Digital audit services are one of the most unclear agency services, as well as one of the most underestimated. Some agencies use a scheme such as, “Free Website assessment” for organizations that have not already spent thousands of dollars in internal auditing exercises. However, without a digital audit, you may move forward but it will be with no destination in sight and end up lost. It is an analysis of where you are right now, detailing what works, what does not and how to move ahead. Well then, let’s get down to business, sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee while I show you all the strategies of digital audit. 

What Is A Digital Audit?

A digital audit may be a comprehensive and one-of-a-kind analysis of your online visibility that produces a report at the end. It is not the automated email that you receive every time you enter your website URL to some snazzy landing page, that qualifies as a digital audit report. They are comprehensive and highly customized to the sector, experience, and objectives of your organization. They comprise the assessment of what has been posted online or on any related social platform up to the previous few years, with a deeper analysis of what made some strategies work effectively and what did not. It uncovers fundamental information that can be used to enhance website performance and subsequent growth.

When To Conduct A Digital Audit

It is appropriate to perform a digital audit periodically or whenever a certain event requires one for the best result. Such as:

• It will be advisable to perform such evaluations at least once a year or even more frequently if necessary. Further, every time a company undergoes some significant change like rebranding, M&As or some other change that leads to restructuring.

• Declining performance metrics, such as drops in website traffic or conversion rates, also signal the need for an immediate and thorough audit to identify and address underlying issues.

• Launching a new service can create a critical moment for a digital audit. The optimization of digital platforms creates both launch support and maximum impact for the launch.
• Competitive pressures also call for audits since they help a business discover where it may be falling behind or where it may be able to gain an advantage through innovation. Likewise, the introduction of new technologies or tools involves a consideration of the digital environment to ensure proper compatibility and effective usage.

• Post-campaign analysis is a key scenario for conducting a digital audit. Compliance with new regulations or standards, such as GDPR or ADA requirements, is yet another factor that demands a comprehensive digital review. 

What Is Included In A Digital Audit?

Each agency does digital audits in its own way – and that is absolutely fine. However, that will not mean that no similarities should be seen between different digital audits by different agencies. You can always check with whoever is doing your audit and ask them which of the above elements is to be expected. 

Keyword Research

Keyword research is a process of defining the words and phrases that are used by searchers while looking for products, services or information associated with your business. They help you to tailor your content for search engine results list rank, select the most efficient ad formats and keywords, attract relevant audiences, and generate leads & sales.

While numerous techniques are used in keyword research, this involves using specific tools to help get the most out of the keywords that are related to your business. But that has high traffic and low competition.  Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz. These tools give information about the traffic potential and competitiveness of certain keywords, thus enabling you to target those keywords that will yield results.

However, the use of keywords is not limited to the identification of popular keywords with less competition: Competent research also involves the analysis of the user base. This means understanding the actual reason, purpose and objective of target personas, who are using Google search to find one or another term. For instance, when a person types “digital marketing agencies”, it could be due to looking for reviews on some firms or their prices or their capabilities. Meanwhile, when a person uses the term “how to develop a digital marketing plan” then they likely need information that could be more of a how-to type in terms of developing a digital marketing plan.

Online Competitor Analysis

With the help of an evaluation of competitors’ digital initiatives, it is possible to identify their advantages and downsides. This includes analyzing various factors like the websites and social media posts and the search engine results of the competitors. Organisations can get an understanding of how competitors are placed in the market through the analysis of their online marketing approach and the channels that are being employed.

A good competitor analysis can help an organisation identify weaknesses in its own digital strategy and point out areas where it can potentially leapfrog its competitors. For instance, an organisation may find out that its competitor lacks coverage in a certain area such as search engine optimization and then focus on the area to ensure the organisation is ranked higher by search engines. It allows an organisation to understand what type of content interests the target audience and how the organisation can replicate these findings to attract more followers and interaction.

SEO Audit

An SEO audit is a process of evaluation of a website’s elements that influence the website’s ranking into a better position to determine areas that require enhancement. The purpose of the SEO audit is to reveal the technical factors, content, and backlinks which could negatively impact the visibility of the website. The audit will also determine how well the website has been optimized for search engine ranking and come up with suggestions on the strengths and or weaknesses in the present SEO.

An SEO audit is generally considered to be a technical check of the website and its components such as on-page factors. This includes the analysis of the structural layout of the website, the sitemap and the robots.txt file. It also involves the analysis of what is on the website such as keyword choice, meta tags and headers (collectively referred to as on-page optimization). The second aspect of the off-page SEO audit is the analysis of the link profile of the website. You can measure the quality and quantity of backlinks, the textual references used to link to the site or any changes in such links. A scanning of backlinks will also indicate any toxic or spam link that may be having a wrong impact on the site’s ranking on search engines.

