Optimise your website with Google SEO Tools for Website Analysis

In this article:

• Improve your SEO with Free Google Optimisation Tools
• Google Search Console: A Powerful SEO Tool for Google Optimisation
• Google Optimisation Tools: PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse
• Improving Your Website’s Performance with PageSpeed Insights (PSI)
• Google Performance, Accessibility, Best Practice, and SEO Scores Explained
• Ensure Your Website is Optimised for Mobile Devices
• Google’s Mobile Friendly Checker
• Using Google’s Rich Results Test to Enhance Your Google SEO Visibility
• Improving Your Google Rankings with Schema Validator and Structured Data
• Using Google Analytics as part of a Comprehensive Website Analysis
• Getting SEO Expert Advice for your SEO Audit Recommendations

Improve your SEO with Free Google Optimisation Tools

As a webmaster, it’s crucial to ensure that your website is optimised to be eligible for Google SEO Ranking . With the ever-changing SEO landscape, it can be challenging to keep up with Google’s best practices. Fortunately, Google offers webmasters various free SEO tools to help them with SEO Audits and website analysis that can help them identify areas of improvement.

In this article, we’ll explore the various Google SEO tools that can assist you in optimising your website for better search engine ranking.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive guide on SEO audits and website analysis, you might want to check out BlueMagnet’s previous article which covers everything you need to know about website analysis. While the article also discusses third-party SEO audit tools available, we’ll be focusing specifically on the Google SEO tools in this piece. With Google SEO tools, you can perform a thorough website analysis, identify technical issues, and get recommendations on how to optimise your website for search engines.

Google Search Console: A Powerful SEO Tool for Google Optimisation

Google Search Console is an essential Google SEO tool for website analysis and SEO audit. This free service offers webmasters valuable insights into their website’s presence in Google search results. With Google Search Console, you can monitor your website’s indexing status, identify crawling errors, and get alerts for any security issues. Additionally, you can optimise your website’s appearance in search results by submitting your sitemap and monitoring backlinks. Google Search Console is a must-have tool for any website owner looking to improve their Google optimisation and search engine optimisation.

To start using Google Search Console, you need to verify ownership of your website by adding a small piece of code or uploading a verification file to your website’s root directory. Once verified, Google Search Console begins website analysis, providing reports on various aspects of your website’s search engine optimisation.

Google Search Console provides a range of website performance reports and SEO tools, including a Performance report that shows how your website is performing in Google search results, including clicks, impressions, and average position.

The Coverage report shows which pages of your website have been indexed by Google, and any errors or issues that may be preventing certain pages from being indexed. With the URL Inspection tool, you can check the indexing status of individual pages on your website, and get information on any errors or issues that may be affecting their performance in search results.

You can submit a sitemap to Google Search Console, which provides a list of all the pages on your website, to help Google crawl and index your website more efficiently. Google Search Console also alerts you to any security issues with your website, such as malware or hacked content. In the Enhancements section, you can find insights and recommendations to improve your website’s appearance in search results, such as improving page speed or fixing mobile usability issues.

Other search engines, like Bing, offer similar services to Google Search Console. Bing Webmaster Tools is also a free service offered by Microsoft that allows website owners to monitor and improve their website’s performance in Bing search results. It provides similar features and tools to Google Search Console, including sitemap submission, crawl error reports, and keyword analysis. However, Google Search Console is the go-to tool for anyone looking to optimise their website for Google search engine optimisation.

Google Optimisation Tools: PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse

Google provides two essential website optimisation tools, Google PageSpeed Insights and Google Lighthouse, to help webmasters improve their website’s performance, user experience, and search engine ranking.

Google PageSpeed Insights analyses various factors such as page loading speed, mobile-friendliness, and website structure and provides recommendations for optimisation. On the other hand, Google Lighthouse evaluates website performance, accessibility, SEO, and other best practices, offering a more comprehensive analysis with individual category scores and improvement suggestions.

In 2018, Google announced that Pagespeed Insights (PSI) would use Lighthouse as its analysis engine, providing the same performance audits and recommendations for web developers. PSI focuses on page loading speed, mobile-friendliness, and website structure, while Lighthouse provides a broader approach with more detailed individual category scores and suggestions for improvement. PSI also incorporates Chrome User Experience Report field data, and the latest version of the API offers CrUX data and all Lighthouse audits. Webmasters can benefit from using both Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse to perform a thorough SEO audit and website analysis, utilising Google SEO tools to optimise their website’s performance for better search engine ranking. For even more SEO optimisation, webmasters can also utilise Google Search Console. We explore this Google SeO tool in more detail below:

Improving Your Website’s Performance with PageSpeed Insights (PSI)

Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is a free tool that helps website owners to analyse their website’s performance and speed.

