The Mid-Year SEO Audit: How to Fix What’s Holding You Back

You’re halfway through the year. Targets are looming. Traffic’s okay, but conversions? Not so much. If your team has started questioning performance or the board’s asked for answers, now’s the time to act. There’s still time to fix what’s lagging but only if you act now.

Your SEO strategy isn’t something you can set and forget. Search behaviour changes. Competitors shift strategy. That shapes where and if you show up. If you’re not adjusting, you’re dropping. If you’re not actively monitoring and adjusting your approach, your rankings, traffic, and conversions could be suffering.

A mid-year social media audit ensures you stay ahead of the game. This is where you find what’s underperforming and get ahead of it before it costs you more traffic. One client came to us mid-June rankings were flat, leads had dipped. We spotted three technical issues and two keyword gaps in week one. By August, they were back on page one. Let’s walk through the same process to help you fix what’s holding your SEO back.

What should be included in a website social media audit?

This is where your visibility begins or breaks. A strong audit uncovers what’s holding your performance back at the foundation level.

Before making any changes, you need a full picture of your site’s current SEO health. Conducting a detailed website audit will help uncover technical issues, on-page inefficiencies, and content gaps.

Key Areas to Examine:

• Site Speed & Core Web Vitals: Google’s algorithm now heavily prioritises user experience through Core Web Vitals. Use PageSpeed Insights to assess load times and fix delays.
• Indexing & Crawlability: Google’s algorithm updates have made proper indexing more important than ever. Check for blocked pages in your robots.txt file and resolve any errors in Google Search Console.
• Broken Links & Redirects: Dead links frustrate users and impact site authority. Use a tool like Screaming Frog to find and fix broken links and unnecessary redirects.
• Mobile-Friendliness: With Google’s mobile-first indexing, your site must perform seamlessly across all devices.

Start with the foundation. Get the technical issues fixed first — no SEO strategy works if the site itself can’t perform.

How do you update your keyword strategy mid-year?

Updating your keyword strategy is how you stay in front of the right buyers while your competitors fall behind.

Are you still targeting the right keywords? User intent and search trends shift over time, and relying on outdated keywords can hold your rankings back.

Steps to Improve Keyword Targeting:

• Assess Your Current Rankings: Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to see where you stand for your primary keywords.
• Identify New Opportunities: Look for emerging trends, long-tail keywords, and high-intent search terms that align with your business. Google’s latest AI-driven search results mean optimising for conversational and intent-based queries is now essential.
• Review Competitor Strategies: Analyse which keywords competitors rank for and identify gaps you can capitalise on.

Refresh your keyword list now focus on natural, intent-driven phrases and stop wasting time on outdated terms.

How can you improve underperforming SEO content?

Underperforming pages drag down your site’s authority. A refresh here can boost traffic across your entire domain.

Content is the backbone of any SEO strategy. If your pages aren’t ranking or driving engagement, your content might need a refresh.

What to Check:

• Underperforming Pages: Identify content that isn’t generating traffic or conversions and update it with fresh insights, data, or better formatting.
• Keyword Placement & Density: Ensure keywords are naturally placed in titles, headings, and body text without keyword stuffing.
• Content Depth & Relevance: Google prioritises E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Thin, generic pages won’t cut it.
• Internal Linking Strategy: Strengthen your site’s authority by linking relevant pages together.

Don’t just update. Improve. Make the content easier to read, add value, and remove anything that feels automated or hollow.

How do backlinks affect SEO performance?

Good links boost authority. Bad ones hurt it. Knowing the difference can change your rankings fast.

Backlinks remain a crucial ranking factor. If your link-building efforts have stalled or you’ve acquired low-quality links, your rankings may suffer.

How to Strengthen Your Backlink Strategy:

• Audit Your Backlinks: Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to check your backlink quality.
• Disavow Toxic Links: Spammy or irrelevant backlinks can harm your rankings. Disavow any that seem unnatural or manipulative.
• Earn High-Quality Links: Focus on securing backlinks from reputable websites through guest blogging, PR outreach, and partnerships.

Clean up low-quality links and double down on relationships that bring real authority to your domain.

What helps improve local SEO rankings?

Your local listing is often your first impression. Make sure it’s accurate, active, and driving action.

If your business relies on local customers, your Google Business Profile and local search presence must be a priority.

Key Local SEO Optimisations:

• Optimise Google Business Profile: Ensure NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency across all listings.
• Encourage Customer Reviews: Positive reviews build trust and help you rise in local rankings.
• Use Location-Based Keywords: Incorporate geo-specific terms in your content and metadata.
• Leverage Local Directories: Ensure your business is listed accurately on sites like Yelp, Trustpilot, and industry-specific directories.

Fix It: We’ve seen clients lose visibility just by ignoring those suggestions. They matter more than you think so keep your listings sharp and updated.

Does a social media audit impact SEO results?

A strong social presence gets your content in front of the right people, more often and it earns trust along the way.

Your social media presence plays a bigger role in SEO than you might think. A detailed social media audit can reveal blind spots and performance gaps you’re missing. While social signals aren’t direct ranking factors, an active social strategy can drive traffic, brand awareness, and engagement.

How Social Media Supports SEO:

• Content Amplification: If your content’s not being seen, it’s not being linked to. Social’s your amplification engine.
• Brand Authority & Trust: A well-managed social presence enhances credibility, which can impact search rankings.
• Increased Traffic: Social shares and referral traffic contribute to overall site performance.

Audit your social channels every quarter. Double down on platforms that deliver clicks.

Which SEO metrics should you track in 2025?

If you’re measuring the wrong things, you’re making decisions in the dark. These are the metrics that matter.

If you’re not tracking your performance, you won’t know what’s working or what’s wasting budget. Without regular tracking, you’re guessing. That’s how budgets get wasted.

What to Track:

• Organic Traffic & Click-Through Rates (CTR): Identify traffic patterns and opportunities to improve CTR.
• Bounce Rates & User Engagement: High bounce rates could indicate poor content relevance or user experience issues.
• Conversion Rates: Track which pages and keywords drive the most conversions.

If you’re not measuring what matters, you’re wasting time. Track results that drive action: traffic, engagement, and leads. Not just stats that look good on paper.

Don’t Let SEO Mistakes Hold You Back

Rankings alone don’t grow a business. A focused SEO strategy does. During a mid-year social media audit and social media audit, you can reset your objectives and refine your strategies to ensure your actions support your business targets. Each social media audit gives you visibility over brand consistency, content performance, and campaign outcomes.

If results are flat and you don’t know what’s wrong, it’s time to audit. That’s where Iconic Digital comes in. Our expert team conducts in-depth SEO and social media audits, uncovering missed opportunities across content, targeting, and traffic sources. Every audit we run starts with your brand, not a boilerplate. We focus on what works nothing extra.

Need help making it work? Book your free audit. Let’s sort it before Q4 disappears. Your next audit should drive action.

FAQs: What Your Team Might Be Asking

What is included in an SEO audit?

A comprehensive SEO audit covers technical performance, keyword strategy, backlink profile, content quality, and user engagement metrics. At Iconic Digital, we also include social media audit insights for a complete picture.

How often should you run a social media audit?

We recommend quarterly. Social trends shift quickly, and what worked three months ago might not land today.

What tools are best for SEO audits?

Our go-tos include Ahrefs, SEMrush, Screaming Frog, PageSpeed Insights, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console.

Is an SEO audit worth it for small businesses?

Yes, especially mid-year. It helps small teams prioritise what moves the needle instead of chasing trends or wasting budget.