Prospect Genius

SEO analysis tools can offer valuable insights into your website’s performance, but it’s crucial to sift through their findings with a discerning eye. We previously evaluated SEOptimer, but based on a new evaluation, using rainbowplumbingnj.com, here’s a breakdown of the results – from the good to the misleading.

The tool SEO audit tool can be found at www.seoptimer.com but you can view the report as a PDF here.

Our findings are below, organized in a Poor, Fair, OK, Great scale so you can quickly see what the tool does well, and what it does poorly.

Poor

• Home Page Analysis: Only evaluates the homepage, ignoring site depth.
• Title Tag Length: Warns for titles over 70 characters, a debatable standard.
• Meta Description Tag Length: Flags descriptions over 160 characters, misunderstanding their SEO impact.
• Keyword Identification: Fails to accurately identify meaningful keywords, mistaking common words for keywords.
• Keyword Phrases: Incorrectly identifies nonsensical phrases as targeted keywords.
• HTTPS Redirect Check: Incorrectly suggests the site doesn’t redirect to HTTPS.
• Keyword Ranking Check: Questions the relevance of chosen keywords for ranking.
• Backlink Summary: Lacks transparency and reliability in its backlink data.
• Iframes: Misjudges the use of iframes, which can be beneficial in some contexts.
• Social Section: Misinterprets the impact of social media elements on SEO performance.

Fair

• Analytics Tool: Questions the absence of popular analytics tools, not recognizing the validity of alternatives.

OK

• Hreflang Usage: Acknowledges hreflang tags, though they’re not a major ranking factor.
• Text Content Volume: Accurately assesses the site’s word count.
• Alt Attributes: Correctly flags missing alt attributes on images.
• Schema.org Structured Data: Recognizes the presence and importance of structured data.
• Top Backlinks: Includes backlink analysis but overestimates the value of certain links.
• Google Page Speed: Incorporates Google’s page speed insights, with a reminder of the universal challenge in achieving high scores.
• Performance Stats: Provides detailed performance metrics, though they may be too technical for non-experts.

Great

• Report Layout: Offers a well-organized layout with detailed expandable sections.
• Top Anchors by Backlinks: Highlights the quality of anchor text in backlinks.
• Usability Report: Provides valuable insights into usability, often overlooked in SEO.
• Local SEO: Brief but crucial section on local SEO elements.
• Spiderweb Graph: Visually represents the site’s strengths and weaknesses effectively.

This evaluation serves as a reminder that while automated SEO tools can guide improvements, their recommendations should be taken with a grain of caution and balanced with professional SEO advice.

In the realm of digital marketing, SEO analysis tools are pitched as the compass for navigating through the complexities of search engine optimization. Yet, it’s crucial to recognize these tools for what they often are: a sales pitch veiled as a helpful report. Let’s dissect a recent SEO report to unveil the inaccuracies and remind ourselves of the importance of critical evaluation. A client of ours, Junk Daddy LLC, recently came to us asking about an online SEO report he’d received from SEOptimer. We went through it, point by point, and our results are below.

The Misleading Claims Uncovered

Upon examining the report from SEOptimer for a specific website, several assertions made by SEOptimer were found to be false or misleading:

1. 1. Title Tag Length: The report suggested a maximum of 70 characters for title tags, whereas ours is 101 characters long. This difference is primarily a matter of opinion, as there’s no strict rule on length.
   2. Page Text Content Volume: The analysis reported our homepage content at 297 words, but an accurate count reveals a much higher word count of 597. This discrepancy highlights a significant error in the tool’s assessment.
   3. Missing Alt Attribute: SEOptimer accurately reported that one image on this website is missing an alt attribute. It is important that online images be tagged with appropriate alt attributes, as these tags serve multiple useful functions, such as helping users who cannot see an image understand the image’s contents. However, here’s what SEOptimer missed: The image in question was loaded through a third-party script, rendering it essentially impossible for us or our client to edit. It’s also important to note that this is only one image, out of dozens on the website. In the grand scheme of things, this is a very minor issue that doesn’t merit major concern.
   4. Robots.txt File: SEOptimer reported that our website did not have a robots.txt file, which is a grave issue that will heavily impact a website’s rankings. Contrary to the report’s claim, our site does have a robots.txt file, indicating an error in the tool’s detection process.
   5. XML Sitemap: The tool also failed to detect our site’s XML sitemap, and instead asserted that we did not have one. This is blatantly untrue, and is reflective of a problem with the report’s accuracy.
   6. Backlink Quantity: The report suggests an insufficient number of backlinks. However, we’ve invested in a standard amount of high-quality backlinks, which will go further in helping a business build credibility online. The fact that this tool doesn’t account for quality, and only evaluates quantity, is an oversight.
   7. Google Pagespeed Index Score: SEOptimer reportedly ran a Google Pagespeed test on our site and received a score of 44/100 on our behalf. Skeptical of this number, we decided to re-run the test ourselves, and received a significantly higher score of 56/100. This suggests a potential underestimation of our site’s performance.
   8. Use of Inline Styling: SEOptimer was critical of some minimal use of inline styling on our website. While it’s true that widespread use of inline styling can cause a website’s code to become unwieldy and redundant, we employ a very minimal amount of inline styling that will not cause any performance issues.
   9. Social Media Presence: The tool recommends a broad social media presence. However, not all platforms may be relevant to our strategy, indicating a gap in the tool’s one-size-fits-all approach.
   10. Business Address Display: SEOptimer deducted points from our score because Junk Daddy LLC does not display a business address on their website. However, their service area business model doesn’t necessitate displaying a physical address, which the tool fails to consider.

The Reality Behind the Numbers

These inaccuracies highlight a concerning trend: the potential of automated tools being used to misguide rather than inform. For instance, the discrepancy in content volume could mislead a site owner into making revisions to their site that may be unnecessary at best and harmful at worst. Similarly, false flags on technical elements (such as the flags on the robots.txt and XML sitemap files we discussed above) could divert attention from genuine site improvement opportunities. SEO is as much art and judgement as it is science so without a substantial background in SEO, it’s very easy for these reports to mislead.

Navigating the SEO Landscape

We wanted to share this anecdote with you, because we feel that it serves as a healthy reminder to approach automated SEO reports with caution. They can offer helpful insights, but should not be your sole basis for decision-making. Here’s a more effective strategy:

• Cross-Verification: Always double-check any automated SEO report’s findings with other tools— or you can verify the results manually, like we’ve done here.
• Professional Consultation: Consider insights from SEO professionals who can provide context and nuanced understanding.
• Focus on Holistic Improvement: Beyond chasing algorithmic shadows, ensure your site offers genuine value to your audience.

In conclusion, while SEO analysis tools can help signal areas of your website that can be improved upon, they’re not infallible. Understanding their limitations and potential usage as an advertising gimmick is essential. By combining these tools’ insights with professional advice and common sense, you can navigate the SEO landscape more effectively and make truly impactful improvements to your site.