Why are you offering a website or online store SEO audit that costs SO MUCH when your competition will do it for me "free of charge and with no obligation"? This question, while not terribly common, is also not uncommon. It's worth explaining the difference between a free and a paid SEO audit and why paid audits have different prices.
Website positioning is the most widely known marketing activity on the internet. In terms of awareness, it's only just beginning to be rivaled by advertising options on social media channels. At the same time, the mere recognition of positioning doesn't necessarily imply familiarity with the techniques and methodologies used in this area.
The average marketer wants to rank their website higher in Google , but they don't know how much work it requires and how many variables influence the final result.
Good to know…
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There are approximately 300 ranking factors that influence our website's position in search results based on individual keywords. Add to this the specific nature of a given industry and its customers, the actions of competitors, the nature and intention of keyword entry, and budgetary constraints, and you'll find that there are many places where we can simply stumble. This is where the SEO audit comes in – all in one piece!
SEO audit – what is it?
An SEO audit will help us understand the current positioning status of our website and provide a roadmap for future actions, both in terms of budget and time. Why? For greater visibility and business growth.
SEO Audit – Definition
An SEO audit is the process of assessing a website's compliance with search engine guidelines, such as Google. The goal of the audit is to identify errors and areas for improvement that may be hindering a website's ranking in search results.
An SEO audit typically covers the following areas:
- Technical analysis – evaluation of the website structure, HTML code, performance, security and search engine accessibility,
- Content analysis – assessment of the quality and relevance of the website content, as well as its search engine optimization,
- External link analysis – assessment of the quality and quantity of links leading to the website.
There are free and paid SEO audits. These can be conducted by an SEO specialist or independently using online tools.
We will address each of them later in the article.
SEO audit – what does it include?
Technical analysis
- Metatag check: assessing the correctness and relevance of the title and meta description,
- Page Duplicate Check: Identify and remove all page copies,
- Checking the page code: removing errors in the code that may prevent the page from loading correctly,
- Checking the indexability of the website: checking exclusions and access bans for web robots,
- Website mobility check: assessing the accessibility and comfort of using the website on mobile devices,
- Checking the page display speed: identifying and removing elements that delay page loading.
Content analysis
- Content check: assess the quality and relevance of the content, as well as its search engine optimization,
- Examination of the substantive content of the website: assessing whether the website contains the necessary data to enable users to find key information.
Link analysis
- Link profile check: assessing the quality and quantity of links leading to the website,
- Competition research: analysis of competing websites in terms of keyword selection, their placement on the page, the number and quality of texts, and the speed of the website.
Indications of changes
Free SEO audit from the inside
To be free, audits must require as little time, energy, and attention as possible from the person performing them. In practice, this means using a generator where you simply enter the address of the website you're auditing, and the rest "does itself."
The resulting document simply needs to be sent to the person interested in receiving the inspection. It's quick and hassle-free, making it a free service. So what's the catch?
Free SEO Audit – Disadvantages
Free SEO audits are highly standardized because they're performed automatically. They don't take into account the specifics of a given website—for example, a website might be criticized for being too "heavy" because it contains too many images, compared to a website showcasing an architect's or interior designer's portfolio.
They also don't address, for example, the technology used to conduct the review and its resulting limitations. Because such a review is often performed by the employee responsible for client acquisition, the SEO specialist's contribution to such an audit begins and ends with the design phase of the automated auditor.
It would be more accurate and fair to say that such automated audits primarily review the home page, not the entire website. This is evident, for example, in the meta tag evaluation, which refers to the home page.
Such automated audits can also contain information unrelated to SEO. If an SEO audit reveals that a website's weakness is its lack of social media links (social media presence is part of a company's image-building strategy, not SEO) or harshly criticizes the lack of an SSL certificate for a simple service website, then such a report isn't particularly credible ( an SSL certificate is currently important in the context of online stores, where it's strictly mandatory).
As a result, a free report like this should be considered a "freebie" with purchases – it's quite nice to receive it, but don't expect miracles. After all, a free SEO audit is free for a reason.
Paid SEO audit – from start to finish
The part describing the paid audit refers to the practice at Verseo and cannot be treated as universal for all interactive agencies.
Paid audits are conducted by an experienced SEO specialist . They perform them manually, using only tools that analyze things like link profile and mobile friendliness, rather than relying on a generator that delivers results on a plate. In the audit, they present issues specific to a given website, draw conclusions, and recommend appropriate actions.
To better understand a website, they can request access to Google Search Console, Google Analytics, CMS, or FTP . They're not afraid to praise properly functioning website elements. This manual audit also assesses the extent to which a given element impacts the website's indexing and whether changing it is necessary or optional.
SEO specialists use paid, PRO versions of auditing tools, which offer significantly more features than their free counterparts. The data these tools provide is a valuable contribution to the audit's content.
How much does an SEO audit cost?
The cost of an SEO audit depends on its scope.
- A basic audit costs approximately 1000 PLN. and covers the most important information on preparing a website for positioning.
- An extensive audit costs approximately PLN 2000. and additionally includes a detailed link analysis and an assessment of keyword potential.
- An advanced audit costs over PLN 2500 and includes all the elements of a basic and extensive audit, as well as detailed analyses of competition, keywords, visibility and recommendations for changes to the website.
