Best Website Audit Software

It is important for webmasters and SEO specialists to have accurate and reliable website audit software in their array of tools. Good website audit software gives flexibility in checking all potential SEO issues, clarity on how to fix them, and ease of use in handling these issues and fixes.

Today, the market abounds in all kinds of website audit tools that differ in the scope of tasks and capacities. The guide outlines the benefits of website audit tools, and what issues should be addressed during a website audit. It also shows how tools allow for making comprehensive and usable reports.

What Is Website Audit Software?

Search optimization starts with analyzing the current state of a web resource, and website audit software helps to accomplish this task. Such programs crawl through the entire site and pinpoint different kinds of issues that come in conflict with SEO best practices - broken links, duplicate content, empty meta tags, crawl errors, slow loading speed, and everything that spoils a website’s good functioning on the web.

Website audit software is able to scan all types of resources: URLs, HTTP responses, multimedia files, entire HTML, CSS, Javascript codes, and more. The software creates custom SEO reports that website owners can use for adding the required fixes. Such changes are aimed to improve the website’s performance and user experience and, therefore, bring more traffic and conversions.

Who Uses Site Audit Software?

Website audit tools may sound like a specialized term for tech-savvy people. However, such software can be used by various specialists depending on their purposes, including:

1. Website Owners

   Website owners use SEO site audit software to uncover existing issues, plan future work to be performed on their website, as well as to assess the tasks done during the finalization of a website launch or a redesign.

   First and foremost, website owners value clear and comprehensive reports that can show how a website performs upon a completed audit.

2. Digital Marketers

   Digital marketers use website audit tools to hold technical checkups and optimize their content. The software allows them to carry out various digital marketing techniques helping to boost traffic and get more leads.

   Another crucial part of a digital marketer’s work is the analysis of the conversion funnel, user experience, behavior, etc. Also, website auditing tools are indispensable in analyzing the market, online competition, and brands’ online presence. All this helps digital marketers to finetune and back their marketing strategies.

3. SEO Agencies and Consultants

   SEO agencies use website audit software to analyze their clients’ websites and identify opportunities for improving rankings and traffic. Pretty often, a website audit comes as a free option offered to potential SEO clients.

   SEO agencies and consultants use detailed and flexible reports from website auditing software to analyze all potential issues. Also, it is vital for them to have beautifully looking reports and clear dashboards that can explain the benefits or potential savings to their customers.

4. Webmasters

   Webmasters use website audit tools to find technical on-page issues and improve a website’s performance. Webmasters rely on highly detailed reports from powerful crawlers able to detect every problematic resource.

   Besides, webmasters use automated website auditing tools to regularly monitor performance and ensure that no slowdowns or blackouts occur in the site’s internal workings. It is vital for webmasters to see alerts in time to make fixes asap, which is why they want accurate and reliable software.

Benefits of Best Website Audit Software

Website audit software brings a lot of benefits to website owners, helping to ensure the stable work of the web resource. Here are some of the main benefits of applying site audit tools:

1. Improved Website Performance

   A timely website audit lets website owners identify potential issues and add fixes without disrupting its work. Site audit software ensures that the website operates smoothly during a sharp influx of users, for example, during seasonal sales. Also, businesses can rest assured that their products or services will be accessible to their target audiences in different countries or to people with a bad Internet connection.

2. Enhanced User Experience

   Websites with a lot of technical issues will only leave users frustrated. Website audit software helps improve a site’s user experience by finding and fixing issues, for example fixing page speed, unloadable resources, broken links, or poor website navigation. Good user experience means decreased bounce rates and improved conversion rates and, finally, happy users who want to return to the web resource again and again.

3. Better Search Engine Rankings

   Website audit software can help pinpoint issues that directly impact organic rankings, such as unoptimized meta title tags, duplicate pages, or poorly optimized content. Let alone, a clean technical setup is part and parcel of modern-day SEO, without which a website will hardly get to the top of the SERPs.

4. Comprehensive Technical Analysis

   Website audit software allows checking all SEO issues automatically, which saves you time and money without the need to go blindly and find and fix every issue manually. Most website audit tools send automated reports and alerts in case an issue is detected. 

   Many site audit tools compile tips and offer their own glossaries and knowledge bases. So, it must not be a hard time for website owners to see the seriousness of the issues and prioritize tasks to do.

5. Enhanced Website Security

   A well-coded website protected by a secure connection is a must-have for e-commerce websites. SSL certificates, strong password checks, and protection from SQL injections are a must if a website accepts payments and stores user data. Security signals make part of website authority and strengthen its reputation as seen by users and search engines.

