What is an SEO Analysis? How to Evaluate and Improve Your Website’s Search Performance
If your website isn’t bringing in traffic, ranking well on Google, or converting leads, something might be off—and you won’t know what until you take a closer look. That’s where SEO analysis comes in.
At Alex Furfaro SEO Consulting, we use detailed SEO analysis to uncover what’s helping—or hurting—your site’s performance. Whether you’re a small business owner or a marketing manager, understanding what SEO analysis is and how to do it effectively can help you make smarter decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and grow your visibility online.
What Is SEO Analysis?
An SEO analysis is the process of evaluating how well your website is optimized for search engines. It involves a deep dive into technical structure, on-page content, backlinks, performance metrics, and keyword rankings to find opportunities for improvement.
Think of it like a health check-up for your website. Just as a doctor reviews your vitals, an SEO audit reviews:
- How search engines crawl and index your site
- Whether your content aligns with search intent
- Technical issues that impact speed or visibility
- Backlink quality and competitive positioning
The goal? To develop an action plan that helps your website rank higher, attract more traffic, and convert better. We can perform an SEO Analysis on your website by here.
Why SEO Analysis Matters
Even a beautifully designed website will struggle to rank if it has underlying SEO problems. SEO analysis shines a light on what’s working—and what’s not—so you can improve your performance.
Benefits of SEO analysis:
- Identify and fix technical issues hurting your rankings
- Uncover high-value keywords and content gaps
- Improve crawlability and user experience
- Analyze backlink profile and domain authority
- Stay competitive in a constantly changing search landscape
Without regular SEO analyses, you’re flying blind.
What’s Included in a Full SEO Analysis?
A comprehensive SEO audit touches every part of your website. Here’s what we typically evaluate at Alex Furfaro SEO Consulting:
1. Technical SEO Audit
Your site needs to be search-engine friendly at the code and server level.
Key areas to check:
- Crawlability: Can Googlebot access your content?
- Indexability: Are important pages showing up in search results?
- Sitemap & Robots.txt: Are they properly configured?
- Site Speed: Are your pages loading fast? (Check Core Web Vitals)
- Mobile-Friendliness: Does your site work on all devices?
- HTTPS & Security: Are you using SSL and secure protocols?
- Canonicalization: Are you avoiding duplicate content issues?
We use tools like Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, and GTmetrix to uncover these problems.
2. On-Page SEO Audit
Your content and page structure must be optimized to match what searchers want.
What we analyze:
- Title tags and meta descriptions
- URL structure
- Header tag hierarchy (H1, H2, H3…)
- Internal linking
- Image optimization (alt text, file size)
- Keyword usage and density
- Content relevance and freshness
This helps ensure your content is both readable for humans and understandable to search engines.
3. Content Audit
Content is the foundation of SEO. A content audit identifies what pages are helping your rankings—and what might be holding you back.
We evaluate:
- Pages with low or no traffic
- Duplicate or thin content
- Keyword cannibalization
- Outdated information
- Content gaps compared to competitors
- Alignment with search intent
We often recommend updating, combining, or removing content that’s not pulling its weight.
4. Keyword and Ranking Performance
You need to know which keywords you rank for, where you’re positioned, and what opportunities exist for growth.
We review:
- Current keyword rankings (desktop and mobile)
- Keywords you’re close to ranking for (positions 4–20)
- Branded vs. non-branded search visibility
- Local keywords (if applicable)
- Click-through rates from SERPs
- Search intent match for each keyword
Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Search Console give us detailed ranking insights.
5. Backlink Profile Analysis
Links from other websites still help rank your website —a lot. But not all backlinks are helpful. Some can even hurt your site if they’re toxic or spammy.
What we examine:
- Total number of referring domains
- Domain rating/authority of linking sites
- Anchor text distribution
- Lost or broken backlinks
- Spammy or low-quality links (which may need disavowing)
Backlink analysis helps you gauge site authority and trustworthiness—and prioritize link-building efforts.
6. Competitor SEO Comparison
You’re not just competing against the algorithm—you’re competing against other businesses in your niche.
In a competitive SEO analysis, we look at:
- Competitor keyword rankings and traffic estimates
- Their top-performing content
- Backlink profiles
- Content gaps where you can outrank them
- Site structure and UX comparisons
This gives you a clearer picture of where you stand—and what it takes to win.
How to Perform a Basic DIY SEO Analysis
If you’re just getting started, here’s a simplified process you can follow on your own:
- Run your site through Google Search Console
- Look for coverage issues, indexing problems, and keyword performance
- Check page speed with Google PageSpeed Insights
- Fix slow-loading pages and mobile issues
- Analyze on-page SEO
- Review title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and keyword use
- Audit your content
- Identify outdated or underperforming posts
- Use Ahrefs/Semrush to review backlinks
- Spot high-quality links and flag spammy ones
- Review Google Analytics behavior data
- Look for high bounce rates or exit pages
- Benchmark competitors
- See what keywords and content are driving their traffic
For more complex audits, it’s best to work with an SEO expert who can dig deeper and interpret the data.
When Should You Do an SEO Analysis?
SEO analysis shouldn’t be a one-time project. It should be part of your ongoing digital marketing strategy.
We recommend:
- A full SEO audit every 6–12 months
- Quick checks monthly or quarterly for key metrics
- After a major site update or redesign
- Before launching new content campaigns
- If traffic drops or rankings suddenly change
When to Bring in a Professional SEO Consultant
If you’ve run a basic audit but still feel stuck—or if the technical side of SEO is overwhelming—it’s time to call in SEO expert help.
At Alex Furfaro SEO Consulting, we provide:
- Comprehensive SEO audits with clear action steps
- Keyword and content gap analysis
- Competitor benchmarking
- Technical and on-page issue resolution
- Ongoing strategy and performance tracking
Our goal is to turn insights into impact—without fluff or guesswork.
Final Thoughts: SEO Analysis Is Your Roadmap to Growth
SEO analysis isn’t about checking boxes—it’s about understanding what’s holding you back and making informed decisions that move your site forward.
By regularly auditing your site’s performance, fixing what’s broken, and capitalizing on new opportunities, you can improve rankings, drive more traffic, and turn your website into a true business asset.
Need help getting started? Contact us for a free SEO consultation and let’s identify what’s working—and what needs work.
FAQ
How long does an SEO analysis take?
A basic audit can take a few hours. A comprehensive analysis with competitor and backlink data may take several days.
Can I do SEO analysis without paid tools?
Yes, to a degree. Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and PageSpeed Insights are free. But paid tools offer deeper insights.
What’s the difference between an SEO audit and SEO analysis?
They’re closely related. An audit is usually a one-time evaluation, while analysis may be ongoing and include strategy development.
Does SEO analysis improve rankings directly?
Not by itself—but the insights you uncover guide changes that improve your rankings.
What if my site looks fine but still doesn’t rank?
There could be hidden technical issues, weak content, poor backlinks, or misaligned search intent—all uncovered during a proper SEO analysis.