The tool uses Lighthouse to simulate how a mobile device loads a page and computes a set of performance metrics for the page. The tool analyses a website’s code and computes a set of performance metrics for the page, such as First Contentful Paint and Time to Interactive, and summarises them with a performance score from 0-100. Scores are categorised into three levels, with 90 and above being considered a good score.

Additionally, PageSpeed Insights provides real-world performance metrics for the page and its origin (known as field data) and offers suggestions on how to improve the page’s performance metrics and adhere to best practices for web development. With each suggestion, the tool estimates how much faster the page will load if the improvement is implemented.

By utilising this tool, website owners can improve their website’s speed and performance, leading to better search engine optimisation (SEO) and higher rankings on Google search engine results pages (SERPs).

Google Performance, Accessibility, Best Practice, and SEO Scores Explained

Understanding the various website performance scores and SEO metrics used to evaluate a website’s performance is crucial for any web developer or SEO professional. In this section, we explain the different scores provided by Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights, including Performance Score, Accessibility Score, Best Practice Score, and SEO Score, and explain what each of them measures and how to improve them.

• Performance Score: Lighthouse Performance Scoring is based on metrics, not the results of Opportunities or Diagnostics. Fluctuations in score are typically due to underlying conditions such as changes in ads or internet traffic routing. The Performance score is a weighted average of metric scores, with more heavily weighted metrics having a greater impact. The weightings are chosen to provide a balanced representation of user-perceived performance and are regularly updated based on research and feedback. Overall, it’s more useful to think of site performance as a distribution of scores rather than a single number.

• Accessibility Score: Accessibility checks are an essential part of web development, and Lighthouse can help you identify and fix accessibility issues on your site. It uses a set of audits to test for common accessibility issues and provides guidance on how to fix them. The audits cover a range of accessibility topics, including the use of ARIA attributes, color contrast, keyboard navigation, and more. By running these accessibility audits and implementing the recommended fixes, you can make your website more inclusive and improve the user experience for all users, including those with disabilities.

• Best Practice Score: This score is a metric that measures how well a web page follows common best practices for web development. The score is based on a set of rules that represent current recommendations in areas such as mobile-friendliness, security, and general performance. The higher the Best Practices score, the better the page is adhering to these guidelines. A score of 100 indicates that the page has passed all the recommended best practices.

• SEO Score: The SEO Score is based on an evaluation of a page’s adherence to basic search engine optimisation advice. The score is based on factors like the page’s content, metadata, and structure, as well as the presence of certain technical elements such as a sitemap or robots.txt file. The SEO Score is not a measure of how well a page is ranked in search results, but rather a reflection of how well it follows basic SEO guidelines. The tool provides suggestions for improvement and offers guidance on common issues that may affect a page’s search engine visibility.

By using Google’s PageSpeed Insights as part of an SEO audit, website owners can identify areas that need improvement and make the necessary changes to improve their website’s speed and performance. This, in turn, can lead to higher user engagement, lower bounce rates, and improved search engine rankings.

Ensure Your Website is Optimised for Mobile Devices

In today’s age, where the use of mobile devices has increased significantly, having a mobile-friendly website is essential for SEO success. In fact, over 60% of Google searches are now done on mobile devices. This means that if your website is not optimised for mobile devices, you could be missing out on a large portion of potential traffic.

To achieve SEO success, website owners must ensure that their website is optimised for mobile devices. By doing so, they can provide a better user experience for their visitors, which can lead to higher engagement and lower bounce rates. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Checker is a free tool that website owners can use to assess their website’s mobile-friendliness and make the necessary improvements to rank higher on search engine results pages.

Google’s Mobile Friendly Checker

Using the Mobile-Friendly Checker is particularly important in addition to PageSpeed Insights, as it allows website owners to determine if their website is optimised for mobile devices.

Using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Checker is vital because mobile-friendly websites can provide a better user experience and improve a website’s search engine ranking. By analysing a website’s design and functionality, the tool provides insights into how mobile-friendly a website is and offers suggestions for improving its mobile-friendliness.

To check if your website is mobile-friendly, all you need to do is enter your website’s URL in the search bar and click on the “Test URL” button. The tool will analyse your website and generate a report that includes valuable information about your website’s mobile-friendliness.

The checks generated by the Mobile-Friendly Checker includes the following information:

• Mobile-Friendly Status: This section of the report indicates whether your website is mobile-friendly or not. If it’s not mobile-friendly, the report will highlight the issues that need to be addressed.

• Page Loading Time: The report provides information on how long it takes for your website to load on a mobile device. A slow loading time can affect the user experience and lead to higher bounce rates.

• Font Sise: The report indicates if the font sise on your website is too small for mobile devices. If the font sise is too small, users may have difficulty reading the content on your website.

• Touchscreen Friendliness: The report highlights if your website’s design is optimised for touchscreen devices. This is crucial because many mobile devices use touchscreens, and if your website is not optimised for them, users may have difficulty navigating your website.

