How Often Should You Audit Your Website?

Just like regular health checkups keep your body healthy, your website also needs routine checkups to maintain peak performance and stay free of issues.

In fact, websites that are audited and optimised regularly often see measurable improvements. For example, Edelweiss Bakery saw a 175% increase in organic traffic in four months after running an SEO audit, fixing technical issues, and improving local search visibility.

In short, regular audits can have a direct impact on your website’s growth and overall performance. But, how often should you audit your website? In this guide, we’ll break down the ideal audit frequency to help you keep your website running at its best.

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What Is a Website Audit?

A website audit is a complete review of your site’s overall health and performance, covering key areas such as SEO, performance, accessibility, and user experience.

The goal of a website audit is to ensure your site runs efficiently, ranks well in search results, and delivers a smooth, accessible experience for every visitor. It helps you identify and fix issues that could affect visibility, speed, or usability, keeping your website in top shape.

A website audit should be done by someone with solid technical knowledge of code, SEO, and accessibility. Usually, this includes web developers, SEO specialists, or accessibility experts who can spot and interpret issues effectively.

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How Often Should You Audit Your Website?

A good rule of thumb is to audit your website once every quarter. This schedule works for almost every website because it is frequent enough to keep your site healthy and performing well, but not so often that it feels overwhelming.

During this quarterly audit, you must check key areas like:

• SEO (for visibility and rankings)
• Performance (for speed and user experience)
• Accessibility (for inclusivity and compliance)

In the following sections, we’ll take a closer look at each of these key areas. A quarterly website audit is a solid general rule, but the ideal frequency for SEO, performance, and accessibility audits can differ based on what each area requires.

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How Often Should You Audit Your Website for SEO?

A good practice is to audit your website for SEO at least once every quarter. That said, the ideal frequency mainly depends on your website type and business goals.

If you manage a large e-commerce site or publish new content frequently, a monthly SEO audit may be necessary to keep everything optimised. On the other hand, if your website is small or mostly static, biannual or annual audits may be enough.

There may also be times when an immediate audit is necessary, especially if you notice a sudden drop in traffic or rankings. In such cases, acting quickly helps you identify the root cause and recover your search performance before it declines further.

Here are the main types of SEO audits you should perform:

SEO Audit Type	What It Covers
Technical SEO Audit	Checks crawlability, indexability, site speed, mobile responsiveness, XML sitemaps, and Core Web Vitals.
On-page SEO Audit	Reviews title tags, meta descriptions, headings, internal links, image alt text, and keyword optimisation.
Off-page SEO Audit	Evaluates backlink quality, anchor text distribution, toxic links, and domain authority.

How Often Should You Audit Your Website for Performance?

A good rule of thumb is to audit your website’s performance at least once every quarter.

However, there may be times when an immediate audit is needed. For instance, if you notice a high bounce rate, low conversions, or low time on your pages, act quickly. Running an audit right away helps you find the problem and fix issues before they affect your business.

Here are the main types of performance audits you should perform:

Performance Audit Type	What It Covers
Speed Audit	Measures page load time, server response, caching, and compression settings.
Core Web Vitals Audit	Evaluates metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Mobile Performance Audit	Checks mobile responsiveness, loading speed, and usability on different screen sizes.

How Often Should You Audit Your Website for Accessibility?

It’s best to audit your website for accessibility every quarter.

However, certain situations may require an immediate audit. For example, if you redesign or migrate your website, add new key landing pages, or install new plugins. Running an audit right away helps you catch and fix potential accessibility barriers before they impact your users.

Many people overlook accessibility audits, but they offer significant business benefits that go far beyond compliance. They support users with diverse needs and also make your site more understandable for search engines and AI agents.

A great example is Tesco, the popular retail chain that improved its online grocery shopping experience for people with disabilities. They added screen reader support, simplified menus, and clearer language. After these changes, online sales went up by 350%.

Here are the main types of accessibility audits you should perform:

Accessibility Audit Type	What It Covers
Automated Accessibility Audit	Uses tools to detect issues like missing alt text, low colour contrast, or missing form labels.
Manual Accessibility Audit	Involves human testing to identify issues automation can’t catch, such as keyboard navigation and screen reader usability.