   All in all, anyone who manages a website comes to use some website audit software, either to launch a web resource or to check how it works after a while. The necessity to do some sort of site audit is undeniable, and the benefits are evident.

Features of the Best Website Audit Software

Site audit software is first aid for SEOs who need to discover why certain SEO errors happened, which is why such tools must be able to perform a truly wide range of tasks. Some of the most typical features of website auditing software include -

1. On-Page SEO Analysis

   On-page SEO is the most important component influencing rankings. Website audit tools analyze meta tags, content, and website architecture. Usually, at this step, website audit tools help to identify duplication issues, thin content, broken internal links, empty alt tags, etc. Among other things, on-page audit software shows keyword optimization scores of content and provides basic insights for landing page optimization.

2. Technical Site Audit

   A technical site audit is an essential part of an SEO checkup that covers all technical aspects: the setup and technical files such as sitemap and robots.txt directives, crawlability issues, site speed, accessibility, mobile-friendliness of the website, and more.

   Technical site audit tools allow us to identify those issues that might be not so critical to rankings. However, fixing them is likely to help improve rankings and user experience on the website.

3. Site Performance Evaluation

   A site performance check is part of a broader technical site audit that addresses the issues of site load speed, visual stability, accessibility, and other technical factors that may break user experience or become the reason for website downtime. Site performance software lets us analyze the size and loading speed of its resources, HTTP responses and caching, the work of interactive elements such as fill-in forms or buttons, etc.

4. Backlink Analysis

   Backlink analysis is an important step when link audit tools assess what web resources link to the website and how strong its backlink profile is. Backlinks are a strong ranking factor for web pages. Besides, the backlink profile is part of a website’s authority and trust profile, which is linked to the website’s general ability to rank for this or that keyword in a certain niche.

   Last but not least, low-quality incoming and outgoing links may result in algorithmic or manual penalties in Google. So, backlink analysis ensures that the site has no ranking issues because of links.

5. Competitor Analysis

   Website audit software lets marketers carry out thorough competitor research. Simply by analyzing a competitor’s website, one may get insights into their SEO strategies, techniques, and hacks they use to reach better rankings.

   Moreover, the best website audit software should contain competitor research features that let SEOs tap into competitive data analytics and get actionable insights. Such features include rank tracking, keyword gap analysis, backlink gap analysis, the discovery of organic competitors through SERP analysis, etc.

6. Security and Vulnerability Scanning

   Advanced professional site auditing software contains features to pinpoint potential security threats. Such audits help to prevent server downtime, security breaches, or complete data losses.

   Lying in the field of web development, security and vulnerability scanning is linked to SEO in such a way that it ensures a stable operation of a website in search results. Some commonplace website audit tools cover checkups of secure certificates, server misconfigurations, dynamic code analysis, etc.

7. Integration and Export Options

   Export options and integration possibilities should also be a top priority feature when choosing the most suitable website audit tools. As SEO involves working with data in sheets, site audit software must allow the export of data in CSV format and to Google Sheets. Integration with Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Looker Studio will allow SEOs to complement data and transfer it easily between sources for deeper insights.

   Moreover, integration to third-party apps and APIs augments website software’s potential for doing any SEO task imaginable. That is why export and integration opportunities are often high-demand paid features of professional site audit tools.

How to choose the right Website Audit tools?

The choice of the right website audit software depends on the scope and scale of work to be performed on the website. Find below a few basic aspects to consider when choosing between the best SEO site audit software:

1. Features and Capabilities

   First of all, consider what features and capabilities you need for your work. Website audit software can cover only one aspect of SEO, for example, only on-page analysis and content optimization or only technical audit. Alternatively, it can be an all-in-one tool with extra functionalities beyond SEO, for example, a tool containing all of the above plus link building tools, marketing analytics, etc. As these extra functionalities also mean higher pricing, one needs to weigh up the tasks and budgets.

2. Ease of Use

   When choosing your first site audit software, take notice if there are manuals and how-to guides available. The software may have on-hover tips and lead to knowledge bases. Ideally, a good tool can be used intuitively, without a long learning curve.

3. Accuracy and Reliability

   The sources of data, ongoing maintenance of software, timely updates, and responsive support are highly important. In the world of big data, information is valuable when it is correct and delivered timely and in a clear way.

   For software’s accuracy and reliability, in the first place, it is necessary to check if there are fresh bug fixes and version updates available, and if the team responds to user requests properly.

4. Customization and Flexibility

   Truly good website audit tools are universal and flexible. It means that anyone can set up the tools to deliver site audit data in the most suitable way. It means the freedom of selecting any metrics or SEO data you would like to investigate. Also, it means the possibility to scale as your business grows without changing substantially the daily routine to which you are accustomed.

