There is no shortage of website auditing tools out there. Clever little algorithms that crawl the pages of your site and tell you what is wrong. Nibbler is different, not very different but it does have a few nice and unique features that you might want to take a look at.
The first, and very welcome, point I’d like to make about Nibbler reports is that they are very easy to read and understand. Most small business owners are not technically minded and to tell them that they have a problem with 301 redirects will mean nothing to them, less than nothing in fact. However, if you tell them that there isn’t enough content on their page, or that their Social Media activity is below par and they will probably take that on board.
Nibbler is very good at presenting semi-technical information in a way that even a non-technical person can understand and act upon – well done Nibbler.
As with all such tools, you have to be cautious and take the results with a pile of salt, a pinch will not do here, as you can see if you look at the somewhat playful report I did on Amazon.com.
Yes, it’s true, Amazon.com only scored 6.2 overall on the Nibbler test. This is a bit naughty of me to use as an example because there are lots of reasons why a massive and clearly very competent website like Amazon has scored badly – the lack of links to social media sites being just one of them – but it does serve to illustrate the point that website auditor tools like this are fallible and you should only ever use them as a guide.
Free Nibbler Account
Yes, here’s the even better news – Nibbler has a completely free version for you to use as much as you like. No limited period test and no credit card required. It’s free.
They do have big brother versions with way more functionality but you probably will never need them, especially if your business is small and uncomplicated. If, however you do find yourself needing the extra functions of the Pro account brace yourself for a shock because it starts at $60/month plus VAT if you’re in the EU and that’s for a mere 10 reports.
Nonetheless, the reports and level of detail available in the Pro accounts is very good and if you need it then I’ve yet to find a better product without a very silly price tag.
Nibbler is a great introduction to SEO for those who want to give it a go for themselves – it’s probably a bit of a lightweight for the pro SEO operator but then he/she should expect to pay the fee and get the Pro version – a highly recommended tool.
