There are a handful of SEO and web marketing competitive research tools on the market (see online seo tools) which gauge the value and marketability of a site by reviewing and delivering a mini-site audit which grades a site based on its basic SEO parameters and those of its competition.
Website Grader by HubSpot and SEObook’s Website Health Check are two common and free tools used by many webmasters and industry novices to get an idea of the value of a site. Another which has just been launched is ReviewMyWeb, which according to the site : Stacks you up against your competitors on Google, Yahoo, Blogs, and other key channels like Web 2.0, SEO, PPC, Social News, Blogs and much more.
A basic competitive query shows backlink info, header info, blog mentions, indexed pages and some of the basic info given by other tools, along with a grading system. After the mini-audt, “steps” to improve ones grades from ReviewMyWeb are given such as to generate more social buzz, optimize site design and get more indexed pages. Here’s an example comparison of Slashdot vs. Digg.
All in all, it’s an interesting start and I’d really like to get my hands on a pro version. Can SEO and audits be automated? No, not really. But if you don’t know your search engine optimization basics, this tool could be a good beginning.