List of Top 5 Website Audit Software Comparison

There is a big number of SEO auditing tools catering to anyone’s needs, from small SEO businesses to large agencies. Here is the list of 5 popular site auditing tools for you to consider when you are planning a thorough website audit:

1. Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog is a powerful website audit tool that helps identify technical errors, audit content, and visualize site architecture. This desktop app has all the flexibility to run website crawls and discover issues sitewide or in certain directories, or to focus only on the issues you are interested in. 

Screaming Frog has great functionality to create custom reports allowing you to pull out the SEO data you need. It has plenty of technical tools that enable webmasters to do their work with no fuss: generate sitemaps, analyze log files, examine SEO errors in visualized graphs, or compile lists of on-page issues ready for extraction. 

On the flip side, the interface may look a bit overburdened with so many features, windows, and charts. But this is what really makes it a highly customizable website audit tool – it allows you to pinpoint every little issue preventing your site from ranking well.

Pricing

• Free and Paid – $259 per year

2. SEO PowerSuite

SEO PowerSuite is a bundle of four SEO tools each aimed at solving a particular aspect of search optimization: Rank Tracker for checking organic positions and keyword research, WebSite Auditor for fixing on-page and technical issues, SEO SpyGlass for checking backlinks and doing SEO competitive research, and LinkAssistant for link building outreach and email marketing.

The main tool designed for technical SEO analysis is WebSite Auditor which is a powerful website analysis tool with a lot of custom tasks. It checks the site and its pages for technical errors and content issues. The app also has website tools to generate XML sitemaps and robots.txt directives.WebSite Auditor also has a separate Visualizations module, overviewing site architecture where you can inspect internal linking, plan adding new pages, and optimize navigation.

Pricing

• Free version available
• Professional $299 per year for the full pack
• Enterprise $499 per year for the full pack

Or

WebSite Auditor as a standalone product

• Professional $125 per year
• Enterprise $299 per year

3. Semrush

Semrush is high-end software for full-cycle SEO, containing keyword research tools, competition research, and technical website audit features. The software is suitable for large enterprises, as it offers SEO agency solutions, automation, and team collaboration for multiple user seats.

The site audit tool in Semrush provides plenty of data on crawlability and on-site errors in concise, easy-to-grasp dashboards. The tool estimates site SEO health, performance, and Core Web Vitals scores. It also checks structured data and provides guidelines for local or international SEO.

Though the site audit tool may seem expensive, Semrush is much more than SEO software, as it adds data from social media and analytics, as well as provides functionalities for influencer research and content marketing.

Pricing

• Pro: $ 129.95 per month
• Guru: $ 249.95 per month
• Business: $ 499.95 per month
• Semrush also provides a 7-day free trial

4. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is another robust website audit software with a wide range of features to help improve website performance. Ahrefs includes keyword tools, site audits, backlink analysis, and content optimization. It has beautiful SEO dashboards reporting on website traffic, organic positions, and links, which makes it a popular choice among SEO professionals.

The interface is easy to navigate through and shows tons of insightful metrics. Ahrefs’ proprietary metric DR (Domain Rating) is widely shared among link-builders. Its site auditing features allow SEOs to spot lots of technical errors which you would not find manually.

Ahrefs estimates a site health score and an overview of issues, which is great to report to website owners. It shows all errors distributed by type (faulty redirects, crawl errors, page not found, and more) and has advanced filters that enable deeper inspection. It is possible to schedule site audits and keep the project history to see the progress of your website performance.

Pricing

• Lite: $99 per month
• Standard:  $179 per month
• Advanced:  $399 per month
• Agency:  $999 per month

5. Siteimprove

Siteimprove is a cloud-based suite of tools for content optimization and brand management. It is a content management system, and to get started, you will need to set up a tracking code for gathering analytics. Apart from collecting on-page data of all your content inventory, it audits the website for accessibility and compliance with policies defined in the software.

Siteimprove highlights errors like broken links, misspellings, user-friendliness, content freshness, etc. It allows users to check and recheck a single page, a group of pages, or the entire site, and generate a report.

It has different levels of access in different roles, with one user able to manage different domains through its account.

Beyond web analytics, Siteimprove contains an SEO Professional module that takes care of the website’s SEO health. The tool assists in creating optimized content that will be easily discovered by search engines. It also provides keyword tips on optimizing relevant pages to get more visibility.

Pricing

• Quotes are sent upon request

Challenges of Website Audit Software

Website audit software can be a valuable helping hand for companies. However, one should be aware of the challenges that go together with such tools. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Data Accuracy and Completeness

   Most website audit tools rely on data from open sources, proprietor databases, and third-party tools that provide stats via connectors and API. Pretty often, data may have certain variations or even be insufficient, due to limited access, frequency of updates of databases, or thresholding applied to big data. 

