AI insights versus human SEO audits: where’s the Balance?
If I meet with a sophisticated marketer, probably one burned by their previous SEO consultant, they have the foresight to ask about the role of AI in their SEO audit and how much of their SEO audit we will create as a human.
It’s a good question.
The sad truth is that many SEO audits are not really audits at all. They’re printouts from tools like Semrush or Ahrefs. While I love these tools, their “site audits” are not comprehensive. More often than not, most of the tasks listed won’t even move the needle for SEO, nor will they satisfy the users – you know, the all-important people – visiting your site.
The standard of SEO auditing has slipped so much that on calls, I’ve stopped calling my audit an SEO audit. Instead, I opt for lengthy titles like “SEO Audit, Performance Review, and Strategy” since they better depicts my (mostly) human-completed SEO audit.
You’ll notice I said “mostly human-completed SEO audit.” Well, that’s because AI does have a role in SEO auditing, but only where it matters!
Where I use human analysis and AI for SEO auditing
| Human | AI |
|---|---|
| Keyword Clustering with SERP analysis | Keyword Categorisation |
| Content Strategy | Some Content Ideation |
| Low-Hanging SEO Opportunities on Your Site | Competitor Keyword Gap Analysis |
| Evaluating Content Quality and Relevance | Backlink Quality Analysis |
| Conversion-Driven Page Design | Keyword and Backlink Gaps |
| Complex and Low/No Search Keyword Research | Competitor Analysis |
| Comprehensive and Thoughtful Content Briefing | Content Gaps |
Don’t just take our word for it
See the results of our human-first SEO strategies in our client’s performance.
What to expect from our human-completed SEO audit
Data-driven strategy.- Increased ranking in Google
- KPIs that align with your business and marketing goals.
- A done-for-you plan that’ll keep your team (or ours) busy for three to six months.
Per quarter, generated from users who viewed SEO's content.
For organic traffic, year-on-year.
Increase in organic sales, year-on-year.
Featured snippets. Plus, 230 keywords with visibility in Google’s People Also Ask, and so much more.
How the human-completed SEO audit process works
Below, I’ve detailed each step of the SEO process and included how it’s completed, whether human, AI, or a mix of both.
Human: Discovery call
- Understand your business goals and SEO needs.
- We discuss your current challenges, website, and competitors.
- Tell us what you think is working, what isn’t, and what you want from us.
Human: Proposal
- We provide a customized proposal based on your needs within 24 hours.
- Clear expectations are set regarding the SEO audit process and timelines.
- You’ll have a chance to review and approve the next steps.
Human: Onboarding
- You receive a document requesting access to tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and others.
- Quick checklist to get everything we need for a seamless process.
- Once completed, the audit officially kicks off.
AI & Human: The audit begins
- Data gathering starts, focusing on URLs, architecture, content clusters, and keywords.
- We assess the technical health and site schema.
- We start to build a mental-map of your site.
Human: Understand the site now
- Understand what the site can rank for and where the opportunity is.
- Investigate site structure and URL optimization opportunities.
- Identify where the site has authority.
Human and AI: Analyse top performance
- Review top-performing pages and underperforming content.
- Uncover opportunities to rank higher for competitive keywords.
- Review ads top converting keywords.
AI: Competitor analysis
- Deep dive into competitor strategies to see what’s working for them.
- Identify areas where you can close the gap.
Human: 50% meeting
- We present the findings from our audit so far.
- Discuss insights from data gathered and refine the strategy.
Collaborate on next steps to align with your business goals.
Human: Develop data-driven SEO strategy
- Break down actionable tasks for improving site SEO.
- Create content recommendations for articles, landing pages, and more.
Provide technical SEO suggestions, including schema, Core Web Vitals, and page speed improvements.
Human: Final meeting and delivery
- Present the final audit report and actionable SEO roadmap.
- Ensure clear understanding of recommended steps and strategy.
- Option to either take the plan in-house or collaborate with us for implementation.
Talk to us about your SEO audit.
I love SEO audits. Every audit I do is completed with some AI, but if there's one thing I pride myself on, it's SEO audits with human insights. If you're looking for a high-quality, comprehensive SEO audit, created by a human, get in touch!
