In the last step of your SEO audit, you check the development of your visitor traffic and the current rankings of your website. To do this, call up the target group overview in Google Analytics (“Target group” -> “Overview“).

Google Analytics: Organic Traffic Filter
“Targeting Group” > “Overview” > “Organic Visitors”

Replace the selection “All users” with “Organic visitors“. This way you only record the visitors to your website who clicked on your website through the search results.

You check the period of your analysis in the last 12 months.

If your search engine optimization was successful, then the organic traffic of your website has consistently increased over the past year. This is a good sign. It means that the optimizations of the last year were successful and you are moving in the right direction.

Perfect Traffic Development in Google Analytics

However, not every website is so lucky. For example, your traffic chart could look like this:

Traffic Loss after a Google Algorithm Update in Google Analytics

In June 2019, the traffic of this website collapsed in an enormous way. As a webmaster, it should be in your own interest to find out what problem led to this loss.

It may be a technical problem that you have already explored during this SEO audit. But maybe your domain was/is also affected by a Google Update. Unfortunately, Google does not notify the public about every single adjustment to the algorithm. To find out if and why your domain was affected by a Google update, it takes some research.

Warnings on Google Updates by SEO Tools

One possibility is to access the Google algorithm database of various SEO tools. Providers, such as Moz or Semrush, record all public announcements of the search engines and display them in a clear listing.

If you use Semrush for your traffic analysis, you will receive a list of announced Google updates from the respective month by clicking on the Google icons.

Semrush-Google-Algorithm-Hint

Alternatively, you can use Google Search to find lots of information about a Google algorithm update or unconfirmed adjustments.

Hint about Google Algorithm Update in Search Result

If you have found an update in the period of the traffic update, you can inform yourself about the causes and take countermeasures. A look at the comments or blogs of SEO Experts is worthwhile to get additional opinions. For Updates that happened long ago in the past, there is a chance to find concrete solutions that can lead to a quick recovery of your traffic.

If there is no indication of a Google update, your website is most likely affected by a technical problem. It could also be that a new competitor has replaced you from the most important positions.

Discover new keywords & topics!

If your traffic has been stagnating for months, you should look for ways to rank for new keywords. A Keyword research can help to open up new traffic sources. Analyze the top keywords for your competition. See what your competition does better and which keywords you do not cover on your website yet.

Semrush Competition Keyword Research
Tools like SemRush help to quickly determine the top keywords of the competition

Our tip: Pay attention to the search intention of a specific keyword and only offer content if you can provide your reader’s search query with valuable information.

Also, check which contents of your website are no longer up to date and could possibly be refreshed with current information. This brings us to the last step of our SEO audit, the content audit.