   For example, you can often see mismatches between stats on organic traffic in Google Analytics and SEO traffic checkers. Or different SEO tools may show different search volumes.

   In any case, these SEO stats can be considered as an approximate value to estimate certain trends rather than be taken for granted. If you notice discrepancies, it is recommended to compare results with different site audit tools and recheck the freshness of data sources.

2. Interpretation Complexity

   Most website audit software requires at least beginner knowledge to be able to interpret crawl results. However, for accurate work of web resources, deep technical SEO expertise is necessary. Most SEO tools provide tips, how-to guides, and knowledge bases to start using the reports the right way. However, some tools may have steeper learning curves than others.

   Before purchasing some site audit software, keep in mind that other employees may need additional training or onboarding.

3. False Positives and Negatives

   Sometimes, website audit software may generate false reports, identifying SEO issues that are not actually problems. And vice versa, the crawler may have not reached the very last resource and have not discovered all the issues.

   It is recommended to recheck the settings of the website crawl and see if there are no restrictions on the scan depth. If there are any, they can be removed with custom settings. When you are sure that the SEO errors have been fixed, but the site audit software keeps indicating there is an issue, probably, another recrawl will help eliminate the problem.

   However, keep in mind that it takes deeper expertise to estimate where the problem rests and whether the issue is really urgent or existent.

4. Limited Access to Certain Websites

   Some webmasters prefer to block unknown crawlers to prevent excessive website crawling. In this case, a site audit crawl may get ‘access blocked’ warnings, although the web resource is operating properly.

   In general, website audit software is valuable for website owners and businesses, but all information from there needs human supervision. To make the right choice of SEO tools, it is crucial to estimate your needs, budgets, and possibilities to track and implement all the tips.

Latest Trends in Website Auditing Software

Just like SEO, website audit software is constantly evolving, as time demands for more ample tools to ensure good quality. Typically, some newer features in website audit tools are related to enhanced reporting, automation, and new factors that appear to become increasingly important for search.

Thus, some of the latest trends appearing in website audit tools include:

1. AI-Powered Auditing

   With the rise of AI-powered tools, such as OpenAI, Bingbot, and Bard, SEOs learned how to use AI to implement SEO tasks. Although AI tools have little to no access to real-life web crawling, some SEO tasks for website audit can already be done pretty successfully, such as summarization of content, creation of structured data markup, etc.

   The quality of AI-powered website auditing is still dubious and heavily depends on how good the prompts are. There are already hundreds of lists of prompts for AI-powered SEO tasks, which should be used with caution. It is necessary to have adequate SEO skills to assess if the AI-powered results are accurate.

2. Voice Search Optimization

   Voice search optimization is not new to SEO, but it has the potential to do more for websites' visibility. More than half of web users come to web search from mobiles, with many of those using voice assistants. It means that the websites that optimize for voice search have more chances to outrank their competitors on Google for such queries.

   To optimize for voice search, SEOs use long-tail keywords, target question-like queries, focus on mobile optimization, apply markup for structured data, etc.

   Among all, Google added accessibility of a website to its page performance reports, highlighting that the means of accessing a web page is also important. In the first place, it relates to people with impaired vision who access the web through screen readers. Here, alt attributes are one of the crucial SEO hacks that enhance access to visual information.

3. Focus on Core Web Vitals

   Since 2021, Google has used Core Web Vitals assessment to rank websites. Core Web Vitals score is directly linked with the user experience on a web page, which, in its turn, may correlate with search engine rankings.

   The overall page experience has been a ranking signal for over a decade. And now, it has shaped into a fully-fledged report with precise thresholds, criteria, and scores.

   Improving Core Web Vitals will not necessarily result in a ranking boost. However, bad CWV scores almost for sure go side by side with declining rankings. This is why SEOs use website audit software or free tools, like Lighthouse or Google Search Console, to take care of the issues.

4. Data Privacy Compliance

   Data privacy has been an increasingly hot topic for the last decade. Compliance with data privacy laws, such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is fundamental to avoid penalties and retain users’ trust.

   Today, almost every website warns us about cookies. The reinforcement of privacy regulations has increased the value of security and users’ data as it is. It also forced the providers of web technologies to change their approach to collecting and storing user data.

   Although website audit tools do not undermine privacy and use an anonymized mode of check, they should just as well meet the same requirements for user data protection.

Conclusion

No matter what type of business or activities you run, a regular website audit is a must-have that can boost your online visibility and bring hot leads. By using the right website audit software, you ensure that no issue is left unattended, and your site operates properly. This will help you reach better SEO goals and be effective on search engines.