The human layer in SEO audits is truly impactful in content. While AI is amazing at accelerating the time it takes to create some elements of content strategy, all it can do is copy what competitors are doing and most brands need more than the bare minimum. You need to shine in your content with your individual opinions and unique experience that trumps the rest.
AI and automation plays a sizeable role in technical SEO and schema. The tools can accelerate the time it takes to identify opportunities, but all of our tech audits are created by a dev for a dev. This isn’t just an export from an SEO tool.
If sites run slowly or SERPs are particularly competitive, we might tap into page speed. Most sites are fast enough, but if you need more support, our developers will create a list of page speed tasks that need to be created. We’ll also prioritise the actions most likely to a) move the needle and b) be simple to fix.
Our data-driven to do list is completed entirely by a human. I'm yet to see any decent to-do list generated by AI and SEO tools. While they can provide a list of issues that need resolving, these issues may not be impactful for your site. With a human eye we can help you prioritise the tasks that will actually move the needle.
SEO audit success stories
Kineon
Kineon’s SEO success started with an audit. We laid out a three to six-month plan, working in content clusters.
Kineon had a lot of work to do. The site was brand new when we started working with them. It had no authority in a highly competitive niche. It was ranking for five keywords and had seven HTML pages live.
Over two years, we increased traffic from five visits per month to over 13,000 visits per month.
Our SEO audit mapped out the content needed to attract audiences interested in Kineon’s product. We work closely with Kineon’s incredible marketing teams to retarget SEO audiences and repurpose content.
We couldn't have found a better partner to work with. From the initial proposal and full SEO audit, Zoe went above and beyond to deliver thoughtful, well-researched, actionable work.
I was worried about finding an SEO partner due to the niche nature of our brand, but Zoe was able to get a great grasp of our publication and exactly what we're trying to achieve. Her content mindset is excellent.
We're really looking forward to continuing our partnership with her! She's lovely to chat to as well – communicative and always helpful with a positive attitude.
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I followed Zoe for some time on LinkedIn, thinking about the advice and knowledge she shared around SEO. I reached out and I’m very pleased that we clicked straight a way.
Zoe audited our website, came up with a cohesive and well thought out plan (lots of spreadsheets and detail) and we all got to work. Zoe has went above and beyond - trained and shared knowledge along the way, as well as encouraging us to think about new ways of working.
Our whole team thoroughly enjoy working with Zoe and her connections to deliver and achieve results. One of the best freelancers we have worked with. Trustworthy, honest and realistic, with her clients results at the center of her actions.
We’re excited for the future of SEO driving revenue with Zoe.
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See original review on LinkedInZoe was an absolute pleasure to deal with for our SEO Audit project. Our company had never really focused on SEO before, and there was limited knowledge about it internally.
When we met Zoe, we knew she was the perfect fit for our project and we were right! Not only did she meet our deadlines, she delivered work that was thorough, above and beyond, and easily understood by a layman.
The final deliverable is mammoth, but set out in such a way that it's easy for us to implement in bite-size chunks. Zoe is definitely top of our list for any future SEO-related work/projects.
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See original review on LinkedInTalk to us about SEO auditing services.
Contact us today to talk to Zoe about your SEO auditing needs.
The Price of our Human-Led SEO Audits
Your investment in an SEO audit varies depending on your site’s needs. Here are some packages to give you an idea of what to expect.
Content
A content audit digs deep on your content architecture. We'll look at your authority and strategise a content plan that earns clicks, impressions and revenue. All content plans are created around a revenue generating goal.
Content, Technical, Schema and Page Speed
All things content, technical and page speed. This audit is the whole shebang and pulls on the experience of our entire team. We can run a couple quick checks to see if you'll get any benefit from this audit and make sure it's worth your while.
Content, technical and schema
We'll dig into the content and the technical aspects of your site. Then, we'll work toward your schema. We want your site giving Google all the data it can. Schema contextualises your pages and it's a secret weapon when it comes to proving E-E-A-T.
Talk to us about your SEO auditing needs.
Contact us today to talk to Zoe about your SEO audit.
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