• Mobile Viewport: The report indicates if your website has a viewport meta tag. This tag is essential because it tells mobile devices how to scale your website to fit their screen sise.

By using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Checker tool, website owners can identify any issues that may affect the user experience on mobile devices and make the necessary changes to improve their website’s mobile-friendliness.

Using Google’s Rich Results Test to Enhance Your Google SEO Visibility

As part of an SEO audit, website owners need to ensure that their website is optimised for rich results. Rich results are search results that go beyond the standard blue link and provide additional information such as images, reviews, and pricing information. Rich results can improve a website’s visibility in search results and provide users with more information about the website before they click through.

Google’s Rich Results Test is a tool that provides website owners with valuable insights into their website’s rich results and helps them to identify areas that need improvement.

Google’s Rich Results Test tool analyses a website’s markup and structured data to generate a report. To use the tool, simply enter your website’s URL in the search bar and click on the “Test URL” button.

The report generated by the tool includes information on whether your website’s markup is valid for rich results, the types of rich results that your website is eligible for, and any errors or warnings that need to be addressed. By using the Rich Results Test as part of an SEO audit, website owners can identify areas for improvement and make necessary changes to improve their website’s rich results. This, in turn, can lead to higher user engagement, increased click-through rates, and improved search engine rankings.

While the Rich Results Test can provide information on a website’s rich results, it may not cover all aspects of structured data. Webmasters should use the Rich Results Test tool together with Schema Validator tool for a comprehensive analysis of a website’s structured data.

First, the Schema Validator checks the validity of the schema markup on a website. If there are any issues, the Structured Data Test can be used to identify and address them. Once the schema markup is valid, the Rich Results Test can then be used to determine whether a website’s structured data is eligible for rich results and provide a preview of how it will appear in search results.

Improving Your Google Rankings with Schema Validator and Structured Data
Schema Validator

Schema Validator is an important tool for website owners looking to improve their Google optimisation and search engine optimisation (SEO) performance.

As part of an SEO analysis, website owners need to ensure that their website’s schema markup is valid and accurate. Schema Validator is a free and easy-to-use tool that provides valuable insights into a website’s schema markup and helps identify areas that need improvement.

Schema markup is a type of structured data that provides additional information about a website’s content to search engines. This additional information helps search engines to understand the content better and provide users with more relevant search results. Schema Validator checks if the schema markup follows the correct format and structure based on the schema.org guidelines. It ensures that the markup is correctly formatted before adding it to the website, ensuring accurate and valid schema markup.

Both Schema Validator and Google Structured Data Testing Tool are useful for optimising a website for search engines, but they serve different purposes. Schema Validator checks the syntax and structure of a website’s JSON-LD schema markup, while Google Structured Data Testing Tool checks the implementation and validity of the structured data markup on the website. By using Schema Validator as part of an SEO audit, website owners can gain valuable insights into their website’s schema markup.

The tool generates a report that includes information on the validity of the schema markup, the types of schema markup used on the website, and any errors or warnings that need to be addressed. Website owners can use this information to identify areas that need improvement and make the necessary changes to improve their website’s schema markup.

Schema Validator is one of many useful SEO tools that Google recommends website owners can use to improve their website’s SEO performance. Conducting a comprehensive SEO audit, including a website analysis and SEO analysis, can help identify opportunities to improve a website’s search engine rankings and user engagement. By using these free and accessible tools, website owners can optimise their website for better search results and achieve their Google search engine optimisation goals.

Using Google Analytics as part of a Comprehensive Website Analysis

Along with the essential free Google SEO tools mentioned earlier, Google Analytics can be used in conjunction with other free Google SEO tools or third-party SEO audit tools to perform a comprehensive website analysis and improve website performance.

Google Analytics is a free website analytics tool that provides website owners with valuable insights into their website’s traffic sources, user behavior, and conversion rates. By installing a tracking code on your website, you can track how visitors interact with your website and gather important SEO metrics such as bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rate. This information can help you identify areas that require improvement to enhance your website’s performance and user experience.

It is recommended to use Google Analytics in combination with the other free Google SEO tools like Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights (PSI), Google’s Optimisation Tool for webmaster, as well as third-party SEO audit tools to perform a thorough SEO analysis of your website. Overall, using Google Analytics and other free Google SEO tools as part of a comprehensive SEO audit can help you optimise your website for better search performance and improve your website’s overall user experience.

Get Expert Help from BlueMagnet for Your SEO Audit Recommendations

Optimising your website for search engines can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. BlueMagnet has over 20 years of experience in SEO and can help you navigate the process. Our team of experts can provide you with a comprehensive SEO audit, assist with interpreting the results of free SEO tools, and draft an implementation roadmap for SEO. Contact BlueMagnet today to schedule a consultation and get the help you need to improve your website’s search engine rankings.