How Often Should You Perform a Technical SEO Audit?

Technical SEO audits sound fancy, but they’re pretty much your website’s health check-up.

If you’ve been wondering how often you should be getting your site checked out, you’re not alone.

And no, a one-time audit isn’t going to cut it. So, let’s look into the how, when, and why of SEO audits.

What’s the Big Deal About SEO Audits?

Your website is just like a car. You wouldn’t just drive it until the wheels fall off, right? Same goes for your website.

A technical SEO audit is basically a way of making sure that your website is running smoothly and isn’t about to break down and affect your rankings in Google’s search results.

An SEO audit looks for issues like:

  • Broken links: These are like paths that lead to dead ends, confusing both users and search engines.
  • Slow page load times: If your pages take too long to load, users won’t stick around, and neither will Google.
  • Mobile usability: If your site doesn’t work well on mobile, you’re missing out on a huge portion of traffic and rankings.
  • Duplicate content: Having multiple pages with identical or similar content confuses search engines and dilutes your site’s relevance. It’s like having the same conversation with someone over and over again.

So, How Often Should You Perform an SEO Audit?

1. Small to Medium Sites (Under 50 Pages)

For sites that aren’t constantly changing, you should do a full audit at least every 6 months.

If you’re running a simple blog or a small business site that doesn’t get a ton of new content, you don’t need to be checking everything every month.

A twice-yearly audit should catch the big issues, like broken links, slow loading times, or missing alt text.

2. Large or Growing Sites (50+ Pages)

If you’ve got a larger site or a site that’s growing fast with lots of new pages being added regularly, then you’ll want to be more on top of things. In this case, you should aim for quarterly audits.

That way, you can catch any issues that pop up as your site expands. Trust me, it’s way easier to fix small things along the way than it is to do damage control when your site gets hit by Google penalties.

3. E-commerce Sites

If you’re running an e-commerce site, SEO audits should be a regular part of your routine. Every 3 months should be the bare minimum.

E-commerce sites are constantly adding new products, updating pages, and dealing with inventory changes. Add in the extra challenge of product descriptions being recycled or duplicate content, and you’ve got a recipe for potential SEO disaster if you don’t audit regularly.

4. Websites That Update Content Often (News Sites, Blogs)

If you’re frequently adding new blog posts, news articles, or other content to your site (think daily or weekly), you should be doing a mini audit every month.

With a high frequency of content updates, you risk missing out on technical SEO issues that can stack up fast. Keeping an eye on things monthly ensures you’re not letting little problems slip under the radar.

Check out the table below for a clear overview of recommended audit frequencies for different types of websites.

Website TypeRecommended FrequencyDescription
Small to Medium Sites (Under 50 Pages)Every 6 monthsSites with fewer changes, basic checks on broken links, speed, and mobile responsiveness.
Large or Growing Sites (50+ Pages)Quarterly (every 3 months)Larger, frequently updated sites need more regular check-ins for issues like duplicate content.
E-commerce SitesEvery 3 monthsE-commerce sites that are constantly adding products and updating inventory.
Websites That Update Content Often (News Sites, Blogs)Every monthHigh-frequency publishers should audit regularly to catch issues with new content or missing meta tags.

When to Do an
Ad-Hoc Audit

Wrapping Up

So, how often should you be performing a technical SEO audit?

The short answer is: as often as your site needs it.

For most sites, a couple of audits a year will keep things in check. But if you’ve got a bigger site, or if you’re making regular updates, you’ll want to audit more often.

Tech SEO Pros
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