Google Analytics Audit

Another critical factor of a DM campaign is how such a campaign can be quantified. Google Analytics is mostlly used to monitor website traffic, user activity, and conversion rates. However, the kind of data collection method that is to be used should be accurate, consistent and precise. When you have this Google Analytics audit done right, then you are confident that, what you are seeing is true and accurately analyzed. The purpose is to bring a clear understanding of the current configuration of the individual accounts- whether tracking is installed properly or not, and whether data is being collected in the right manner or not. It’s important to note, that while GA can be used out of the box and will provide basic information, it’s best practice to configure accounts according to industry benchmarking, or data collection needs.

PPC Audit

Pay-per-click advertising continues the heartbeat strongest when it is not only enabling clicks but relevant clicks. If you’re getting traffic and huge clicks but small conversions, it is high time to inspect your website for inconsistencies.

If impression counts are low then it may be necessary to expand the audience or adjust keyword settings so that ads are shown more frequently. It is suggested to have at least 3 different ads in each of the campaigns to avoid repetitiveness. This one is familiar for measuring the ad’s ability to capture attention and achieve clicks. 

Find out which of these terms is getting the highest clicks. This assists in making some changes in ad targeting and the overall relevance of the advertisements you want to post. Minimally, spend some time on that to be sure you know how much you are paying per click-through. This allows better control of your CPC (cost per click) and keeps focus on the best value keywords. If the ad is successful, then the proof of it is in the sales Conversion Rate. This is how successfully your ad changes the clicks into the intended actions. CPA (cost per acquisition) will then divide the cost of the conversion by the number of visitors, giving you a comprehensive entropy of the profitability of the campaign. 

Amidst these, you must develop an action plan. It will help enhance the business’ standing across social media platforms. This involves determining what must be done, where and when it is to be done, what is to be achieved, and how it is to be measured.

Brand Audit

Brand audit assists in offering you a strategic and objective view of the company’s brand soul-searching. This way you gain insights into who the product is and whether others inside or outside perceive it as you would like to be perceived. It is your brand’s reality check and here is how to make sense of it.

When it comes to visuals, in particular, logos colours and fonts should be cohesive and used similarly across channels. This has the advantage of developing, and strengthening the recognition and brand identity of the company. Sufficient evidence for this first aspect may be gathered by critically appraising the brand’s communicable identity across various modes of communication. Is there consistency in the themes, keywords, and tone of voice, set for the post or article? It means your message should always be clear and readily understandable by your target audience.

Read the reviews to see what kind of reviews they are; and whether they are positive, neutral or negative. In order to get to the real essence of how your brand is perceived there is a need to find general trends and tendencies in the feedback. Which outlets are discussing you and probably most relevantly you are reaching the expected audience. This enables measuring the awareness and positioning of the brand to the targeted market.

Lead Generation & Purchase Audit

Lead generation and purchase audit highlights important factors within your business, such as the ability to attract, communicate, gain trust and retain customers. It is the final examination for sales, that tells you everything that is going well and everything that can be adjusted a little to go better. By using this approach you get to map out your buyer journey and understand where customers may be lost and which parts need to be enhanced. It’s not just to capture sales but to achieve explosive sales growth. 

Take a closer look at how effectively your marketing channels (Facebook, email, website, etc.) are doing to attract your target crowd. Remember also the need to filter, select and first of all establish a relationship with the prospects.

From the time you began to consider the purchase to the time you made the decision to purchase, rate that experience. The idea here is to make these visitors satisfied starting from the moment they step into the site up to the time that they move to another. Ensure that your current sales funnel segmentation has no hitches. Find out where in the sales process some possible sales may be trapped, and assess the efficiency of the salespersons in moving the leads to the closed section.

How To Prepare For A Digital Audit

Outline the dynamics and assumptions for your digital audit report. Are you seeking only the current overall view of your digital marketing, or are you ready to find out what to do next?

• The more old marketing reports the better. That is why your auditing agency will wish to go through these reports to review and decide on which strategies have proved successful, and which ones are not. Also, compile any internal marketing documents that you consider may be relevant to the auditing agency.

• Consult with IT in such a way that the granting of access to digital accounts would not cause a major problem. Sometimes Agencies have a desire to ‘peek under the hood’ of your site so that they can see things such as analytics software to get a better look at your online statistics.

• Provide an Organizational Chart with the job titles. Collaborate with your HR Team to procure an organizational chart. It presents the functional structure of your organization and a detailed description of any potentially related positions in your marketing, communications, and digital divisions.

• Reduce the odds that your team members would feel offended. For those firms that can afford small marketing departments and limited budgets, audits could at times be a frightening concept because they signal areas where your marketing team is deficient or could do better. Inform your team that the audit will be truthful and meant for the good of the team and company and not a reflection of their work performance.

Wrapping Up:

In some organizations, audits represent a one-time one-look affair, a point-in-time view for the fee. However, strategic companies understand that digital audits are a chance for a company to create a win-win partnership. It complements the value of marketing, design, or development assets. Especially when you’re using technical SEO to increase your websites’ traffic and adding web accessibility to make sure they meet ADA guidelines.