Forensic SEO is one of the main areas in which SEO has truly evolved over the past 10 years. Now it seems like everyone knows about this practice. Unfortunately, there’s still some confusion about it though.
Understanding the Basics
Although nobody knows where the term started, this form of SEO is about dealing with a website that’s lost its visibility whether it’s because of a manual action, the dampening effect (e.g. Penguin, Panda), on-site issues, or a combination of these things. This is why it’s so important to cover all the bases here, including data assessment, SEO changes to the website, changes to the website’s development or the host itself, external factors (e.g. link building), changes to Google’s algorithms, an evolving market, negative SEO, or the site’s integrity. The one thing all these things have in common is your website will lose visibility.
Discovering What’s Wrong with Your Website
When you want to start working on forensic SEO, you must start with a website SEO audit. Make sure you take a close look at manual actions here and dig through all the aforementioned points. Take time to isolate each of these areas and make notes about anything important you discover. Some of the key elements you’ll want to look at here include:
- Data: Here you must dig into the past as far as possible to see what you may have otherwise overlooked that’s negatively affecting your SEO. Oftentimes you won’t have many records to look back at though. This is because you may not have things like developer changelogs, SEO activity records and dates, or annotated analytics available to you. When this happens you’ll find yourself dependent upon your own instincts.
- Knee Jerk Reactions: Many times, you’ll find you’ve panicked and implemented a fix without considering its effects. You must make sure you address these things now separately from your original issue.
Working on Recovery
As you work your way backwards, you’ll eventually arrive at some solid leads regarding the issues. However, your website SEO audit isn’t the end because now you must work on recovery. Fortunately, when you’re dealing with manual actions things are rather straightforward since you know what the issues are, and you can now address them appropriately. This doesn’t make them any less scary, but at least you now have a starting point. You can use the data and information you must now cover as much ground as possible. Of course, you must maintain focus as you do so and implement one fix at a time and watch what happens when you do so. This could either have a positive effect or a negative one.
If you’re working on a website SEO audit for a client, it can be quite challenging to get them on board here. However, it’s vital for you to focus on your website’s health and listen to what information you have at hand. This is where the basics of forensic SEO lie. In all honesty, it’s a tough job but somebody needs to do it and if it’s your “job” you’re in for quite a roller coaster ride.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, forensic SEO can be quite painful. Many people who desperately need a website SEO audit are in need because they’re about to lose their business, their life savings, or more. This is why it’s something that’s best left in the hands of the professionals. Of course, you’ll want to find someone who’s truly passionate about it. With this in mind, you should know that the company you need is the Local SEO Company. So, when you’re ready to start the process, make sure you give them a call right away.