Why You Should Conduct Website Audits Regularly

Short answer: Regular website audits help you spot and fix issues that can impact your traffic and conversions. They keep your site’s foundation strong, allowing it to perform at its best and support your business goals.

Long answer: Consistent website audits offer several important benefits.

1. Increased conversions and revenue

Regular audits ensure that nothing, such as broken forms, missing CTAs, or checkout errors, prevents users from completing key actions. A smoother experience keeps visitors engaged and leads to more conversions and higher revenue.

2. Higher search engine rankings

SEO audits help you uncover technical errors, broken links, and outdated practices that hurt your visibility. By resolving these issues, you maintain or improve your rankings, making it easier for users to find you online.

3. Proactive issue detection

Frequent audits help you catch problems early and fix them before they become bigger issues. Whether it’s SEO gaps, accessibility issues, security flaws, or slow-loading pages, fixing them early saves time, money, and your brand’s reputation.

4. Better accessibility compliance

Accessibility audits ensure your site meets WCAG standards so everyone, including users with disabilities, can access and use it easily. This not only reduces legal risks but also strengthens your brand’s image as inclusive and user-focused.

5. Staying ahead of competitors

Regular audits keep your website optimised and adaptable to search engine updates and evolving user expectations. This proactive approach gives you an edge, helping your website stand out in a crowded digital space.

Is a Website Audit Necessary for Small Businesses?

Yes, website audits are essential for small businesses. If your business relies on its website to attract customers, build trust, and generate leads, regular audits are crucial to ensure it performs effectively and meets these goals.

Even smaller sites can experience technical errors, SEO issues, or performance problems that hurt user experience and slow growth. However, a single, well-executed audit can make a big difference in overcoming these challenges and driving measurable results.

For example, a low-authority website in the enterprise BI dashboard niche achieved remarkable growth after one comprehensive audit and targeted optimisations. In just two months, the site saw a 100% increase in organic traffic and generated 150 new leads.

This proves that audits are just as important for small businesses as they are for large ones.

If budget constraints make frequent audits difficult, you can opt for a less demanding schedule. Auditing your site every six months is a practical compromise that keeps your website healthy without putting extra strain on your finances.

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How to Conduct a Website Audit (Overview)

In order to conduct a website audit effectively, you need a clear process that helps you evaluate how well your site is performing. The goal is to identify what’s working, uncover issues that may be slowing progress, and find opportunities to improve overall website health.

Here’s a quick overview of the process:

Step	What to Do
Define your objectives	Decide why you’re doing the audit and what you want to achieve.
Decide which areas to audit	Identify the specific parts of your website you want to assess, such as SEO, performance, or accessibility.
Audit your website	Examine each chosen area carefully to evaluate how well your site is performing.
Analyse competitors	Identify gaps between your website and competitors by analysing their content and SEO strategies.
Identify issues and patterns	Note recurring problems, weak points, or inconsistencies that may affect visibility, usability, or overall performance.
Document your findings	Summarise what you discovered so you can prioritise and plan improvements later.

What to Do After a Website Audit

Completing a website audit is just the beginning. The real impact comes from acting on what you’ve discovered and turning insights into measurable improvements. Consistent follow-up ensures that your website continues to grow stronger with each audit cycle.

Once your audit is complete, follow these simple steps to put your findings into action:

Step	What to Do
Prioritise the issues	Focus first on the most critical problems that affect visibility, accessibility, or user experience.
Plan your fixes	Create a clear action plan outlining what needs to be fixed, who will handle it, and in what order.
Implement improvements	Apply fixes across your website, starting with high-impact changes.
Validate your changes	Recheck the updated pages to confirm that the issues have been resolved.
Document your progress	Keep a record of what was fixed, when it was done, and the results.
Monitor performance	Track key metrics such as traffic, conversions, and rankings to see the impact of your changes.
Schedule your next audit	Set a reminder for your next audit to maintain consistent website health and performance.

Wrapping Up

Regular website audits are essential to keep your site optimised, fast, and user-friendly. Regardless of your website’s size or type, consistent audits help you identify issues early, boost performance, and maintain strong visibility.

With dedicated website audit tools like WebYes, you can handle SEO, performance, and accessibility audits all in one place. Start auditing today to keep your website running at its best, attracting more visitors, and converting them into loyal customers.