What does an SEO audit cost for PLN 1000?
This audit focuses primarily on the website itself and includes aspects such as:
- analysis of meta tags for the home page and subpages relevant to the positioning process,
- analysis for uniqueness – no duplicates of the website, home page, possible correct redirection of the https version,
- analysis of the content on the website – its quantity, occurrence of duplicates, etc.,
- analysis of the HEAD section,
- analysis of the website's indexing capabilities by Google web robots,
- assessment of the website's mobile compatibility,
- assessment of the speed of website display,
- analysis of the website structure (friendly subpage addresses, number of subpages, etc.),
- standard link profile analysis.
What does an audit cost for PLN 1000-2000?
This is a more extensive version of the audit , taking into account what is in the basic version and supplemented with elements such as:
- detailed link analysis,
- detailed competition analysis,
- detailed analysis of keyword potential,
- detailed analysis of website visibility,
- indication of what can be changed within the website to make it better prepared for the process positioning.
In a situation where an SEO specialist has access to the website and/or Google Search Console, additional information may appear in the audit, such as:
- indication of the most interesting subpages for web robots, and therefore the most important ones for positioning,
- Google website indexing errors,
- website traffic data,
- tips on the need to redirect non-functioning subpages.
What does an advanced SEO audit cost over PLN 2500?
A very extensive version of the audit, including what is included in the two smaller versions, expanded with detailed analyses of competition, keywords, visibility, and recommendations for changes to the website.
If you have a complex service or e-commerce website and want to gain the most comprehensive understanding of where you are and where you should be heading, it's worth considering a comprehensive audit. The final cost of conducting one varies depending on the website's resources.
This type of audit is most often chosen by clients , because they want to immediately gain a full picture of the situation, as well as recommendations and a gradation of their significance.
An audit is usually the first step before ordering website positioning or approaching the topic yourself.
Why does an audit cost so much?
Very important factors influencing the cost of an audit are the size of the website (an audit of an online store will be more expensive than an audit of a service website, because the latter is much less extensive), as well as how extensive the review should be.
Elements that increase the cost of an audit include, for example, a detailed link profile analysis, competitive analysis, and detailed keyword analysis and related visibility. Naturally, the cheapest audit will be a service website, focusing primarily on the website itself, its optimization, and the possibility of being indexed by web robots. Such an audit is sufficient in many cases and provides the information needed to improve results.
A good SEO audit should include information on key optimization elements (meta tags, content, duplicate content, graphics, etc.), the site's crawlability, site mobility, and link profile (unless the audit is site-specific or the site is so recent that it hasn't received any links). It should also explain what the score achieved by that specific site means in practice.
The set of activities performed during an audit may vary depending on the specifics of a given website.
Want to commission an audit? Contact us!
Frequently asked questions about free and paid audits
A free audit is usually an automated report generated by a program (crawler) in just a few moments. It limits itself to identifying basic, often superficial errors, such as missing meta descriptions, H1-H6 heading errors, broken internal links (404 errors), or image size issues.
For a marketing agency, it's typically a sales tool (a lead magnet) that allows for initial contact with a client. For the website owner, it's merely a preliminary overview of the situation – the report provides an algorithmic breakdown of "what" is wrong, but doesn't explain the broader context or provide a ready-made strategy for fixing it.
A paid audit (ranging from PLN 1000 to PLN 2000, or more for large e-commerce sites) is a multi-hour, manual analysis conducted by an experienced SEO specialist. This document is not a collection of automated charts, but a personalized assessment that takes into account the specifics of the platform (CMS) and the company's specific business goals.
A professional audit is a comprehensive study that goes much deeper. It includes:
- Risk analysis and backlink profile verification.
- In-depth analysis of visibility against the background of real, direct competition.
- Keyword cannibalization detection and content quality assessment (Thin/Duplicate Content).
- Server log file analysis and advanced verification of indexing problems.
- Checking for errors that hinder the purchasing path and information architecture.
Free audits end with sending a PDF file. Paid audits typically include a prioritization of tasks (from critical to optional). The price often includes a face-to-face consultation with a specialist who explains technical complexities and prepares ready-made guidelines for your web developers and copywriters.
Purchasing a reliable audit is an absolute necessity in several situations:
- Before you start a permanent, expensive SEO contract (to know what the condition of the website is).
- When your website suddenly experiences a drastic drop in traffic or rankings in Google.
- When planning a website redesign or migration to a new store engine (to avoid losing existing traffic).
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- An SEO audit is an assessment of a website against search engine guidelines, including technical, content and external link analysis.
- The scope of the audit includes checking meta tags, duplicates, code, mobility, speed, content, link profile, competition and recommendations for improvement.
- The free audit is automatic, standardized, does not take into account the specifics of the site and usually only evaluates the home page.
- The disadvantages of a free audit include: lack of consideration for the website's technology, general recommendations, and low credibility due to information unrelated to SEO.
- A paid audit is performed manually by a specialist using professional tools, adapting the analysis to the specifics of the website and assessing the impact on indexing.
- Audit cost: basic around PLN 1000 and includes website analysis, extended around PLN 2000 and adds detailed link and competition analysis, advanced above PLN 2500 includes full analyses and recommendations.
