefully it will be kinder in 2010 not just to us but to all our clients as well. Happy New Year’s Web development and a Very Happy New Year’s Search Engine Optimization to everybody!
When you started your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign, you probably got a killer technical audit. You knew the details of every page. You knew where all the errors and redirects were coming from, where all the broken images were, where your site was lagging, and much, much more. And you fixed it.
But what has been done to the site since?
Many of your pages have likely been added or removed, tags modified, images removed. Maybe URLs changed, the site was redesigned, new sections were added, etc. Do you know where the site stands right now at SERPs? You should make sure your site is technically sound going into the New Year by taking the steps below:
Use Screaming Frog for Your Search Engine Optimization
You could run a Screaming Frog report to identify any existing errors, redirects, duplicate URLs, and/or canonical errors. You should also make sure you have the updated Google Analytics code on every page. Once you gather all your information, you can begin fixing any and all issues.
Check Google Webmaster Tools
Google Webmaster Tools is another good place to identify any errors on the site. Aside from the standard 404 errors you might see, you can also check for robots issues, server issues, and sitemap errors. If you have implemented Schema markup or Hreflang tags, Webmaster Tools will also provide information on both of those, showcasing any errors that may be occurring within those tags.
Update Google Analytics Goals
While it does not happen very often, we have seen cases in which goal URLs are changed or new forms are added and the proper tracking is not put into place. One of the beneficial things Google Analytics does is that it provides information on goal tracking. It will alert you if there are any drastic changes to your goal numbers or if it sees any irregularities within your account. Make sure to take a look at your goals to ensure the URLs are correct, are tracking properly, and you are not missing any important information.
Now, the basics like title tags, meta descriptions, and ALT text etc. may not be very high up on your list of SEO strategies, but you shouldn’t forget them either. Always good to tweak them a little here and there.
